What an audit should cover
For a Houston service business, six areas:
Google Business Profile. Claimed, complete, correctly categorised, with recent reviews and real photos. Most audits find something here, and it is usually the cheapest fix with the largest effect.
The website. Speed on a phone, whether it says what you do and where, whether service pages exist, whether the forms work.
Tracking. Whether conversions fire, whether calls are attributed, whether anyone could tell which channel produced revenue.
Search visibility. What you rank for, what you do not, and what competitors have that you do not.
Follow-up. What happens to an enquiry after it arrives. Frequently the biggest single finding.
Spend. What is being paid for, and whether anyone can show what it produced.
The free version of the first check
Submit an enquiry through your own website and then call your own number from a mobile. Time how long it takes for anyone to respond.
That single test finds more recoverable money than most paid audits, and it costs nothing. A surprising share of businesses discover a form that does not deliver at all.
What separates a useful audit from a sales document
A useful audit is prioritised and specific: here are four things, in this order, this is what each involves, this is what it should change.
A sales document is a long list of everything imperfect, scored red, with an implicit conclusion that you need to buy everything. Length is the tell — a hundred findings is not thoroughness, it is a lack of judgement about what matters.
Ask in advance: will this tell me what to do first?
Free audits
Many agencies offer them. They are a sales tool, and that is not dishonest as long as everyone knows it.
The useful ones tell you something true you did not know. The others are automated scans reformatted with your logo on the front — recognisable because nothing in them is specific to your business.
Taking a free audit and acting on the two obvious findings without buying anything is a perfectly legitimate thing to do.
When to pay for one
When you are spending real money and cannot tell what it produces, when you are considering changing providers, or when growth has stalled without an obvious reason.
When not to
When you already know what is wrong. Paying to be told that you have no reviews and no service pages is paying for a confirmation. Spend it on the fix.
Getting one
Run the free test first. What it shows determines whether a paid audit is worth commissioning.
Frequently asked questions
What should a marketing audit cover?
Google Business Profile, the website, tracking, search visibility, follow-up and spend. Follow-up is frequently the biggest single finding and the one least often examined.
Are free audits worth taking?
Sometimes. A good one tells you something true you did not know. A bad one is an automated scan with your logo on the front — recognisable because nothing in it is specific to your business.
How do I spot a sales document?
Length and lack of priority. A hundred findings scored red is not thoroughness, it is an absence of judgement about what matters. Ask in advance whether it will tell you what to do first.
When should I not pay for an audit?
When you already know what is wrong. Paying to be told you have no reviews and no service pages is paying for confirmation — spend it on the fix instead.