Free Marketing Audit in Dayton, OH: Find out what's working, what's wasted and what to fix first.
Our free marketing audit reviews your Google Ads, SEO, local search, AI search readiness, competitors, website and tracking. You get a written report with prioritized recommendations and a 30-minute call with the strategist who did the review, from our base in Springboro, about 20 minutes south of Dayton.
A clear look at how customers find you, and where the leads slip away.
A marketing audit is a structured review of how your business gets found and chosen online: your ads, your search visibility, your website and the tracking that tells you what's actually working.
Ours is a digital marketing audit built for local and regional businesses. It covers the places Dayton-area customers look before they call: Google search, Google Maps, paid ads and AI assistants like ChatGPT. Then it follows them onto your website to see whether the path to a call or form fill holds up.
It's free, and there's no pitch baked in. The review is done by the strategist who'd do the work, with 20+ years of digital marketing experience, including work on Google's international expansion. You get plain-English findings in priority order, whether you fix them yourself, hand them to your team or ask us for help.
Seven checks, one written report, one call.
Google Ads account health check
If you run Google Ads, we review conversion tracking, search terms, negative keywords, Quality Score, ad strength and campaign settings to find spend that isn't turning into leads.
SEO visibility and keyword gaps
Which searches you show up for today, which ones competitors rank for that you don't, and the technical issues that stop pages from being crawled and indexed.
Local search presence
Your Google Business Profile, categories, reviews and how consistent your business name, address and phone number are across listings, so you can see what's holding back your map pack visibility.
AI search readiness check
Whether AI assistants like ChatGPT and Google's AI Overviews can reach your pages, and whether your site clearly answers the questions customers ask before they hire someone like you.
Competitor positioning
Who you're up against on your key search terms and in the map pack, and how their offer and messaging compare with yours.
Website conversion path
The route from landing on your site to calling or filling out a form: headlines, calls to action, forms, mobile experience and page speed.
Analytics and conversion tracking review
Whether GA4 and your ad accounts record the calls and form fills you actually get, so every decision rests on real numbers.
Written report with prioritized recommendations
Plain-English findings for each area, with recommendations in priority order so you know what to do first and what can wait.
30-minute strategy call
We walk you through the report, answer your questions and talk through next steps. You'll talk to the person who did the review, not a sales rep.
SEO audit for Dayton businesses: what we check
An SEO audit checks whether Google can find, crawl and understand your site, which searches you show up for, and what's keeping you out of the map pack. Ours is part of the free marketing audit, so you don't pay for a separate report.
We start with what Google itself recommends checking. Its SEO Starter Guide suggests a site: search to see whether your pages are in the index, and Search Console to monitor how your site performs in Google Search. From there we look at the pages that matter most to your business and the searches your customers actually make.
For local visibility, Google says local results are based mainly on relevance, distance and prominence, and that businesses with complete and accurate information are more likely to show up in local search results. So we review your Business Profile alongside your website.
If you want help with the fixes after the audit, that's the ongoing work of our SEO service.
- Indexing: whether your important pages are in Google's index and eligible to show
- Page titles, headings and site structure on your key service and location pages
- Core Web Vitals, measured against Google's targets: LCP within 2.5 seconds, INP under 200 milliseconds and CLS under 0.1
- Keyword gaps: searches competitors rank for that you don't
- Google Business Profile categories, details, photos and reviews
- Consistency of your business name, address and phone number across directories
Google Ads audit and PPC audit: where ad spend leaks
A Google Ads audit checks whether your account tracks real leads, shows your ads for the right searches and sends people to pages that convert.
Tracking comes first, because everything else depends on it. Google says conversions show which keywords, ads and campaigns bring in valuable activity, and its Smart Bidding strategies use that conversion data to set bids. If the tracking counts the wrong thing, or misses phone calls, the account optimizes toward the wrong goal.
Next we read the search terms report, which Google describes as the way to see how your ads performed when triggered by actual searches. Irrelevant searches there are the usual candidates for negative keywords.
If you want ongoing management after the audit, that's our Google Ads management service.
- Conversion tracking: what counts as a conversion and whether calls and forms are recorded
- Search terms report: the real searches your budget paid for
- Negative keywords and match types
- Quality Score components: expected clickthrough rate, ad relevance and landing page experience, which Google treats as a diagnostic rather than an auction input
- Ad strength on responsive search ads, which Google rates from Incomplete to Excellent based on keyword relevance, headline and description variety and sitelinks
- Location, network and schedule settings, plus the landing pages each campaign sends traffic to
Marketing audit vs SEO audit vs website audit
A marketing audit covers every channel that brings in leads, while an SEO audit, PPC audit or website audit each look at one piece. Our free audit covers all of them in one review, so the findings line up instead of contradicting each other.
| Audit type | What it looks at | In our free audit |
|---|---|---|
| Digital marketing audit | All your online channels together: ads, search, local listings, website and tracking | Yes, this is the whole audit |
| SEO audit | Indexing, technical health, on-page content and keyword gaps in Google search | Yes, as SEO visibility and keyword gaps |
| Local SEO audit | Google Business Profile, reviews, map pack visibility and consistent listings | Yes, as local search presence |
| Google Ads audit (PPC audit) | Conversion tracking, search terms, keywords, Quality Score, ad strength and settings | Yes, if you run Google Ads |
| Website audit | Speed, mobile experience, calls to action, forms and the path to a lead | Yes, as the website conversion path |
| Analytics audit | Whether GA4 and ad platforms record real leads | Yes, as the tracking review |
| AI search readiness check | Whether AI assistants can reach your pages and find clear answers about your business | Yes |
When a marketing audit makes sense for a small business
The best time for a marketing audit is right before you spend more, change direction or hire someone. An audit gives you a baseline, so you can tell later whether the change worked.
- Before you raise your ad budget or start a new campaign
- When calls and form fills drop and you can't tell why
- After a website redesign, a new domain or a platform change
- Before you hire a marketing agency, or when you're thinking about switching
- When you've added services or service areas and want to be found for them
- When you don't trust the numbers in your reports
How the free marketing audit works
You ask, we review, you get a written plan and a call to go through it.
- 01
Request your audit
Use the contact form or call (937) 234-7591. We respond within one business day.
- 02
Share what we need
Your website and, if you have them, view access to your Google Ads, GA4 and Search Console accounts. Each platform has a view-only access level, so nothing can be changed.
- 03
We review
Google Ads, SEO, local search, AI search readiness, competitors, your website and your tracking.
- 04
Written report
Findings for each area and recommendations in priority order, in plain English.
- 05
30-minute strategy call
We walk you through it and answer your questions.
- 06
Your call
Act on it yourself, or ask us for a quote. Ongoing work is month-to-month, with no long-term contract.
What's in your audit report
Written for the person who runs the business, not for marketers. Every finding says what it means and what to do about it.
- Findings for each area we reviewed
- Recommendations in priority order
- Tracking gaps that make your current numbers unreliable
- How you compare with the competitors you meet in search
- Next steps you can take with or without us
How marketing audit pricing works
The marketing audit is free. There's no charge for the review, the written report or the 30-minute call, and no obligation afterward.
If you want help with what it finds, pricing for the ongoing work depends on scope and comes after the audit. Every retainer is month-to-month, with no long-term contract.
Get my free audit →Questions about marketing audits
What is a marketing audit?
A marketing audit is a structured review of how your business attracts and converts customers, showing what's working, what's wasting money and what to fix first. A digital marketing audit focuses on online channels such as Google Ads, search rankings, your Google Business Profile, your website and your tracking. Ours ends with a written report and a 30-minute call to walk through it.
What does a marketing audit include?
Our free marketing audit includes a Google Ads account health check, SEO visibility and keyword gaps, local search presence, an AI search readiness check, competitor positioning, your website conversion path and an analytics and conversion tracking review. You get a written report with prioritized recommendations and a 30-minute strategy call. If you don't run Google Ads, we skip that part and spend the time on the rest.
How much does a marketing audit cost?
Our marketing audit is free, including the written report and the 30-minute call. If you want help with what it finds, the cost of ongoing work depends on scope: how many channels you need, how competitive your market is and how much needs fixing first. We quote that after the audit, as a month-to-month retainer with no long-term contract.
Is a free marketing audit worth it?
A free marketing audit is worth it if it's specific to your business and gives you a prioritized list you can act on. Be wary of an automated report with a score and no explanation. Ours is done by the strategist who would do the work, covers your ads, search, website and tracking together, and comes with a call where you can ask questions. There's no obligation to hire us afterward.
Do you do SEO audits in Dayton?
Yes. Our SEO audit is part of the free marketing audit for Dayton-area businesses and covers indexing, technical health, page titles and structure, Core Web Vitals, keyword gaps and your Google Business Profile. We're based in Springboro, about 20 minutes south of Dayton, and work with businesses across the Dayton region.
What is a Google Ads audit?
A Google Ads audit, also called a PPC audit, is a review of your ad account to find spend that isn't producing leads. It checks conversion tracking, the search terms that triggered your ads, negative keywords, Quality Score components, ad strength and campaign settings. Tracking matters most, because Google's Smart Bidding uses conversion data to set bids.
What's the difference between a marketing audit and an SEO audit?
An SEO audit looks only at how you show up in organic search, while a marketing audit looks at every channel that brings in leads. A marketing audit includes SEO, plus paid ads, local listings, competitors, your website's conversion path and your tracking. Our free audit covers all of it in one report.
What is a local SEO audit?
A local SEO audit checks how visible your business is in Google Maps and local search results. It reviews your Google Business Profile, categories, reviews and how consistent your business details are across listings. Google says local results are based mainly on relevance, distance and prominence, and that complete and accurate business information helps you show up.
How long does a marketing audit take?
We respond within one business day of your request to get the audit started. How long the review takes depends on what you run, since an account with Google Ads, a website and a Business Profile has more to check than a website alone. We'll tell you when to expect the written report when we set up your 30-minute call.
What do I need to provide for a marketing audit?
To start, we need your website address and the services and areas you want to grow. If you run Google Ads or use GA4 and Search Console, view access to those accounts lets us check tracking and performance properly. Each of those platforms has a view-only access level, read-only in Google Ads, Viewer in GA4 and restricted user in Search Console, so nothing in your accounts can be changed.
Do I need to run Google Ads to get a marketing audit?
No. If you don't run Google Ads, we skip the account health check and focus on SEO, local search, AI search readiness, competitors, your website and your tracking. If you're thinking about starting ads, the audit is a good place to find out whether your tracking and landing pages are ready first.
Does the audit check whether ChatGPT and Google AI Overviews can find my business?
Yes, the AI search readiness check looks at whether AI assistants can reach your pages and whether your site clearly answers what customers ask. Google says there are no extra requirements or special markup needed to appear in AI Overviews, but a page must be indexed and eligible to show with a snippet. OpenAI says sites that block its OAI-SearchBot crawler are left out of ChatGPT search answers, so we check that too.
How often should you do a marketing audit?
There's no official schedule, so tie it to change: before you raise ad spend, after a website redesign or migration, when leads drop, or before you hire or switch agencies. If you run paid ads, check tracking and search terms more often than the rest.
Do you do marketing audits for businesses outside Dayton?
We're based in Springboro and focus on the Dayton region: Dayton, Centerville, Kettering, Miamisburg, Springboro and nearby communities. If you're based elsewhere in Ohio, get in touch and we'll tell you honestly whether we're a fit.
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We'll review your Google Ads, SEO, local and AI search, website and tracking, then walk you through a written plan on a 30-minute call. We respond within one business day.
Get my free audit →