Need another task on your to-do list? These marketing audits will be well worth it – if performed well enough.
While the pandemic continues on with no clear end in sight appears to be in sight, industry-wide marketing strategy seems to be looking at a more permanent adjustment. Consumer behavior changes quickly from month to month, meaning best practices need to be updated.
Today, we wanted to share with you the five audits we’re using to review our marketing strategy as a marketing agency – yes, everything we recommend to our clients, we’ve done for ourselves.
By taking the time to perform a thorough analysis of any current efforts – SEO, social, digital ads, etc. – you can identify weak spots because they become a greater issue. This is also an opportunity for brainstorming new strategies and deciding which are most viable for the following year. Let’s get into it!
Five Essential Marketing Audits
Audits can encompass different aspects of a business; from the seemingly simple social media audit to the more complicated operational audit, there are a number of audits your business can perform to stay aware and optimize poorly performing areas.
Here are the six audits we recommend to shore up all loose ends before 2022 comes around the corner.
Website + SEO Audit
Perhaps you haven’t reviewed your website in a minute, other than adding new content. It’s a good idea to review with fresh eyes and perform a tune-up according to the data. Websites weather wear-and-tear, which is to be expected if you have visitors regularly on your site.
Everything benefits from a tune-up because over time from use, there is natural wear and tear. This occurs just as much in the digital world as it does in the real world, albeit in different ways.
Little mistakes will build up over time and ultimately impact the user experience.
An SEO audit takes your current SEO strategy and reviews it against current search trends and best practices and assesses areas for improvements. Focus on the best performing content as a strong indicator of how current trends related to your own content.
An SEO strategy needs to be fluid, and part of that is due to the reactive nature of SEO.
Take this opportunity to perform a complete website audit to review:
- Indexation
- Broken links (404s)
- Low- vs. high-performing Ccontent
- CTAs
- Page load speed
- Image load speed
- Meta-titles and meta-descriptions
- And more…
We recommend using SEMRush or SiteBulb for a thorough analysis – the first for content and technical analysis and the latter for a deep technical and SEO analysis. Regular site audits, maintenance, and adjustments are key to maximizing conversion rates.
Compliance Audit
Many people don’t take the time to think about compliance until it becomes a legal issue. This results in unnecessary stress and chaos, which is why it’s essential to include compliance in your website audit.
- Is all the software being used licensed properly?
- Does the website comply with Americans with Disabilities (ADA) standards?
- Are all the images credited properly?
Many are unaware that digital compliance audits fall under the marketing department. However, it’s becoming more important than ever to stay aware of compliance laws and recommendations to serve all audiences.
Customer Audit, A.K.A. Surveys
A website’s number one priority is to serve the customer. When was the last time you performed a UX test or took it one step further and gathered a focus group?
This provides an opportunity to gather useful, current data along with gaining better insights into your customers’ behaviors. Their feedback can be used to improve features immediately and can help with the development of personas for future campaigns.
Operational Audit
An audit often includes an evaluation of your website team and its members. Is everyone in a role that best fits their strengths? Is each person performing their tasks to the best of their knowledge and ability? Could there be process improvements?
It could be time to adjust responsibilities based on performance and employee needs. Reviewing productivity and the tools that could aid in its improvement should also be a top priority.
Strategy Audit
Last but not least, use all the above data to make impactful, long-term decisions.
So you’ve updated keywords, adjusted design, improved efficiency, and gained important customer insight, now what? Make a plan for future maximization.
The Bottom Line
Every business should take time quarterly and yearly to audit their business and its strategies. Regular audits can also uncover small problems before they have a chance to become bigger ones and hinder your overall success.
The Wilderness team of specialists can perform keyword research, optimize your current site and its pages, create great content, and build backlinks – but it starts with understanding your brand, where it stands, and where you want it to go. Contact us today with your questions!
