Google’s Ecommerce Site Audit tool

Over the last few years, Google has launched more & & more easy website audit tools. Lighthouse, Pagespeed Insights (complete with API), the revamped Search Console, and more.

We also know that internally they utilize ‘playbooks’ –– rough heuristics to help site owners judge the quality of their websites.

Now they have introduced ‘Grow My Shop’ –– an easy tool particularly targeted at e-commerce websites, to assist website owners comprehend whether their website ticks a few of the boxes Google judge as essential to e-commerce customers:

The tool is available to all at https:// growmystore.thinkwithgoogle.com ( part of the ‘Think with Google’ suite, where they’ve attempted to look at tools like this, Google Trends, Alerts, the Consumer Barometer, Google Surveys, etc).

On using the tool, you’re required to offer an email address, the URL of the store you wish to audit (note: there’s no verification that you have any relationship with the shop, so it appears you can carry these out on rivals too). After a few minutes, you then get an email connecting to your results.

How the results break down

Outcomes break down into 6 areas at the moment:

• Item info
  • Item details (are products noted & & explained?)
  • Item rankings/ reviews (do you include ratings/reviews?)
  • Product search (do you have a search/filtering tool in place?)
  • Product costs (are rates listed?)
• Personalization
  • Personalized accounts (can users register for accounts)
  • Wishlist (do you have a wishlist/favorites alternative?)
• Flexible fulfillment
  • Basket (can users add/remove/amend a basket)
  • Next day shipment (do you offer it as an option? even with an additional charge, it seems Google prioritize this as a favorable)
  • Free returns
  • Numerous payment methods
• Client service
  • Contact phone (is a contact number visible?)
  • Live chat (do you provide a live chat function)
  • Returns policy (is it noticeable?)
  • Social network (do you list at least 2 social networks channels?)
• Security
  • HTTPS (do you have it in location?)
• Mobile
  • Mobile speed (how quick is your website when rendered on mobile? This essentially links off to testmysite.withgoogle.com)
  • Mobile-friendly (is your site easy to use on a mobile? Which links off to masterfulmobile.withgoogle.com)

As you can see from the above –– a few of these are rather arbitrary (if you’re making bespoke products, maybe ‘next day delivery’ is of no interest to your customers, for instance), and some are tips off to other audits/information tools Google currently have in location.

The tool also offers you an overall rating (oddly this doesn’t rather accumulate. The website listed below scored 12/17, which is nearer 70% than 74, suggesting a weighting is included)

In a number of places where we evaluated, Google seemed to get the answer incorrect (for example, one site with a live chat function, Google was not able to select that up; one website with a fairly prominent contact number, Google missed the telephone number). Even this is perhaps useful, as lets you know that despite the fact that you have the performance on your website, Google itself was unable to recognize it. There’s no idea that these components are particularly used in Google’s primary search algorithm, however –– as a merchant –– why chance it if you have the function & & Google, show it is very important?

On investigating this, Google discusses that the tool is basically based on keyword scraping, which would explain some of the incorrect negatives:

Overall, the ‘Grow My Store’ tool is relatively basic, however still useful: a good, basic method for categorizing some changes you might make to an e-commerce website that Google might view as being broadly favorable.

Have a look if you have not already: https://growmystore.thinkwithgoogle.com