Strategy and audit - before we build anything
We don't start with "what should the website look like?". We start with what you already have, what your competitors have, who your customer is and what that customer is looking for. Only then does it become clear what's worth building, and sometimes also what isn't.
Four steps before the quote
Every project at KRESKA STUDIO starts with an audit, not with a design. The order is always the same.
- A conversation. What you sell, to whom, where your customers come from today and what's bothering you about it
- An audit of what you have. Website, shop, Google Business Profile, reviews, social media profiles, logo, materials
- A competitor audit. Who ranks higher, why, and what exactly they do better
- The target audience. Who really makes the buying decision and which words they use when searching
What we check in the audit
The audit is a list of specifics, not a general assessment. Among other things, we check:
whether the website is visible to Google and AI at all, and whether a setting forbids them from reading it, such as a ban left over from the test version
A website can accidentally block Google and AI from reading it. The most common causes:
- A ban in the
robots.txtfile. The lineDisallow: /tells Google's crawlers "don't go anywhere". It's often left over from the test version of the site. - A
noindextag. A single line in the page code or a server header. Google visits the page but doesn't show it. In WordPress it's one tickbox, "Discourage search engines from indexing this site", which the developer ticks during the build and forgets to untick. - A wrong canonical address. The page tells Google that its proper version is at a different address, for example the address of the test version. Google then indexes that address or none at all.
- Blocked AI crawlers. The
robots.txtfile or the server's security settings shut out the crawlers of ChatGPT, Claude or Perplexity. The website is in Google, but AI can't read it or quote it. - Other leftovers from the build. A password on the site, broken redirects or content that doesn't display without JavaScript, so some crawlers see a blank page.
In a browser the website works normally, so the owner usually notices nothing. It only shows up in Google Search Console or in the code.
- A ban in the
whether every service you sell has its own page, or whether they're all lumped together on the home page
Google and AI match a specific page to a question, not the whole website. If "roof repair" and "gutter installation" are described in two paragraphs on the home page, neither service stands a chance of ranking high for its own search term. A separate page for each service is a separate chance to win a customer.
whether the content answers the questions customers actually ask
We check whether the website answers the questions customers ask on the phone and type into Google: how much it costs, how long it takes, whether you cover their town, what's included in the price. A website that answers them appears more often in search results and AI answers, and customers call having already made up their minds.
whether the Google Business Profile has the right category, a full list of services, recent photos and fresh reviews
The primary category decides which searches the profile shows up for at all. Missing services, old photos and reviews from a year ago tell customers and Google that the business may have closed. The profile is often the first thing a customer sees before they visit the website.
whether the name, address and phone number are the same everywhere the business appears online
Google and AI compare business details from different places: the website, the Google Business Profile, Facebook and business directories. If one place shows an old address and another a different phone number, they don't know which details are true and show the business less often. And a customer who reaches an out-of-date number won't call a second time.
whether the website is readable for AI models: structured data, consistent facts, an llms.txt file
Structured data is a description of the business in the page code that machines can read without guessing: name, address, opening hours, services. Consistent facts mean the website doesn't give different opening hours or prices in two places, because then AI doesn't know which version to believe. The llms.txt file is a short summary of the business written with AI models in mind.
how the website behaves on a phone and how quickly it opens
Customers of local businesses mostly visit websites on their phones. We check whether the text can be read without zooming, whether buttons are easy to tap with a finger and whether the phone number dials when tapped. We also measure loading time, because a page that takes several seconds to open loses some visitors before they see anything.
Alongside this, we audit your competitors. Not to copy them, but to find the places where they are weak: services nobody has described well, towns where nobody is going after customers, and questions nobody answers. That's where customers are easiest and cheapest to win.
What you get at the end
The audit ends with a list of problems in order of importance, a proposed strategy and a concrete quote. It isn't a presentation about how important it is to be online.
The strategy answers three questions: what we build or fix first, what can wait until the second stage, and what we don't do at all, because in your situation it wouldn't pay off. Sometimes we recommend a smaller scope than the one you came to us for.
How payment works
You pay for the build once, at the start. The monthly plan for ongoing care is optional, and its cost depends on what your business needs. These are two separate items and can't be confused on the invoice.
The one-off fee covers everything created at the start: the audit, strategy, a logo if you don't have one, the website or shop, SEO, AEO and GEO, and tidied-up social media profiles. The amount depends on the scope and is set after the audit, not taken from a ready-made price list. The highest quotes are for Shopify stores with a large number of products.
The monthly plan starts with hosting and maintenance alone. You add only what you really need: social media management, monthly content and, for a large shop, monitoring and technical on-call support. You know the cost of the plan when you get the project quote, so from the outset you know what it will cost over three years, not just at the start.
You don't rent your website from us: once the project is paid for, the domain, code and content belong to your business. The monthly plan is optional and fitted to your needs, and cancelling it doesn't take your site down.
When an audit is enough
Some businesses only need the audit: they have their own IT person or agency and want an independent assessment of what they're getting for their money. We do audits like this, with no obligation to work together afterwards.
We described a model example in the article a locksmith's Google Business Profile audit.
Common questions about strategy and audits
How long does an audit take?
From a few days to two weeks, depending on how much there is to check: website, shop, Google Business Profile, social media profiles. An audit of a business with no website and no Google Business Profile is quick. An audit of a shop with a thousand products and a history of SEO work takes longer.
Is the audit paid for separately?
If it leads to a project, it's part of the one-off fee for the build. If you only want the audit, with no further work together, we quote it separately.
What if the audit shows I don't need a new website?
Then we'll tell you so. A common outcome of an audit is a recommendation to fix the existing website rather than build a new one: it costs less and shows results sooner.
Sometimes we also recommend not investing in a website for now and sorting out the Google Business Profile first, because in some local industries that is what brings in most of the calls.
Do I need materials ready before the audit?
No. For the audit, access to what already exists and one conversation are enough. Photos and copy are only needed at the build stage, and they are usually what decides the timeline.
Do you analyse competitors in other countries?
Yes, if it matters for your market. The studio works with clients all over the world, so we match the scope of the analysis to where you actually compete.
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