Why We Stopped Giving Away Audits

Why We Stopped Giving Away Our Audits - and What You May Want to Consider Before Signing Up for That Free SEO Site Audit 

I remember it quite clearly. It was just sitting there on the brown tray the young lady was holding up to the window. It seemed so innocuous at the time. A miniature version of itself. That tiny, free sample of Starbucks' green tea frappuccino. 

Obviously this example of a free sample worked. As I sucked in that free frappuccino, it was also sucking me into wanting more. This works for Starbucks. I'm sure an article (or book) has already been written about their tactics so I'm not going to do the hard math. Let's say the barista makes a venti or trenta (31oz) frappuccino and they can split that into 10 or more tiny sample sized cups. 

We'll also say that trenta cup is going to cost a customer $7. I'm just guessing. So, for $7 they have the potential to hook 10 current customers on a new drink. Let's also say that the smallest size that isn't the kids size is the tall and this will cost $5. Starbucks has potentially given away $7 worth of product to get $35 back in purchases for a net of $28.

Needless to say, most of us are not running a Starbucks brand. So should we be giving away our services to hook customers? 

Many small businesses would argue that they need to give away services like Starbucks gives away frappuccino samples in order to attract new customers, and build social proof and awareness with reviews. I say it depends on your business. 

Since my business is a service based business, internet marketing and SEO, I'm going to talk about what we were giving away and why we realized we shouldn't. More on that later. 

Ah yes, the FREE SEO AUDIT. There are good reasons to give away an audit and there are just as many legitimate businesses that provide them. 

In my business, giving away an audit is typically done to gain leads.

Just fill in your name and email and you get a "customized" *cough *cough  site audit. This works great for certain businesses and certain customers. This is great for businesses that need leads to pull into their sales funnel so they can provide a bevy of other services to the customer. 

This also works great for customers that are looking for a quick, easy, and free solution to something they don't see needing an investment of their time and money.

"But Jason", you're saying, "as a business owner I want to pull customers into my sales funnel and provide more services. Giving away a free audit has only helped my business." Or you're saying, "But Jason, why should I pay someone to do a site audit for my business if I can get one for free? I'm a small business, I don't have money to burn."

Ok, let's talk about what's become the typical Free Site Audit from both sides of the experience.

Before I dive in, I'm going to assume that, as a business owner, you understand a little about Search Engine Optimization and what it means. If you need more clarification on the practice of SEO, you can learn more in my article "SEO - Without All the Geek Speak."

First I'll address the business owners wanting a free site audit. 

Did you know most free site audits run on auto-pilot? There are several companies that provide their services to internet marketers and SEOs for white labeling. There's a list of them HERE. This means they run the audit behind the scenes and the business you gave your information to gets to put their logo on the report. 

The business you gave your information to is paying monthly or yearly for the service that provides the audits and for the right to put their logo on the reports. Now they have your information and it's in their best interest to contact you to make all of those necessary SEO changes a reality. 

The reports most of these services provide are technical in nature but, you have a few like Yext or Ranking Coach who focus on directory listings and reviews. These reports will tell you hundreds of online directories your site isn't listed on with the recommendation of getting listed.

It gets better. In the case of services like Yext and Ranking Coach, you'll pay a monthly fee for the service, with a markup, but could end up doing the work yourself!

While these audits focus only on being able to drive traffic to your site, they aren't usually technical in nature. 

Some of the technical reports you can get for free are good but, they are also automated and run through software that spits out the technical aspects of your site. This means no one really needs to look at your site or get to know your business to provide a Free site audit.

Now, for business owners providing Free SEO Audits...

We have to admit that in our field there are many shady businesses and business practices. 

More than that, there are so many web designers that have started offering SEO and SEOs that began offering web design and other services to keep up with customer demand.

We try to be all things to all people. 

While we all should focus on scaling our businesses, sustained growth is what will keep us in business. Once we start venturing into new territory and assuring our customers we're experts in something we're not, we've taken the first step toward closing our doors. 

Ask yourself if SEO is what you truly enjoy or did you decide to offer Free site audits to get more leads and a piece of the SEO pie?

Are you trying to provide customers with unparalleled knowledge and experience with their best interest in mind or are you simply giving them just another site audit they can get anywhere?

Are you taking advantage of customers' lack of SEO knowledge and doing as little as possible to move them up a space or two in the SERPS so you can keep that residual income?

What's even worse, are you telling your customers not to use other SEOs saying "they don't know what they're doing" even though you're expertise is web design, social media management, or running PPC ads?

In the spirit of full disclosure, my business, IM Einstein, also uses software (many in fact) to produce SEO site audits. I don't know a SEO that doesn't. The difference is, we study the report. We study the website and it's architecture. We're looking for what's missing from the report as well as what's already there that isn't important. We take time to get to know your business and what your customers are looking for.

In short, we are the human element that can explain and execute a thorough site audit. Our audit can take 10, 15, sometimes 20 or more hours to complete. 
Would you, a small business owner, allocate that much FREE time to a project with the objective of handing over a step-by-step guide for a successfully optimized website?

We realized that we weren't just giving away a report, we were giving away our time and a DIY blueprint. Essentially, we were giving away our business. 

We don't do business like the unscrupulous car mechanics you hear about that fix one thing only to set other things up for failure. We didn't give away audits just to sell customers new websites or hosting. 

It became clear that we needed to charge for our time. Since the audit and implementation plan can be taken to anyone, our audit is free from biased revenue generating funnels or schemes aimed at getting customers to pay us a percentage of their revenue. 

If you're a business that provides a service, consider what you're actually giving away for free. Are a few extra leads or reviews worth it?

In the case of giving away a free site audit, it depends. In our case it was no longer worth it. In the case of a business that does little to no work preparing the audit, maybe it is worth the risk.

I say it's a risk because, eventually, the customer is going to figure out they're not getting what was promised. They're going to figure out that they didn't hire an expert. They're going to figure out why they were kept from seeking help from another SEO; because it would shed light on these facts.

The entire business will suffer because, not only are you giving away your time, albeit very little time, you're starting to give away your reputation. 

Business owners looking for Free SEO Audits, please understand that SEO is a process. It takes time. It takes knowledge. It should be considered just as much an investment in your business as hiring someone to build your website or make your logo. As the old adage goes, "You get what you pay for".

If you're looking to hire an SEO, ask them if they test their optimization efforts or if they're just regurgitating what they read on a popular blog. Ask them if you can take their audit and plan to any SEO to do the work. If they answer yes to both, you're probably in good hands. 

If they answer no to both, thank them for their time and find the nearest exit. 

Business owners providing SEO, please take care of your clients. Don't offer SEO if you're just guessing or believe it doesn't really work. There's enough business out there for everyone. Let's not soil the reputation of good SEOs by doing shady business. If you're expertise is web design, don't spread yourself thin trying to provide 10 other services when you could use that energy to kick the pants off other web designers. 

Take care of your customers. Take care of yourselves. Don't give away the farm. Live long and prosper.