Conducting a digital website audit is like taking your car in for a tune-up. It’s essential to make sure everything runs smoothly and efficiently, boosting your performance and – at least in the case of your website – enhancing your online performance.
Of course, not every digital audit is productive. Let’s dive into the fundamental steps to completing an audit and the core components you should always include.
First, take a look at your website and see if it truly reflects your brand and messaging. Know your place in the market and how you plan to stand out. Identify your competitors and analyze their strategies to see how you can differentiate yourself.
A beautiful website won’t benefit you if the foundations aren’t there. Make sure your site offers a quality user experience. Visitors should be able to navigate easily and find answers quickly. Put yourself in your ideal customer’s shoes and see if your website meets their expectations at every stage.
Pick your top two to three competitors and dive deep. Ask yourself: what are they doing well? How does their site compare to yours? Are they doing anything better? Are you? Identify gaps you can fill that they might be overlooking.
Use tools like Google Analytics to get a baseline of what’s working on your website. Check your traffic sources, audience demographics, and content performance. Make sure your site is mobile-friendly since about 60% of traffic is mobile. Go beyond vanity metrics and set up events and conversions to understand the full conversion funnel. Check if your site is optimized for search engines, including both on-page and technical SEO.
When performing a digital website audit, many organizations miss critical aspects that can significantly impact performance. One commonly neglected element is the technical side of the SEO audit. It’s crucial to ensure search engines can crawl and index your content properly. If Google can’t access your content, all your efforts in optimizing your pages may be in vain. Addressing technical issues can lead to substantial performance improvements, even with just front-end adjustments.
Additionally, user experience is frequently underestimated, especially by B2B brands. Rethink your website’s structure from the perspective of your target audience. Think about how visitors will navigate your site and discover information. First impressions matter. If visitors land on your website and it looks outdated, respect can be immediately lost. Aesthetics aren’t everything, but they play a crucial role in conveying professionalism.
Unfortunately, audits can’t be conducted with just eyes and brains. Thankfully, True has compiled a list of helpful resources for brands completing an audit internally:
Before you start your audit, ask yourself: “Why do I want to do an audit?” Know your goals and what you’re using as a measuring stick. Keep that information in mind from the start, and check in during the audit to make sure you’re staying on track.
You don’t want to just do an audit for audit’s sake. Get a baseline to give yourself a goalpost. Many website redesigns get lost in this space. If redesigning is your end goal, keep this top of mind. An audit is meant to tell you if your website is working.
Prioritization is key when translating your audit findings into actionable improvements. Focus on what will provide the biggest bang for your buck first. Don’t try to address everything at once; instead, prioritize high-impact areas and tackle them one by one. This phased approach makes the process more manageable and easier to implement and track.
True can step in to assist with this prioritization. We help identify the most critical areas to address, ensuring that your efforts yield the most significant improvements. By focusing on one item or area at a time, you can make meaningful progress without feeling overwhelmed.
Once you’ve got something up and running, iterate on it. Often, people get stuck considering all the possibilities and problems, which can make it difficult to take that first step. Remember, getting started is the most important part.
With a clear focus and the right support from True, you can transform your digital audit findings into tangible, impactful enhancements for your website. Learn more about our digital strategy offerings and how we can support your team!
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