Introduction
What sets your brand apart from the competitors amidst the mushrooming of eCommerce stores? It’s a pressing question for every store owner. After all, “You can’t buy engagement. You’ve to build it.”
If your eCommerce store isn’t performing quite well or you are looking forward to scaling up, it is a good idea to invest in an eCommerce audit service.
What is an eCommerce Audit Service?
Think of it like a regular body checkup. Just like you have to get regular blood reports to keep your physical health in check, eCommerce audit is like analyzing the entire store and ensuring that everything is in place and user-friendly. It includes transactional operations, website security, inventory management, and legalities of the website. In case any problems are detected, they can be resolved at the earliest to avoid any customer complaints.
Reasons Why Audit is an Essential Aspect For Every eCommerce Business
Audits are essential if you want your eCommerce business to flourish and ensure a pleasant customer experience. Let’s discuss the top reasons why you must hire professional eCommerce audit services.
1. Responsiveness Across Different Devices and Browsers
Through an eCommerce audit, you will be able to make sure that your website operates properly across different devices and web browsers. Your loading time should not be more than 8.6 seconds on a mobile device and 2.5 seconds on a computer. Having a quick loading website will ensure customer retention and cut down bounce rates, thereby uplifting the overall brand reputation.
2. Better Customer Service
Strive for prompt resolution of customer concerns to boost customer loyalty. Check whether your customer service is up to the mark and keep improving how you address their pain points. By hiring professional eCommerce audit services, you will be able to detect room for improvement and harbor a personalized customer purchase experience. It will, in turn, create happy customers and higher sales.
3. Cart Abandonment
An eCommerce audit professional will check your cart abandonment rate and help you with solutions to reduce it. Consequently, it will lead to better conversions and faster business growth. On average, eCommerce websites have a conversion rate of 1% of 4%. An audit report will reveal the truth about your conversions and whether you are lagging behind.
4. Overall Customer Experience
Customer behavior is constantly evolving. Therefore, your website experience should be in line with their expectations and the recent trends. Incorporate social commerce, mobile app shopping, and sustainability in your business strategy.
Are you thinking about getting your eCommerce store audited? If yes, there are several tools that can help you with the same. They are:
- Google Search Console (GSC): A free tool that helps website owners and marketers monitor and boost their website’s performance in Google search results. It shows website errors, core web vital errors, sitemap mistakes, and other metrics like clicks, average CTR, and more. It also lets you set alerts for problem detection.
- SEMrush: A paid SEO tool that helps in website audit, local SEO, competitor analysis, keyword analysis, content gap analysis, keyword gap analysis, backlink audit, and many more.
- Moz Pro: A paid tool with user-friendly SEO features, not as competent as SEMrush.
- Hotjar: A solution that helps you understand how visitors are interacting with your store.
- Screaming Frog: A software that evaluates technical SEO.
- Google Page Speed Insight: This is the most important tool when it comes to checking your website speed. This tool will not give you only your website speed for desktop and mobile devices but also gives you a list of suggestions to improve your website speed for desktop and mobile devices.
These tools are certainly like a boon for every eCommerce business owner who wishes to get an idea about their business performance. But it can get quite challenging to interpret the results for an average eCommerce business owner and then overhaul the strategy accordingly.
That’s why it is advisable to hire an eCommerce audit professional who is experienced enough to understand all the nitty-gritty of auditing and help you with solutions.
Before hiring, there are some questions you should ask to the individual or agency so as to make an informed decision.
Here you go…
What Questions to Ask Before Hiring an eCommerce Audit Professional
Q.1. How do you proceed with the auditing process?
This question will give you a clear picture about the professional’s approach to conducting the audit. It should be aligned to your business requirements and what you wish to achieve after the audit. The agency should inform you about the communication channels, timezone, and language barrier too. They should keep you updated about the audit progress at regular intervals.
Q.2. What aspects of the eCommerce website are included in the audit?
eCommerce audit involves the evaluation of several factors. They are:-
- Technical SEO
- On-page SEO
- Off-page SEO
- Content
- User Experience
- Conversion Rate Optimization
- Functionality of the eCommerce platform
- Security and compliance with privacy regulations
The auditor will collate all the issues and formulate a comprehensive action plan considering the priorities and objectives. Ask your audit service provider about the inclusions and exclusions, as it will set the right expectations.
Q.3. Can you share past success stories and case studies?
The experience of past clients and the results they got will help you understand how the audit will drive your business. Inquire about the case studies and talk to the clients, if possible. It will facilitate the decision-making process. If you are into apparel, it is an added advantage if they have worked with an apparel brand previously. Also, ask about the years of experience they have and whether they have any additional certifications reflecting their expertise. Go through their portfolio page and “About us” section without fail.
Q.4. What can I expect after the audit? How will the audit enhance my website’s conversion rate and overall performance?
Auditing alone won’t be enough if you want to improve your website’s performance. So, talk to the professionals whether they will offer solutions and help you implement the same, in order to resolve the loopholes.
Q.5. What tools and technologies do you use for the eCommerce business audit?
Inquire about the tools and technologies used in the eCommerce business audit. You can also ask them whether they have any in-house technologies to enhance the audit process.
Q.6. What will the final audit report look like?
Your final audit report should have all the necessary details that will give you an exact view of the eCommerce store’s performance — be it the backend operations or the frontend navigation. Ask the professionals to share a sample report so that you know which points the report would cover.
Q.7. How long will the audit process take?
The duration of the audit process is one of the most important aspects to inquire about, from the provider. If you have any deadline in mind, share it with them —- whether they can deliver the audit report within the stipulated time frame.
Q.8. What are the costs involved?
Budget is another crucial parameter to consider before hiring an audit professional. Ask for the detailed quotation and make sure that there are no hidden charges post the audit completion.
Q.9. Will you assist with implementing the recommended changes?
Once the final audit report is out, will the professionals help with implementing the suggested changes? For example: If the conversion rate is not up to the mark, would they allot seasoned professionals to help with the same? If not, it is advisable to go for another service provider who offers these services.
Wrapping Up
The eCommerce landscape is evolving and advancing at leaps and bounds. Hence, you must seriously consider allocating sufficient funds for an eCommerce audit service. Remember that having your store audited at regular intervals in half the battle won. It will enlighten you about how the customers are resonating with your business and let you optimize the areas that need work.
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As Director - Marketing, Zenul leads the marketing and branding at Krish. He brings with him an in-depth understanding of the evolving digital ecosystem and has a proven expertise and experience in strategic planning, market and competition analysis, creating and implementing client-centered, lead-gen and brand marketing campaigns. He has a heart for technology innovation and has been a keynote speaker on various platforms.
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