What is a Content Audit?

I’ve written 70 blog posts (71 including this one) for my blog since I started my business.

It’s about 80,000+ words.

Can I remember everyone in perfect detail? Not by a longshot. My goals and style have changed over the past 15 months. I’ve learnt new information and updated my approach. And, as well as writing my own blog, I’ve written 100s of other blogs, articles and web copy. Today would be the perfect time for me to do a content audit. But, what is a content audit and why would I and other businesses benefit from one? In this article, I’ll explain what’s included in a content audit, and how it can help a company boost its content strategy.

The purpose of a content audit

The main objectives of a content audit are as follows;

1. Collate and catalogue existing content. Older websites may have 1000s of web pages and may be unaware of what they actually have on their site.
2. Analyse the content and identify what’s working and what isn’t.
3. Use the information to create a plan for content optimisations and ongoing content strategy.

Businesses that will benefit from this sort of audit include those with websites that are very old, have a lot of content, are looking to rebrand or have been taken on by new owners or management. An audit allows the current team to see where their business stands in terms of content.

What’s in a Content Audit?

Different SEO and content marketing freelancers and agencies will have their own way of completing an audit, but the general format will likely remain the same.

The content audits I create for my clients consist of:

• A Content Inventory
• A Performance Analysis
• Issue Identification
• A Content Plan

Here’s what each of those entails.

Content Inventory

A content inventory is a process of cataloguing the entire contents of a website and creating a document to hold the information. It will include pages and blog posts, but also any other content you might find on a website such as case studies, pdf documents, and images. The document, usually created on a spreadsheet, will include many parameters, such as;

• Name and URL of the content.
• Purpose of the content.
• Word count.
• Categories and tags.
• The number of internal links.
• The number of external links.
• Keyword targeted (if applicable).

The inventory is all the administrative information needed to conduct the audit. It’s dull but vital work.

Performance Analysis

Evaluating the performance of the content is specific to each business but in general, most companies should be looking at traffic acquisition, behavioural metrics and conversions, as well as technical and on-page SEO scoring. These metrics will be added to the audit document. They may include:

• The number of sessions and users in a given period and from what traffic sources.
• The bounce rate and session duration of the page.
• The number of conversions attributed to the page. This could be e-commerce sales, sources of contact or internal web action.
• The on-page and technical score of the website.
• The domain authority and trust of any external links.
• The backlinks and referring domains to the page.

This part of the audit is the detailed statistical part. It’s good to marry these scores with the current goals of the business. The key question is, are your pieces of content working effectively?

Issue Identification

Issues can arise from; poor SEO practices within content, lack of historical optimisation or not utilising content in other marketing campaigns. The issue identification section will look at the analysis of the page and highlight improvements. This may include advice on:

• Structure and hierarchy of the page.
• Poor or no targeting of keywords.
• Repetitive, duplicate or thin content.
• UX and design issues.
• Technical and On-page issues such as metadata, image and speed problems.

Paring a content audit with an SEO audit is a quality way to ensure your content is performing well for your chosen keywords. If not, the next step is to plan to fill those gaps and optimise existing content.

Content Plan

A content plan is the end result of a content audit. After cataloguing content, analysing its performance and identifying issues, you’ll be able to create a content plan for the coming months or year. A content plan could provide these items;

• Show what content is missing and therefore, what content and campaigns to focus on next
• How to optimise existing content, including historical blog optimisation.
• What content needs to be revised and rewritten.
• How to repurpose existing content to increase its reach or usefulness.
• Design and technical improvements to enhance UX.

What are the benefits of a content audit?

So, why would a company want a content audit? Surely, they know what’s on their website? No, that’s not always the case. For established or large companies, whose staff have changed over the years, you can’t always know exactly what’s on your site and whether it’s working. A content audit allows businesses to understand what their content currently looks like, but more importantly how to develop a content marketing strategy for the future. Furthermore, the benefits of a content audit include;

• See what’s working and what isn’t. If a piece of content is working it can be used as an example. If the content isn’t working, improvements need to be made.
• Find new content potentials. The inventory could highlight what keywords are currently being targeted and therefore what additional content might be needed to aid other key phrases or words.
• The technical aspects of the audit will highlight what content pages need to be improved from a technical SEO, on-page SEO and design perspective.
• Most importantly, a content audit will include a plan for your ongoing content strategy. One of the key components of content marketing is consistency in blogging and producing fresh content. Therefore, a content plan will help you keep on top of that.

Book a Content Audit

The content audits I perform for my clients allow them to hit the refresh on their content strategy. When you don’t know what to do next, it’s time to sit back and evaluate. Plus, every one of my audits provides at least a 3-month optimisation plan as standard, but up to 12 months dependent on the package. I also offer website audits and SEO audits and can create bespoke packages for your business.

My audits can be provided on a one-off basis or as part of an extended SEO or content marketing campaign. If you would like just an audit, there is no obligation after completion. You can choose for me to implement the plan, give it to another contractor or sign up for one of my consultancy packages if you are ready to take on the challenge and do it yourself. However you want to work, we can grow your business together.