In short
- A video website audit is a 2–3 minute recording of you reviewing one prospect's site: three specific issues and one quick win they can fix today.
- It works because it proves you looked. It fails when it's generic, sent to hundreds of people, or used to mock someone's work.
- Pick a few prospects whose site you can genuinely improve, and ask before you send the video if you have no prior contact.
- Send the link to one person with a two-line message, follow up once, then let it go.
A video website audit is a short recording, about three minutes, in which you walk through a prospect’s website and point out three specific things you’d improve, plus one quick win they can fix today. You send it instead of a cold email. It works because it shows, in the first ten seconds, that you actually looked at their site.
It’s a well-known agency prospecting tactic, and it’s easy to get wrong. Done carelessly, it turns into a spam campaign with a face on it. Done well, it’s the most useful sales message a prospect will get that month.
What a video website audit is, and what it isn’t
A good audit is a piece of free, specific advice. The prospect can act on it even if they never hire you. That’s what makes them trust you enough to reply.
It is not:
- A full audit. You’re not delivering a 40-point report for free. You’re showing how you think.
- A template. If you could send the same video to another company by changing the name, it isn’t an audit.
- A teardown. Nobody hires the person who made fun of their homepage. Someone built that site, and they may be the person watching.
This is the same skill as any async video for client communication: one topic, a clear point and a clear ask. The only difference is that this client doesn’t know you yet.
When it works and when it doesn’t
The audit works best when the gap between the site and the business is visible to any visitor, and when you’re the kind of studio that can close it.
| Works well | Works badly | |
|---|---|---|
| The business | ✓ A good local business with a slow, dated or confusing site | ✗ A large company with an in-house web team |
| The site | ✓ Just launched, with obvious issues on mobile | ✗ Needs a rebuild from scratch to improve |
| Why them | ✓ They asked for feedback in public (a forum, a launch post) | ✗ They were on a bought or scraped list |
| The contact | ✓ A referral who said “have a look at their site” | ✗ A competitor of a current client |
If the honest answer to “why this company?” is “they were next on the list”, don’t record.
How to pick prospects
Spend more time choosing than recording. A handful of well-chosen prospects is worth more than a hundred videos nobody asked for.
Before you pick a prospect
- You can name a real reason for contacting them (a referral, a public request, a sector you know well).
- You can find at least three specific issues in five minutes of browsing.
- One of the issues is something they can fix today without you.
- They’re a realistic client: the size, budget and kind of work you actually do.
- You know who to send it to, by name, and you have a legitimate way to reach them.
Ask first if there’s no prior contact
If someone introduced you, or the prospect asked for feedback publicly, you can send the video straight away. If they’ve never heard of you, a two-line message asking whether they’d like it is more respectful and usually gets a better reception.
If they say no, or say nothing, you’ve lost five minutes, not your reputation. Also check the rules on unsolicited business email where you and the prospect are based: they aren’t the same everywhere, and “it was a video” doesn’t change them.
What to cover in three minutes
Use the same structure every time. It keeps you short and makes the video easy to follow.
| Time | What you say | What’s on screen |
|---|---|---|
| 0:00–0:20 | Who you are, why you looked at their site, what’s coming | Their homepage, your camera bubble |
| 0:20–2:20 | Three specific issues, one at a time, each with why it matters | The exact page, element or step |
| 2:20–2:45 | One quick win they can fix today | The setting or line of text to change |
| 2:45–3:00 | One soft ask | Their homepage again |
What makes a good issue
Pick issues that affect the prospect’s customers, not your taste. Some examples that tend to land:
- the phone number or booking button is hard to find on mobile;
- the contact form asks for eight fields and shows no confirmation after sending;
- the page that ranks for their main service is three years out of date;
- a key page takes a long time to load on a phone connection;
- the menu uses internal names (“Solutions”) where customers would look for “Prices”.
For each one, say what you saw, why it matters to their customers, and what you’d do. Leave out the how-to detail: that’s the paid work.
The quick win
End with something they can fix without you: a missing opening time, a broken link, a contact page with no email address. It proves the advice is real, and it’s the part people remember.
The ask
Keep it small. “If it’s useful, I’m happy to send a short written list of what I’d do first” is easier to say yes to than “book a call with me”. Our client video scripts include a full prospect audit script you can adapt.
How to record it
- Prepare the browser. Use a clean browser profile with no bookmarks bar, no other tabs and no extensions showing. Our guide to recording a website in the browser covers the details.
- Write three bullets. One per issue, plus the quick win. Don’t write a full script: you’ll sound like you’re reading.
- Open every page you’ll show. Put them in tabs in the right order so you don’t search on camera.
- Turn on your camera. A small bubble in a corner, away from the parts of the page you’re pointing at.
- Record in one take. If you stumble, keep going. A small mistake sounds human; a polished ad doesn’t.
- Watch it once before sending. Cut the start and end, check you said the prospect’s name right, and check nothing private is visible.
On a Mac, the built-in Screenshot app records the screen with your voice: press ⌘⇧5, choose what to record and pick a microphone under . You get a video file, which you’ll then need to upload somewhere and share as a link.
How to send it
Send the link to one named person, by email or the channel they used to reach out. The message matters as much as the video. Our guide on getting clients to actually watch your videos goes deeper; for an audit, three lines are enough.
Hi Laura, here’s the 3-minute walkthrough of your booking page I mentioned. The quick fix at the end takes about five minutes. No pressure to reply, I hope it’s useful either way.
https://justrec.app/v/k3f9Qa
Say the length. Say what’s in it. Make it clear they owe you nothing.
Follow up once, then stop
If there’s no reply after about a week, send one short note: “Just checking the video reached you. Happy to answer questions about any of the three points.” Then stop. If they come back months later, you’ll be glad you didn’t chase.
Day 1
Ask, if you've never been in touch
Two lines: what you noticed and whether they'd like the video.
When they say yes
Send the link
One named person, three lines, the length in the message.
About a week later
One short follow-up
Check it arrived, offer to answer questions.
After that
Stop
No second reminder, no discount deadline.
If they do reply and want to talk, the audit has done its job. The next step is usually a short call, then a proposal. A video walkthrough of your quote keeps the same tone from first contact to signed contract.
Mistakes that make an audit feel like spam
- Sending at volume. If you’re recording twenty a day, they’re templates, and prospects can tell.
- Opening with yourself. The first sentence should be about their site, not your agency.
- Being vague. “Your SEO could be better” is not an issue. “Your services page has no title tag” is.
- Going long. Past three or four minutes, it starts to feel like homework. Our note on how long a client video should be explains why shorter wins.
- Showing private data. Stick to public pages. Don’t log into anything, and don’t fill their contact form with test data.
- Hard selling at the end. A soft ask keeps the door open; a discount deadline closes it.
If you do this as an agency, decide together who sends audits, to whom and how many, so prospects don’t get two videos from the same studio. Our page for agencies shows how JustRec fits that kind of client work.
Sources
- Apple Support: How to record the screen on Mac, checked November 2026.
Frequently asked questions
How long should a video website audit be?
Two to three minutes. That's enough for three specific issues and one quick win. If you need longer, you're doing the paid work for free, or you're covering things the prospect didn't ask about.
Is it OK to send an audit video without being asked?
To one person, about their own site, with a clear reason and an easy way to say no, it's a personal message rather than spam. Sending the same kind of video to a long list is mass outreach, and the rules on unsolicited email in your country still apply.
Should I show my face in the audit video?
Yes, if you can. A small camera bubble in the corner shows there's a real person behind the review, which is the whole point. Keep the site as the main thing on screen.
What should I not include in a website audit video?
Anything the prospect would find embarrassing if forwarded to their boss: jokes about the design, guesses about their revenue, or screenshots of private data. Stick to what any visitor can see and what you would fix.
What do I do if the prospect doesn't reply?
Send one short follow-up about a week later, then stop. A second reminder rarely changes the answer and makes the first video feel like a sales trick.
