Are Your Customers Finding You On Google?
Find out on your own with this easy, 5-minute DIY audit. There’s no registration, subscription, or paywall - just scroll down and get started.
See Where Your Business Ranks On Google Maps
These rankings are especially important for brick and mortar businesses - ones that serve customers on-site, at a specific location. Businesses that are significantly impacted by Google Map rankings include restaurants, medical clinics, salons and spas, just to name a few.
Why does it matter?
Searches with the terms 'near me' were at an all time high before the coronavirus caused a change in behavior. But with businesses reopening, we can expect searches for providers in a specified geographic location to increase again. This is especially true for businesses serving local markets.
Search phrase examples:
dental clinics in los angeles, roofing contractors in langley, internet marketing agencies in coquitlam
When people make geo-specific searches like the examples above, the search results include what’s known as a “map pack” - 3 Google Map listings which appear on the first page of the search results. These map listings rank higher than organic search results, which makes them very visible to searchers. As a result, businesses that appear in the map pack for keywords that are relevant to their business receive a lot more leads than businesses that don't.
How can I do it?
1. Go to maps.google.com
2. Search for: 'your service' in 'city' (E.g. Dental Clinics in Los Angeles)
3. Make a note of what position your business appears at in the search results
Video Guide
Understand Where You Need To Improve Your Organic Search Performance
For most businesses with an intuitive, easy to navigate website, organic search is the most important website traffic source for top and mid-funnel leads. It’s these leads that are most likely to convert into paying customers for your business.
Why does it matter?
Organic search results are especially important while potential customers are in research mode. People looking for specific information will most likely find it from organic search results.
Search phrase examples:
cost of dental implants in vancouver, asphalt shingles versus cedar shake roofing, how digital marketing can benefit dentists
If you have content on your website that answers important questions that people have during their research process - and that content ranks well on search results - then people will find your website. And if your website provides these organic leads with value and a good user experience, then there’s a good chance some of them are going to contact you.
That’s why it’s important to understand which search terms - also commonly referred to as “keywords” - potential customers are using to find your business, then check where you rank for those keywords. If you aren’t ranking highly, then it’s a good sign that you need to put more time and effort into search engine optimization (SEO).
How can I do it?
1. Go to www.google.com
2. Search for: Your business name
- E.g. ElementIQ
- Make a note of your position
3. Search for: A primary keyword relevant to the main product(s)/service(s) you provide
- E.g. digital marketing agencies in 'your city'
- Make a note of your position
4. Search for: A query that you believe may be commonly used by your target audience to research product(s)/service(s) you offer
- E.g. does google pagespeed matter
- Make a note of your position
Video Guide
Check If Google Is Missing Important Pages From Your Website
This is a quick and simple way to find out how many pages of your website Google is able to discover, and double-check to make sure all of your website's most important pages are showing up in the search results.
Why does it matter?
Simple - if Google can’t find your website’s pages, then they won’t appear in the search results, and potential customers won’t be able to discover your business. Having a greater number of indexed pages than your competitors does not mean you will outrank them; however, the top ranking websites on Google tend to have more indexed pages than low-ranking websites.
By checking your site’s indexed pages, you’ll be able to discover if important pages on your website aren’t showing up in Google’s search results. From there, you can note down which pages are missing, then take steps to have them indexed by Google.
How can I do it?
1. Go to www.google.com
2. Search for: site:www.yoursite.com
Video Guide
Make Sure Your Website's Loading Speed Isn't Hurting Your Search Rankings
People are impatient - and Google knows it. Websites that load slowly won’t rank well on search engines, so you need to make sure that your website loads quickly and provides visitors with a zippy user experience.
Why does it matter?
There are hundreds of factors that influence which websites rank higher on Google Search. One of them that is definitely important is website speed. If a website is slower than average to load on mobile or desktop, Google views it as providing a bad user experience.
That’s why checking your website’s load speed is essential - websites with faster load times have a higher probability of outranking websites that are slow. Essentially, helping your website load faster is helping it to rank higher too.
How can I do it?
1. Go to GTmetrix
- Type in the address of your website
- Make a note of "Fully Loaded Time"
P.S. You want this to be lower than 7.2s - the lower the better
2. Go to Google PageSpeed Insights
- Type in the address of your website
- Make a note of:
- Mobile Score
P.S. You want this to be higher than 50, the higher the better - Desktop score
P.S. You want this to be higher than 50, the higher the better
- Mobile Score
Video Guide
Example Audit Template
You can create an identical table on your computer on a document or a spreadsheet, or on your notepad if you prefer using pen and paper. Follow the steps listed in the blog post to document results for your company. Repeat the step using your competitors and you’ll have a nice and easy one-page view to compare your digital presence on Google search with your competitors.
Better yet, download your free printable digital marketing audit here
Do-It-Yourself Digital Marketing Audit Results |
|||
| Date: | |||
| Your Business | Your Competitor #1 | Your Competitor #2 | |
| Google Maps Ranking: maps.google.com | Position | Position | Position |
| Search for: 'your service' in 'city'
E.g. Internet marketing in Coquitlam |
|||
| Google Organic Search Rankings: google.com | Position | Position | Position |
| Your business name | |||
| Search for: A primary keyword relevant to the main product(s)/service(s) you provide
E.g. Digital marketing agencies in Coquitlam |
|||
| Search for: A query that you believe may be commonly used by your target audience to find product(s)/service(s) you offer
E.g. Does google pagespeed matter |
|||
| Number of Indexed Pages | Result | Result | Result |
| Search on Google for - site:www.yoursite.com | |||
| Website Load Time | Result | Result | Result |
| GTmetrix | |||
| Fully Loaded Time | |||
| Google PageSpeed Insights | |||
| Mobile Score | |||
| Desktop Score | |||
