What a Marketing Audit Should Include (and the Leaks It Usually Finds)

Most "marketing audits" are a list of social media stats and a pitch for a retainer. A real audit follows the money: from the advert someone sees, to the page they land on, to the conversation, to the payment. It finds where money leaks out, and says what to fix first.

Here's what it should cover.

1. Goals and numbers

Before looking at anything else: what does a customer bring in, what are the margins, and what can you afford to spend to win a customer?

Without these, nobody can judge whether your marketing is working. See customer lifetime value and ROAS explained.

2. Ad account setup

• Are campaigns using the right objective? Sales or leads, not engagement or traffic. See Boost Post vs Ads Manager.
• Is the structure simple enough for the algorithm to learn?
• Is the budget enough for the goal?
• Who owns the account? It should be you.

3. Tracking

• Is the Meta Pixel installed and recording purchases or leads?
• Is the Conversions API set up?
• Are Google conversions tracking calls, forms and WhatsApp clicks?
• Do the numbers in Ads Manager roughly match your actual sales?

Broken tracking is one of the most common and most expensive problems we find. See Meta Pixel and Conversions API setup.

4. Creative

• How many genuinely different adverts are running?
• How old are they?
• Is frequency high, meaning the same people see the same advert too often? See ad fatigue.
• Do the adverts have a hook, the product, proof, an offer and one action?

5. The landing page

• Does it load fast on mobile data? See website speed and mobile data.
• Does it match what the advert promised?
• Is the action clear?
• Does it answer buyers' doubts?

6. Checkout and payment

• How many steps between "I want it" and paid?
• Can people pay with MoMo, card and on delivery?
• Are payments confirmed automatically, or by checking screenshots? See fake MoMo screenshots.
• Are people who abandon checkout reminded? See abandoned cart recovery.

7. The conversation

For businesses that sell through WhatsApp or calls, this is often where the most money is lost.

• How fast is the first reply? See speed to lead.
• What does your team say when asked the price? See how to reply to "how much?".
• Is anyone following up people who go quiet? See WhatsApp follow-up messages.

8. Trust and visibility

• What do people find when they search your name on Google?
• Is your Google Business Profile complete, with reviews? See Google reviews.
• What does ChatGPT say about you? See how to get recommended by ChatGPT.
• Does your social media page look active and trustworthy?

The leaks we find most often

In our audits of Ghanaian businesses, the same problems come up again and again:

1. The wrong campaign goal. Boosting posts or optimising for engagement.
2. Broken or missing tracking.
3. One tired advert carrying the whole budget.
4. Slow replies and no follow-up.
5. Too many steps to pay.
6. No proof on the page.

Fixing these often lifts results before a single extra cedi is spent on adverts.

What you should get at the end

• A written list of problems, in priority order.
• What each one is costing you, where it can be estimated.
• What to fix first, and how.
• A plan and fee if the agency is offering to do the work, but the audit should be useful even if you don't hire them.

Common questions

How long does a marketing audit take?

For most businesses, about a week once access is given.

Do you charge for audits?

For businesses doing GH₵ 20,000 or more a month who book a strategy call, the first audit is part of our process. See our ad account audit service.

Can I audit my own marketing?

Yes. Use this list as a checklist. The value of an outside audit is a fresh pair of eyes and experience across many accounts.