Improving Your Online Marketing: How a Marketing Audit Can Help Your Financial Advisory Business
You put a lot of time and money into your firm’s online marketing. Afterall, new prospects often hear about your business for the first time through your website, social media channels, or online ads, and you stay in touch with existing clients through a variety of digital channels. But when was the last time you checked in on these different channels to be sure everything was running smoothly and presenting your firm in the best possible light?
A digital marketing audit is a comprehensive review of your business's online marketing efforts. It can help your financial advisory firm identify which marketing tactics are working and which may need an update or a full overhaul. At the end of a digital marketing audit, you’ll have a clearer picture of your digital marketing strategy's effectiveness, its strengths and weaknesses, and recommendations for improvement.
When CMS performs a digital marketing audit, it typically includes an analysis of the following elements:
Website: Design, usability, Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) compliance, financial compliance, website content, search engine optimization (SEO), and mobile-friendliness
Social media: Social media platform presence, including the quality and frequency of its content, static profile information, impressions, and use of advertising
Email marketing: Email campaigns, including the design and content of emails, segmentation of email lists, and click and open rates
Paid advertising: Paid advertising channels, such as Google Ads and social media advertising, in terms of budget, targeting, and performance
Content marketing: Content marketing efforts, including the quality and relevance of its blog posts, videos, and other content, as well as its distribution and promotion
Website Audit
This is a comprehensive review of a website that is designed to identify any issues or opportunities for improvement. It typically includes an analysis of the following elements:
Performance: Website speed, uptime, and technical performance
Usability: Layout, navigation, and overall user experience
Accessibility: Compliance with accessibility standards and its usability for visitors with disabilities
Security: Security measures, such as SSL certificates and password protection
Content: Content quality, relevance, and formatting of the website's content
Search engine optimization (SEO): Metadata, keywords, and other elements that can impact its visibility and ranking in search engine results
Mobile-friendliness: Design and performance on mobile devices
In addition, we also complete a fundamental metadata and search engine optimization (SEO) review. These are important elements of a website that can impact its visibility and ranking in search engine results. This involves analyzing and evaluating these elements to identify opportunities for improving a website's visibility and ranking in search results. Some key elements that may be included are:
Title tags and meta descriptions: These are the snippets of text that appear in search engine results and should accurately reflect the webpage's content.
Headings: Headings (H1, H2, etc.) help search engines understand the structure and hierarchy of a webpage's content.
Keywords: Identifying and using relevant keywords in a webpage's content and metadata can help improve its ranking for those keywords in search results.
Alt text: Alt text is a description of an image that is used by search engines to understand the content of an image, as well as the page on which it appears.
URL structure: A clear and concise URL structure can help search engines understand the hierarchy of a website's content and improve its ranking.
Internal linking: Properly linking to other pages on a website can help search engines understand the relationships between pages and improve their ranking.
External linking: Linking to high-quality external websites can help improve a website's credibility and ranking.
Identifying and addressing any issues or opportunities in a website audit can be used to inform the development of a website improvement plan and guide ongoing website maintenance and updates. It is important to conduct a website audit regularly to ensure that it is performing optimally and meeting the needs of clients, potential clients, and leads. It also can help improve a website’s visibility and ranking in search engine results, leading to increased traffic and, ultimately, more business.
Social Media Audit
This is a comprehensive review of a company's social media presence that is designed to identify any issues or opportunities for improvement. A social media audit typically includes an analysis of the following elements:
Social media accounts: Social media platform presence, including the quality and frequency of posts, engagement with followers, and use of advertising
Brand consistency: Branding elements, such as logos and tone of voice, across a business’s social media accounts to ensure consistency
Target audience: Demographics and interests of the company's followers—compare them to its target audience to ensure alignment
Engagement: Engagement with followers, including likes, comments, and shares
Content strategy: Content strategy, including the types of content a business is sharing, the frequency of posting, and the performance of different types of content
Social media advertising: Social media advertising, including the targeting, budget, and performance of its campaigns
The findings of a social media audit can be used to inform the development of a social media strategy and guide ongoing social media efforts. It is important to conduct a social media audit regularly to ensure that the company's social media marketing aligns with its business objectives and effectively achieves its desired results.
Local Listing and Professional Listing Audit
Local and professional listings are online directories that list businesses in a particular geographic area or industry. This involves reviewing and evaluating a company's listings in these directories to ensure that the information is complete, accurate, and up-to-date. Some key elements that may be included are:
Business name: Ensure the business name is listed consistently across all directories
Contact information: Verify that the company's address, phone number, and website are listed correctly in all directories
Categories: Ensure that the company is listed in the appropriate categories in each directory
Hours of operation: Verify that the company's hours of operation are listed correctly in all directories
Photos and videos: Review any photos or videos that are associated with the company's listings to ensure that they are high-quality and representative of the business
Reviews and ratings: Review any ratings or reviews that have been left for the company and respond to any negative feedback in a professional manner
By ensuring that a company's local and professional listings are accurate and up-to-date, you improve its visibility and credibility in the local community and industry, which can lead to increased traffic and ultimately, more business. More tips on this topic can be found here.
Email Marketing Audit
An email marketing review is a comprehensive evaluation of a company's email marketing efforts. It involves analyzing and evaluating the company's email campaigns to identify strengths and weaknesses and provide recommendations for improvement.
Some key elements that may be evaluated in an email marketing review are:
Email list: Size and segmentation of the email list, as well as the methods used to acquire email addresses
Email design: Design and formatting, including the use of images, layout, and branding elements
Email content: Quality, relevance, and value of the content included in emails
Subject lines: Effectiveness of the subject lines used in terms of open rates and engagement
Call-to-action (CTA): Effectiveness of the CTAs used in terms of driving conversions
Email automation: Use of email automations, such as welcome emails and abandoned cart emails, and their effectiveness
Email analytics: Email analytics, such as open rates, click-through rates, and conversions, to identify trends and areas for improvement
By identifying and addressing any issues or opportunities identified in an email marketing review, a company can improve the effectiveness of its email marketing efforts and drive better results.
Next Steps
The insights gleaned from a digital marketing audit serve as a powerful tool for developing and refining a your digital marketing plan. This ensures that your strategies stay up-to-date, effective, and in sync with your evolving business objectives. By continually evaluating and adjusting your marketing efforts based on the audit's findings, you can optimize your online presence, drive client acquisition, and foster lasting relationships with your target audience. Embracing the digital marketing audit as an integral part of your ongoing marketing strategy can empower your firm to thrive in an increasingly competitive landscape, ultimately leading to sustained growth and success.
