The website audit that just dropped in your inbox is probably garbage. Site audits are essential tools in the automotive SEO space, but they are also, more often than not, used and abused as gimmicky sales tools to convince you that you’re doing something wrong. So, how do you know who to trust or what information is actually important? I’m going to tell you.
Identifying a Sales Audit
It’s easy to get caught up in the whirlwind of information when someone is telling you there are so many things to be fixed on your site, but identifying a bad audit is essential. You don’t want to waste energy where it isn’t needed, so here are some signs that your audit is, in fact, bad:
#1 Focused On the Nitty-Gritty
An audit that hones in on very specific elements, such as whether or not a header has a geo in it or the order of phrasing in your meta titles, is likely a sales tactic. When a vendor is overly focused on small details, it’s more likely that they are desperately trying to come up with something negative to say or even compensate for a lack of true knowledge in the space.
Instead of focusing on the nitty-gritty and small details that don’t actually impact performance, a website audit should actually start by looking at your current performance and where there are opportunities for growth. Then, the website should be looked at to determine where improvements could be made. Do the main pages have quality content on them, or even have content at all? Are there landing pages on the site? These are general questions that should be answered during an audit; these are the things that matter.
#2 No “Why” Behind the “What”
An audit that tells you something is wrong but doesn’t explain why it matters is a bad audit. If there’s no reasoning backing a statement, how do you know there is even a problem? For example, if a vendor tells you, “Your dealership name isn’t in all of your meta titles, but they should be,” they’re not being truthful. In fact, your dealership name shouldn’t be in 99% of your meta titles because you don’t need to optimize for your own name, and you should be using that space for optimization.
A confident vendor might make statements like that as if they’re facts. And they leave out the “why” on purpose, trying to prevent you from being able to decide whether the “error” is genuine or not. This can lead to scrambling and time spent “fixing” something that isn’t even broken. If you get an audit that blatantly gives you a list of issues with no context, you should ask questions like, in what way is what you’re telling me impacting my site’s performance?
A good audit won’t have you asking those questions. A good audit will explain to you how your current site is performing, what should be changed or implemented, and how those changes will improve performance.
#3 The Vendor Has Their Own “Scale”
A good SEO strategy is unique to a business and its website. This means that an audit should be individualized, too. If a vendor sends you a sheet with checkboxes or scores based on a scale they created, well, it’s simply made up. This type of audit is a scare tactic that vendors use to make it seem like you or your current SEO partner are not doing a good job. But this is a fake test where the “auditor” has much to gain (your business) if you don’t pass.
Again, a quality audit will focus on performance and results, not on specific SEO actions that may or may not even have an impact. A good audit is most definitely not going to be a score sheet; it’s going to be a conversation.
#4 There Are No Individualized Considerations
There is so much diversity when it comes to dealer sites, making it essential for an audit to be individualized. A huge factor in what can and should be worked on for a dealership’s SEO strategy is the website platform. Different platforms have different levels of accessibility, meaning a cut-and-dry checkbox audit isn’t going to be reflective of how you or your current vendor are doing. Site audits are not one-size-fits-all.
For example, some website platforms have overwriting features that will auto-populate meta titles for certain pages, frequently inventory pages, and will revert any changes you try to make. This type of roadblock isn’t rare, either. Almost, if not every, site provider has some sort of feature that writes over optimizations or locks access to edits. Some platforms even have blog managers that prevent the titles of your blog posts from being H1s.
If that context is ignored when auditing a site, one may say “You didn’t even optimize your inventory meta titles.” or “Your blog posts don’t have H1s!” The SEO provider giving you an audit knows about those limitations but chooses not to share those details so that they can provide you with “fixable” issues. They’re simply trying to make a sale.
Don’t Be Fooled by a Sales-Pitch Audit
So, a site audit shouldn’t get too in the weeds, it shouldn’t avoid conversations about why certain elements matter, and it shouldn’t be focused on a scale or score that the vendor has made up themselves. A good audit is individualized, puts performance first, and then discusses how your goals can be met.
Whether you were already considering a new SEO vendor or were approached by a vendor for a free audit, you have to watch out for bad audits, especially when they use sales-focused tactics. Don’t be tricked into thinking your website is riddled with issues.
Want a true performance and website audit that cuts out the fluff and focuses on the important stuff? Contact us at Wikimotive. We offer free demos to help you understand the value of SEO, strategies that work, where you currently stand, and how you can grow.