What the score is actually for

The audit rolls a multi-signal analysis into one number. That number is useful for exactly two things, and misleading for most others.

What it is good for

Tracking your own progress. Compare your score to your own score three months ago. Movement is meaningful, because the analysis is consistent.

Directing attention. The factors underneath tell you where the weakness is. The score's real job is to get you to look at them.

What it is not

Not a competitor comparison. Sites of different types score differently by nature — a content site and a small store are not measured against the same expectations, and reading across is misleading.

Not a target to maximise. Some factors depend on things you will not change, and pushing a number for its own sake is effort not spent on customers.

Not a ranking prediction. It measures marketing health across technical SEO, on-page, tracking, trust, search visibility, brand presence and social. Search rankings depend on that plus competition, intent and a great deal you do not control.

Why a good site can score lower than expected

Because it is multi-signal. A site with excellent content and no tracking, or strong SEO and no brand presence, scores below its owner's expectation — and that gap is the finding, not a fault in the measurement. See What the marketing audit checks.

How to use it in practice

Run it, ignore the number, work down the failing factors, and use the score only to check you are moving in the right direction over months rather than days. See Working through your audit findings.

Next: open your report, scroll past the score, and start with the lowest-scoring factor.