How to run a 7-factor SaaS growth audit

60 seconds. Free. No signup. Step-by-step.

1. Step 1

   Paste your SaaS URL

   Enter your product URL into the audit field. We handle redirects, internationalized domains, and trailing-slash variants automatically. No signup, no card.

   Tip: Use the apex domain (growthfriction.com), not a subdomain — unless you specifically want to audit a subdomain like app.example.com.

2. Step 2

   Performance auto-measured

   Google PageSpeed Insights fetches your real-user Core Web Vitals (LCP, INP, CLS, TTFB) in the background — no API key needed. Performance factor (1-10) computed from PSI score.

   Tip: PSI uses real-world Chrome user data when available (CrUX field data). For brand-new sites with no field data, it falls back to lab simulation.

3. Step 3

   Answer 6 quick questions

   Self-report against published rubrics for Acquisition, Activation, Engagement, Retention, Advocacy, Monetization. Each scored 1-10. Each question explains its rubric — you score against benchmarks, not guesswork.

   Tip: Be honest. The audit is for you — inflated scores produce useless diagnoses. If you don't know your actual D7 retention or sessions/month, the rubric ranges are wide enough to handle approximations.

4. Step 4

   Get your composite AUG score

   Geometric mean × 10 produces a 0-100 score: AUG = 100 × Acq × Act × Eng × Ret × Adv × Mon × Perf ÷ 10⁷. Multiplicative scoring — a zero in any factor near-zeros the whole. Above 50 = thriving; below 5 = kill-criteria candidate.

   Tip: Don't chase the composite. The audit's real output is naming your weakest factor. Fix that; the composite follows.

5. Step 5

   Read the deep dive for your weakest factor

   Each of the 9 method pages (/method/{factor}/) lists the 10 highest-leverage fixes for that factor, ranked by impact-per-hour. Pick one fix this week.

   Tip: Pair this with /method/funnel-order/ — if your Acquisition is below 1,000 sessions/month, no monetization tweak beats the math floor. The framework is opinionated about funnel-order discipline.

6. Step 6

   Ship the fix → re-audit in 4 weeks

   Most growth-friction changes need 2-4 weeks to show measurable signal (SEO indexing lag + retention cohort maturity). Re-run the audit monthly. Track scores in your own spreadsheet to see the trajectory.

   Tip: Download the report .txt to keep an archival record. Result URLs are bookmarkable.