A digital marketing audit is the most useful thing you can do before you set next year’s budget, because it shows what is working, what is wasting money and what is missing. This year-end checklist gives you 12 checks across tracking, SEO, paid media, marketplaces and quick commerce, and data governance, so that your 2027 plan starts from evidence instead of habit. You can run most of it in a week with the data you already have.
Key takeaways (The TL;DR)
- Audit in this order: measurement first, then search, then paid media, then marketplaces and quick commerce, then data and contracts.
- Google says its generative AI search features rest on its core ranking and quality systems, so there is no special file or markup to add. Strong, helpful, indexable content remains the foundation.
- Judge every channel on profit and incremental sales, not just clicks, reach or platform-reported returns.
- Turn findings into three lists for 2027: stop, fix, and scale, and attach a budget to each.
Your 12-Point Digital Marketing Audit
For each check, give a simple rating: green (working), amber (needs attention) or red (broken or missing). The ratings feed the budget plan at the end.
Measurement
1. Goals versus results. Compare this year’s revenue, margin, new customers and repeat rate with your targets, by channel. If you cannot produce these numbers by channel, that is the first finding.
2. Tracking and key events. Check that purchases, leads and other important actions are recorded. According to Google’s Analytics help page on key events, key events measure actions that are important to your business and help evaluate the channels that lead to them, and standard properties allow up to 30 of them. Confirm they fire correctly, that duplicates are removed and that the numbers match your store or CRM.
3. Profit by channel. Replace platform-reported returns with your own view: sales minus product cost, fees, shipping, returns and ad spend. A channel that looks efficient in a dashboard may be loss-making once these are counted.
Search and Content
4. Indexing and search health. Review Search Console for pages that are not indexed, errors and your top queries. Under Google’s guide to optimising for generative AI features in Search, your pages must be indexed and eligible to appear in Search with a snippet to be considered for its generative AI features, and Search Console reporting on those features is available.
5. Speed and mobile experience. Test your key pages on mobile. Aim for good Core Web Vitals, as described in Google’s Core Web Vitals guidance, and fix the slowest templates first: home, category and product pages.
6. Content quality and freshness. List your top 20 pages by traffic or revenue and check each for accuracy, freshness and originality. Google advises offering a unique point of view, such as first-hand experience, instead of repeating what is already available. Update or merge weak pages, and note questions customers ask that you have not answered.
7. Business and product data. Check that your Google Business Profile, Merchant Center feed and marketplace listings show the same names, prices, availability and contact details. Inconsistent data confuses shoppers and search systems alike.
Paid Media
8. Account structure and ownership. Confirm that your business owns every ad account, pixel and analytics property, and that access is limited to people who need it. Review wasted spend: irrelevant search terms, overlapping campaigns and audiences, and ads sending traffic to out-of-stock products.
9. Targets versus margin. For each paid channel, compare the return on ad spend or cost of sale with your break-even point. Check attribution windows and branded versus non-branded splits before comparing platforms.
Marketplaces and Quick Commerce
10. Availability and catalogue. On Amazon, Flipkart, Blinkit, Zepto, Swiggy Instamart, Amazon Now, Flipkart Minutes and BigBasket, check stock cover and availability by city, listing quality, titles, images and pack sizes. Ads cannot fix a listing that is out of stock or poorly presented.
11. Ratings, reviews and returns. Review rating trends, common complaints and return reasons by product. Fix recurring problems at the source: packaging, descriptions or quality.
Data and Contracts
12. Consent, data and agreements. Check how customer data is collected, stored and used, including consent for WhatsApp and email, and review agreements with agencies, influencers and platforms for ownership, notice periods and responsibilities. Take legal advice on data protection duties under India’s DPDP Act. AKOI is not a law firm and this guide is not legal advice.
A Simple Audit Scorecard
| Area | Check | Rating (green, amber, red) | Action for 2027 |
| Measurement | 1 to 3 | ||
| Search and content | 4 to 7 | ||
| Paid media | 8 to 9 | ||
| Marketplaces and quick commerce | 10 to 11 | ||
| Data and contracts | 12 |
What About AI Search?
Many brands ask whether they need new tactics for AI answers. Google’s own guide says files such as llms.txt are not needed for Google Search and that there is no special schema for generative AI features, although it still recommends structured data for rich results. It also advises against chunking content or rewriting text only for AI. For your audit, that means the same basics matter: helpful, original, indexable pages, accurate business data and clear answers to real customer questions. Other AI tools may behave differently, so treat this as Google’s guidance, not a guarantee for every platform.
Turn the Audit Into a 2027 Budget
- Stop: spend on channels that are red on profit and have no fix.
- Fix: tracking, availability, listings and slow pages before adding more spend, because they raise the return on everything else.
- Scale: channels that are green on profit, in steps, with a review point after each increase.
- Test: keep a small, defined share of budget for new channels or ideas, with a clear success measure.
Review the plan quarterly and keep the audit scorecard so next year’s comparison is easy.
How AKOI Can Help
AKOI works with D2C, FMCG and ecommerce brands across India. We can run this audit with you across SEO, PPC, social media, ecommerce marketing and quick commerce, and turn the findings into a plan and budget. You can see examples in our portfolio. If you would like a second pair of eyes before you plan 2027, talk to us.
Note: audit results depend on your data and category. Platform features and guidance change, so check current documentation.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is a digital marketing audit?
It is a structured review of your marketing across tracking, search, paid media, marketplaces and data practices, to find what works, what wastes money and what is missing before you plan.
How often should I audit my digital marketing?
At least once a year, ideally before budget planning, with lighter quarterly reviews of tracking, availability and returns.
What should I check first in a digital marketing audit?
Measurement. If tracking is wrong or you cannot see profit by channel, every other decision rests on weak data.
Do I need special markup or an llms.txt file for AI search?
Google says it does not use llms.txt and that there is no special schema for its generative AI features. It advises focusing on helpful, original content that is indexed and eligible to appear with a snippet.
How long does a digital marketing audit take?
A basic audit can take about a week if you have access to your analytics, ad accounts and marketplace reports. Larger catalogues and more channels take longer.
How do I use the audit to set next year’s budget?
Sort findings into stop, fix, scale and test. Fund the fixes first, scale profitable channels in steps and keep a small share for testing.
Can AKOI run a marketing audit for my brand?
AKOI can review your channels and turn findings into a plan and budget. Contact us to discuss scope.