Content Audits
How examining your eCommerce site can boost the online performance
The term “audit” refers to a rigorous review of a company’s financial documents or accounts by an external investigator, which is why some business owners groan at the term.
However, in eCommerce, an “audit” refers to a business inspecting its web content to uncover weak points in its online presence. In doing so, that business can work to resolve those weak points to improve its overall online performance – something that every business owner should embrace.
This article will detail how businesses may conduct their content audits, what factors to consider, and what specific benefits they can expect from the process.
Setting a Goal for Your Audit
Numerous factors contribute to online success, which cannot be addressed entirely from a single audit.
A business should identify one or two critical goals for auditing its content. Common goals include:
Improving Search Engine Optimization (SEO) to increase site traffic
Enhancing User Experience (UX) to maximize customer satisfaction when using the site
Boosting Conversion Rate (CRO) to generate more end-goal interactions from visitors (e.g., sales)
From here, a business can determine which content factors to audit and improve so that it may achieve the desired goal. A few of the most impactful factors to consider are:
Product Presentation and Organization – i.e., how customers perceive and become aware of your products on a website
Content Strategy – i.e., how your content connects with your audience and funnels them toward an action
Consistency in Copy – i.e., how you build your brand and reputation
Design – i.e., how users navigate your site or page
How to Conduct an Audit
How does a business conduct a content audit after identifying a content auditing goal and choosing an aspect of content to examine?
Choosing a Marketplace
Choosing a marketplace is the first step.
Every online marketplace operates according to different algorithms, requirements, and guidelines. For instance, how Amazon ranks keywords for product pages may differ from Walmart, and so on.
A content audit begins with choosing a specific marketplace or a few critical marketplaces to review your online presence so that a business may tailor its content to that particular site. These could be big retail sites, like Amazon or Walmart, or smaller boutique sites – in any case, a business should choose to audit content where it most needs to improve operations.
Choosing a Product
Similarly, the metrics for successful content vary by product, so businesses should focus on the products most relevant to their desired goals.
If trying to increase product purchases, for example, then it makes sense to select products with substantial traffic yet lower-than-average conversion rates for the audit.
Study Competition and Consumer Behavior
With a specific goal, marketplace, and product in mind, now is the time to research how to improve the actual content.
The best starting point is studying successful competitors according to the factors your business wants to improve – how is their product page design more user-friendly? How does their copywriting create a more consistent brand identity? Is it easier to find their products from a search?
Aside from its competitors, a business also needs to understand its consumers. How do potential buyers search for products on a site? What keywords do they use? Which products are most popular among shoppers?
Access to comprehensive search data about the relevant product within the marketplace is essential to this process. This information will provide the insights a business needs to update its content, such as keywords or the market share of competitors.
Create a Scoring Model and Conduct the Audit
Based on the marketplace, competitor, and consumer research findings, businesses should create a scoring model to evaluate their content and pages.
A practical model will have metrics by which the business can rate its current content, ideally on a yes-or-no basis.
If interested in improving SEO rankings on Amazon, example questions for a scoring model could include:
Does the page include the highest-ranked keywords according to site data?
Are the keywords and product descriptions free of spelling and grammatical errors?
Is the product description free of unnecessary wording?
A business will be equipped to begin the content audit with its research and scoring model.
Using these materials, the auditor should sort through each relevant product page on the selected marketplace, analyzing its content according to the scoring rubric. After each page has been scored, the auditor may identify which content areas need the most improvement and adjust according to their findings.
Final Thoughts
A content audit provides businesses with many benefits for their eCommerce operations, such as improved SEO ranking, traffic to web pages, increased conversion rates, and improved customer loyalty and recognition.
When conducting an audit, the vital principle is that the more specific and targeted the audit, the more successful. The most successful audits will result from a clear goal, focus on a particular content factor, a specific marketplace and product, and detailed research on competitors and consumers.
The Cymax Group Advantage
At Cymax, your success is our standard.
We understand that every marketplace requires a different content standard – from product descriptions to keywords.
Our team of experts help you achieve success while selling on marketplaces by ensuring your products meet the marketplace requirements. We help you optimize your product descriptions and product shots and ensure you are bidding on the right keywords. Get the best return on investment with our best-in-class ROAS and ACoS.
We value transparency and share the marketing results with you down to the SKU level. This ensures visibility into marketing budgets and allocation, ROI, contribution, and fulfillment metrics.
To give your customers the best possible user experience, we help design and visually tell your brand’s story by creating an unforgettable user experience. Put your best foot forward and stand apart from your competition.
Our goal is to help you build an outstanding online presence. Get in touch with us today and learn how!