Your Shopify store’s sales and customer base have steadily increased but have recently declined. You try every technique available online, but nothing works. Sounds familiar? One of the most frustrating aspects of running an e-commerce business is the lack of customer feedback.
It’s difficult to know whether you’re doing something right or wrong, and when you’ve run out of ideas, it can feel like you’ve reached a dead end. If your store is not meeting its goals despite your best efforts, it may be time to consider a Shopify store audit. In this guide, I will walk you through the steps of a Shopify audit.
When you’ve finished reading, you’ll understand what a store audit is and how to use the results to improve your business and achieve your objectives!
What is a Shopify Store Audit?
An audit is a process by which a third party inspects and identifies issues. A Shopify store audit is a deep dive into your site that identifies problems and suggests improvements. Depending on the focus, the audit could center on your backend processes, user experience, marketing, SEO, or something else. However, the best audits are conducted with a holistic perspective in mind, taking into account your top goals.
Why Do You Need a Shopify Store Audit?
E-commerce is a highly competitive market, and you must look for every advantage and opportunity to stand out. You’ve tried many solutions on your own, but they haven’t produced the results you need. Time is money, and you need actionable solutions tailored to your needs to achieve your goals quickly.
This is where a store audit helps. To stand out, conduct an audit that is tailored to your industry, business type, values, culture, and goals. A Shopify store audit by an experienced professional can provide a new perspective on your store and generate new ideas to propel you to the next level.
What Happens During a Shopify Store Audit?
A Shopify store audit is a comprehensive analysis of your entire store, including industry trends and competitors. Store audits typically include an evaluation process, exploration of the front-end and back-end, a write-up, and a meeting to discuss the audit results.
For example, here’s a quick step-by-step process that most audit experts and agencies consider while doing an audit:
1. A Quick Discovery Call
Most audit experts start by discussing your company, audit goals, business plan, user behavior, and other details. This forms the foundation of the audit. The audit and recommendations will always be related to the feasibility and history of your specific business and goals.
2. Industry Analysis
After learning about your business, they conduct research on your industry and competitors. This is critical for tracking larger industry trends and how your competitors are addressing similar problems to yours. This is an excellent way to gain a comprehensive understanding of where your industry is going and how your business fits into it.
3. A Deep Dive into Your Store
These audit experts will look into the current issues you’ve mentioned and examine every aspect of your Shopify store to identify inefficiencies. First, we assess your storefront and test the user experience. Then, we assess your sales pipeline to determine if any bottlenecks or areas that are confusing to customers. Finally, they’ll evaluate your admin dashboard for performance and review your theme code, Shopify apps, and other factors that influence website speed.
4. Write-up
After testing and gathering data, these experts will create an audit document that is specific to you. It contains the issues they discovered, the suggestions they made, and how they believe it will improve your site and help you achieve your objectives. It also relates to what your competitors and the wider industry are doing.
5. One-on-one Consultation
Finally, after all is done, it ends with a meeting to review the document. These experts will provide examples, explain their points of view, and respond to any questions you may have. This helps in giving you a complete picture and hand over our analysis.
What to Do Before Getting a Shopify Store Audit
Before contacting professionals to conduct an audit of your store, you should have a clear goal in mind. Is your main issue retention, high bounce rate, or low conversion? Are you having trouble figuring out how to expand your offerings sustainably? Or are you not receiving traffic to your website and don’t know why? Without a goal, an audit becomes a general guide rather than a tailored document for future decision-making.
How to Find Someone Reliable for Your Shopify Store Audit?
Many agencies and individuals provide comprehensive Shopify store auditing services. One of the main resources is the Shopify Experts platform. It contains a directory of hundreds of approved agencies around the world.
No matter who you choose, be prepared to provide information about your store. Important reports to provide include customer profiles, sales, and analytics. It speeds up the discovery process to determine if you are a good fit and if your objectives are reasonable.
Here are three things to keep in mind when evaluating Shopify audit agencies:
1. Are they aware of your industry and business model?
Someone who works primarily with DTC brands may lack the context and overall experience required to serve you if you are a B2B or wholesale business and vice versa. It is critical to ensure that your audit agency or expert is knowledgeable about your industry. They will naturally learn more about you and your business model during the evaluation process, but having some context and background information can help everyone get started on the right track.
2. How long have they worked in e-commerce?
Someone who has been immersed in the e-commerce world will have a better understanding of cutting-edge technology and strategies used by other companies. One of the most valuable aspects of an audit is that the auditor can apply their experience working with other clients to your business in ways you hadn’t considered.
3. Do they give a clear explanation of their process?
The company should ideally describe its site audit process on its website so that you can determine whether it meets your expectations. It should demonstrate that they have foresight, auditing experience, and can provide sound advice. You may discover during the process that you are looking for a different type of audit service or want to focus on a more specific aspect of your business, such as SEO.
Conclusion
Site audits can be an effective tool for moving your business forward. Customized advice tailored to your specific goals is an invaluable resource that will save you time, money, and effort in the long run. Hopefully, after reading these tips, you’ll understand the process of a store audit, how to find the right person to conduct it, and how to use the information to improve your business.
Namaste UI collaborates closely with clients to develop tailored guest posting strategies that align with their unique goals and target audiences. Their commitment to delivering high-quality, niche-specific content ensures that each guest post not only meets but exceeds the expectations of both clients and the hosting platforms. Connect with us on social media for the latest updates on guest posting trends, outreach strategies, and digital marketing tips. For any types of guest posting services, contact us on info[at]namasteui.com.