Digital Footprint (DFP) Audit for China
How does your brand's digital presence in China really compare with your competitors? We score your website, WeChat, social and trade media, Baidu and AI search on a 100-point framework, and hand you a prioritized action list.
Why start with a Digital Footprint audit
Customers in China discover brands differently. They search on Baidu and Bing (together about 68% of China search), follow and message brands on WeChat (1.439 billion monthly users for Weixin and WeChat), increasingly ask Doubao or DeepSeek directly (Doubao: 419 million monthly users), and check reputation on Douyin, industry sites and trade media.
B2B buyers are also about 70% through their journey before they first contact a supplier. How you look on these platforms is your first impression — and often decides whether you make the shortlist.
Yet we often see fragmented reports from platforms, agencies and tools; metrics with no competitor or market context; Western assumptions applied to China's ecosystem; and headquarters wanting answers fast. A Digital Footprint audit gives you a clear picture before you commit more budget.
The question DFP answers
DFP answers one simple, strategic question: “What does our digital presence in China really look like — compared to our competitors?”
It is neither a pure technical audit nor a media performance report. It is a decision-oriented diagnosis: the same yardstick for you and your competitors, showing risks, gaps and opportunities, and what to do first.
Our framework: three dimensions, 100 points
We break a brand's digital footprint in China into three dimensions, each scored as excellent, moderate or poor, for 100 points in total — and score every competitor the same way:
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01
Core channels (30 points)
Website: ICP filing, speed, mobile experience, working forms and contact paths. WeChat ecosystem: service and subscription account setup, trademark protection, menus and auto-replies, Mini Programs, Channels, SCRM and lead capture. Platforms your audience uses: whether Douyin, Toutiao, Baidu Baike, industry and trade-media accounts are verified and active.
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02
Content (20 points)
Variety of content types (products, cases, technical material, video, interactive displays), update frequency, quality and visual consistency, clarity of core messages, and whether offline trade fairs, forums and trainings carry through online.
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03
Search engines and AI (50 points)
Baidu SEO: indexing, backlinks and domain authority, relevance of results for brand and product keywords. SEM: brand zone and paid search activity. AI recognition: whether DeepSeek, Doubao and other assistants describe your brand accurately — and recommend it.
Competitor benchmarking and best practices
We usually benchmark 3–4 main competitors on the same framework, so the gaps are obvious:
- Overall and dimension scorecards: a one-page summary per brand, strengths and weaknesses side by side
- Channel-by-channel analysis: website, WeChat, social and trade media, Baidu and AI answers, each with screenshots
- Platform pros and cons: what professional vertical platforms, offline events and social platforms do well or poorly, to guide where resources go
- Best practices: approaches worth borrowing from competitors and the industry, such as content hubs, video and 3D displays, customer magazines and dedicated service accounts
From findings to action: priorities and a pilot
An audit is only as good as what follows. A matrix analysis ranks recommendations by impact and effort in three groups:
- Quick wins: fix website errors and forms, verify and clean up social accounts, launch SCRM lead capture and auto-replies
- Mid-term: obtain ICP filing, add a Mini Program, send paid traffic to a brand environment you control
- Long-term: connect ad data to CRM, build loyalty and referral programs
We also propose a roughly 3-month pilot (POC) campaign — audience, content, channels and sales follow-up — to test the direction on a small scale before scaling up.
Project deliverables
At the end of the audit we deliver a full Digital Footprint report (PPT) including:
- Objectives and method, plus 100-point overall and dimension scorecards for you and each competitor
- A one-page summary per brand, with quantitative scores and qualitative analysis by channel
- Competitor and industry best practices
- A recommendation matrix ranked as quick wins, mid-term and long-term
- A pilot campaign plan of about 3 months
The report is available in English or Chinese, with a presentation to your leadership team.
After the audit: a China digital roadmap
Digital Footprint is the starting point of a China digital roadmap; every next step builds on its facts:
- Know your buyers: a persona workshop to clarify who decides and what they care about
- Get found: close the gaps found in SEO and SEM
- Get recommended by AI: fix weak AI recognition with GEO
- Keep the leads: turn WeChat into a nurturing platform with SCRM and marketing automation
What to have ready before we start
The better prepared you are, the more focused the audit. Anything missing we can sort out together in the first call:
- Competitors: the 3–4 main competitors you most want to benchmark
- Your channels: website, WeChat accounts and Mini Program, Channels, Douyin and other account names
- Business focus: key product lines, target industries and customers
- Business goal: the decision this audit should support — market entry, faster growth or repositioning
- Existing data (optional): web analytics, ad accounts or CRM data for deeper analysis
- Audience: the leaders who will hear the findings, plus an internal contact
Key Data & Sources
| Data | Value | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Combined MAU of Weixin and WeChat (30 June 2026) | 1.439 billion | www.tencent.com |
| China search engine market share, all platforms (Sept 2026): Baidu / Bing | 46.65% / 21.76% | gs.statcounter.com |
| Doubao monthly active users (Sept 2026) | 419 million | www.questmobile.com.cn |
| Share of the buying journey done before B2B buyers contact a supplier | ~70% | www.demandgenreport.com |
FAQ
How is a Digital Footprint audit different from an SEO audit?
An SEO audit only looks at how your website performs in search. A Digital Footprint audit covers your website, WeChat, social and trade media, content, Baidu and AI search, benchmarked against competitors on the same scale, so leadership can decide where to invest first.
How is the score calculated?
We split the footprint into core channels (30 points), content (20 points) and search engines & AI (50 points). Each dimension has specific criteria scored as excellent, moderate or poor, using exactly the same standard for you and your competitors so results are comparable.
How many competitors do you benchmark?
Usually 3–4 main competitors. Fewer gives no sense of the industry standard; more dilutes the depth. We agree the list with you at kickoff.
Do you need access to our website or accounts?
No. The audit is mainly based on what customers can see publicly — which is their real experience. If you can share web analytics, ad accounts or CRM data, we can go deeper.
How long does it take?
It depends on the number of channels and competitors; the timeline is agreed at kickoff, and we finish with a presentation to your leadership team.
When does a Digital Footprint audit make sense?
When you are entering China, want to accelerate growth, are repositioning, or headquarters needs an objective view of where you stand digitally in China — before deciding budgets and priorities.
What happens after the audit?
The report gives prioritized recommendations and a pilot plan of about 3 months. You can execute step by step with our persona, SEO and SEM, GEO and SCRM services, or have your own team take it forward.
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Learn more →Want to see this service in action?
Whether you are an enterprise seeking a new perspective on the Chinese market, or a professional company looking to improve marketing performance, we provide expert services and insights.
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