What to expect from a digital audit

Digital audits done properly are always worth doing – and the more you spend on digital marketing, the more important audits are. We don’t mean the sales gimmick type digital audits that agencies float to secure your creative and campaign business. Rather, we’re talking about a proper, thorough, third-party assessment of your digital performance vis-a-vis competitors and platform best practice standards. The type of digital audit that doesn’t include any pitch to win your ongoing business.

Preparing for the digital audit team.

The very first task of a digital audit is to agree on the objectives and deliverables, so that everyone’s expectations are aligned. Are we undertaking a basic review or a very detailed under-the-hood digital audit where we deliver strategic recommendations in addition to short, sharp areas for improvement?
Preparing ahead of the digital audit team arriving means the process will be faster and smoother. The auditors will need access to analytics reporting, strategy and planning documents, contracts (if the audit includes agency compliance), access to digital accounts (your website’s backend, your digital platforms, your Google account), your team structure with key job descriptions (especially for team members that interface into the digital marketing function). To make life simpler, download our digital audit checklist.

Preparing your digital marketing team.

Your team works hard to generate leads, sell products and build your brand online. It’s natural for them to feel threatened by a third-party entering the business to assess team performance, so they might feel defensive. Making things harder, when it comes to digital marketing, everyone has a different opinion. Ask any group if an ad is “good creative” and watch the opinions wildly differ.

Of course, a key digital marketing advantage is its measurability. Through digital platforms and tools, we have access to a great deal of data and insights that enable us to undertake audits as an objective exercise. At Digital Koalas, our digital audit focus is always the data – we firmly believe the numbers don’t lie. Although we perform honest assessments, we work hard to make digital auditing a positive process that can lead to better outcomes for everyone.

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Digital Koalas is a Melbourne-based Digital Marketing Consultancy.
We work with businesses, marketing teams and agencies to develop digital strategy, conduct independent digital audits, manage digital media buying and campaign optimisation, and provide assistance with digital team & talent recruitment.
Ready to talk to us? Say hello.