Easy Online Audit For Your Business

Start by examining your social media profiles across all the different platforms your business has a presence on. Evaluate the consistency of your branding elements such as profile pictures, cover photos, and bio information. Ensure that your profiles are complete, up-to-date, and accurately reflect your brand identity. Verify that your contact information, website links, and other relevant details are correct. Here's a guideline for the two biggest platforms to get you started:

Facebook

• Can your cover image be viewed properly on mobile? 86% of people look at social media on their phones, so best to update it if not!
• What's your profile pic? We recommend your logo BUT it might need to be re-sized or re-designed to fit into the circle. Try using Canva for this (or contact your graphic designer).
• Check your 'about' info. Your bio should concisely describe what your business is about (and possibly include your service area).  Are all links and contact info correct?
• Do you want Facebook Reviews turned on? This is optional but can be a valuable tool! make it a regular practise to reply to all reviews (even negative).

Instagram

• Your bio is very important! Make it clear what your business does (and possibly what area you service). Use emojis for formatting and to add personality!
• Once again, check that your logo is featured as a profile pic.
• Is it easy for people to contact you? Click 'edit profile' to check your contact options.
• If you use story 'Highlights', are they branded? you can use Canva to help with this (or your graphic designer).
  

Beyond these basics, it's important to keep your profiles active as this lets potential customers get to know you... when done with a plan, this is your social media content strategy (which is a whole other beast!) Look out for a future blog on how to audit and improve your social media activity.

2. Google My Business Profile Check

Google My Business (GMB) has emerged as an invaluable tool for businesses seeking to enhance their online presence and connect with local customers. Using GMB effectively can help  your visibility, credibility, and customer engagement. When updated regularly, it can also help your Google rankings! A few things to check:

1. Have you claimed & optimised your GMB listing? If you haven't already done so, go to https://www.google.com/business/ and follow the instructions to verify and claim ownership of your business. Once verified, optimise your listing by providing information such as business name, address, phone number, website URL, opening hours, and business category.
2. Are you checking and adding photos? Make a lasting impression on potential customers by adding high-quality photos and videos to your GMB listing. Include appealing visuals of your storefront, products, team, etc. Regularly update your visuals to keep your listing fresh and attractive.
3. Are you encouraging & responding to customer reviews? Customer reviews play a HUGE role in building trust and influencing purchasing decisions. Encourage your customers to leave reviews on your GMB listing by providing excellent service and requesting feedback. Respond promptly and professionally to both positive and negative reviews, including relevant key words (that your customers may search for in Google) to help your SEO. For example, if you're a plumber in Townsville, you might reply with "Thanks for leaving your review! We aim to be the most reliable plumbing service in Townsville, so your review means a lot".
4. Are you updating your GMB profile regularly? An easy way to do this is to share 'updates' (similar to what you might share on social media). Updates can include images, videos, and call-to-action buttons. Doing this regularly and including relevant keywords (e.g. "Townsville plumbing service") can also give your Google rankings a little boost!

3. Your website - is it up to speed? (literally)

Your online 'home' of your business, make sure your website is up to the job! A few tips include:

• Does it incorporate SEO? This can be done in several ways, including some stuff done on the 'back end' (e.g. page descriptions). Make sure that your main keywords (i.e. what people search for in Google) are included in your headings and used in your copy.
• Is your content correct and engaging? Check the info and images are still correct. Have your contact details, services or team members changed? Most importantly... does your website tell your potential customers what they want to know? Ask for feedback from your customers, friends or family!
• What's the call-to-action? If your website visitors like the look of you, make sure they can easily figure out what to do next!
• Has it been submitted to Google Search Console? This lets your site be indexed to show in Google results. Check with your web developer if you're not sure!
• Keep it updated! We recommend to update your website once a month (possibly add a blog, or update your services). This helps your organic Google rankings.
• Is it mobile-friendly? Over 80% of websites are viewed from a mobile phone, make sure you (or your web designer) are designing for this!
• Check the boring tech stuff. Loading times, bounce rates, alt tags... there are online audit tools to help with this, or contact us to run a website audit.