Insights

"Audit" can be a scary word. It's synonymous with things that audit-matically sound invasive. Inspection. Examination. Investigation. No thanks.In marketing, however, an audit is easy, painless, and will make a positive impact on your business. An agency like Netwave can analyze your current marketing efforts and provide recommendations and strategies that align with your goals. You don't have to prepare your team or gather a bunch of documents. We do all the work and deliver an in-depth report. There's no punishment for bad results. In fact, only good can come from it as an audit allows for sharper strategies and smarter marketing spending.What type of marketing audit does your business need? Consider these common starting points:

SEO Audit

If you’ve heard of search engine optimization (SEO) but aren’t all that familiar with it, there’s a good chance you haven’t addressed it simply because it sounds hard. SEO is definitely technical, and you may have no idea where to begin—but remember, an agency will do it for you. SEO work almost always starts with an audit encompassing the following:

• Site speed – Your website’s desktop and mobile loading speeds are crucial to foundational SEO because users expect websites to load instantly. Slow site speed takes away from the user experience. Google is continuing to emphasize fast-loading websites as mobile usage continues to grow.
• Current keyword rankings – Knowing which keywords you are currently ranking for will tell you where you’re doing well, where you can improve, and where to find low-hanging fruit. If you’re on page one of search results for a given keyword with high search volume, we want to optimize and maximize that competitive advantage.
• Competitor analysis – SEO is a competitive sport. Let’s see what your competitors are doing and whether they’re succeeding, then compare their standing against yours.
• Citation audit – Other websites are listing your business and link to your site. Better make sure they’re accurate and appropriate.
• Site errors – A tiny, hidden error can keep your entire site from ranking. An SEO audit uncovers any potential hiccups that might be silently sabotaging your site.
• Titles and headers – A title tag tells users they have found a relevant page that will meet their needs. Heading tags, specifically H1s, introduce page content and provide further reassurance. In addition to checking titles and H1s, we’ll also optimize them as part of the audit.
• Keyword volume analysis – How frequently are users searching for your products or services, and what are they typing into the search box when doing so? This information sets the stage for ongoing SEO, such as content writing for blog articles, landing pages, new web pages and other strategies.

If you paid for SEO in the past or are currently paying for it and want to get a second opinion, you may not need all the above. To potentially reduce the scope and cost of an SEO audit, provide your agency with any previous SEO documents or point them to specific issues you have in mind. They may still recommend a full audit since a lot of the work goes hand in hand, but they will be better equipped regardless.

Website Audit

There are other things to check your website for besides SEO, and a website audit can take on many different forms based on your goals. Whether you want to improve your SEO rankings, refine the user experience, or make sure your branding is consistent, we can tailor a website audit to your needs, including any combination of:

• WordPress updates – WordPress is an awesome platform; the original flexible website builder... but its themes and plugins tend to “break” as technology changes over time. That’s not a knock on WordPress. It’s just the nature of open-source web development. If your site is built on WordPress, it will undoubtedly need updates to continue functioning properly.
• Content review – In a website audit, we’ll scan every page on your site with an eagle eye for outdated images, media, copy, links, formatting and more.
• Performance and security – How fast and secure is your site? A site speed audit will show a comparison of how your website loads on desktop and mobile devices.
• User-friendliness – How easy is your site to navigate? Remember, Google is in the business of delivering their own user experience in pointing people to the best sites based on their searches. User-friendly sites are rewarded in search rankings.
• Accessibility – Is your website compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) of 1990? Read more on what that means and why it matters here.

When you’re investing in marketing, all roads lead back to your website. A website audit can help set the stage for success with social media, paid advertising and other digital tactics down the line.

Social Media Audit

Speaking of social media, it’s not something you want to just jump into. With all the platforms and possibilities out there, a social media audit is a chance to take a step back and then two forward, rather than the other way around. In a social media audit, we’re reviewing and asking:

• Current strategy – What are you doing now, what’s working, and what’s not?
• Best practices – Is your current content aligned with platform settings and functions?
• Audience insights – Are you reaching the right audience? If not, where can we find them?
• Creative and messaging – Is the current message resonating with the audience? If not, what’s missing?
• Channel analysis – Are you using the right platforms to reach your intended audience? Are there platforms to consider exploring and/or discontinuing?
• Competitive analysis – What are your competitors doing on social media? Is there a niche or space that you can own?
• Paid advertising – How can you use social media advertising to meet business goals and drive results?
• Word of mouth – Where are people talking about your business, and how can you join the conversation?
• Key performance indicators – What metrics define success and how are you performing against those metrics?

As you can see, there are a lot of questions to ask when considering a current and/or future social media strategy. An audit provides the answers.

How Great Marketing Starts

Looking for a marketing agency to work on your business and brand immediately? Fantastic. We’re ready to start tomorrow. Before we get into it, though, we’ll want to make sure we understand where you are right now and where you want to go. An audit is a sign of our honesty and integrity, and the best way to do our best work. Many of our most successful and rewarding client relationships start with one of the above audits. Contact us to see if an SEO, website or social media audit is what your business needs right now.