How To Conduct A Content Audit Step-By-Step

Step 2: Collect And Categorize Content

The second step in conducting a content audit is to collect and categorize all the content on your website. Compile a list of all the content, including blog posts, articles, videos, images, and other media. You can use a tool like Screaming Frog or Google Search Console to help you generate a list of all the pages on your site.

Once you have a list of all the content on your site, categorize each piece of content based on criteria such as relevance, quality, performance, and engagement. Categorize each piece of content into categories such as “keep,” “update,” “remove,” or “consolidate.” This will help you prioritize your updates and make more informed decisions about which content to keep, update, or remove.

Step 3: Track Metrics And Analyze Data

The third step in conducting a content audit is to track metrics and analyze data related to each piece of content. Use tools like Google Analytics and Google Search Console to gather data on how each piece of content is performing. Look at metrics such as page views, time on page, bounce rate, and conversion rate to determine which pieces of content are performing well and which need improvement.

Analyze the data to identify patterns and trends in your content’s performance. For example, are certain topics or formats performing better than others? Are there specific keywords or search terms that are driving traffic to your site? Use these insights to inform your content strategy and prioritize updates based on the content’s performance.

Prepare Yourself For Ongoing Audits

 A content audit should not be a one-time event, but rather a continuous process that helps you keep your website’s content up-to-date and relevant.

Set up a schedule for regular content audits, such as every six months or once a year, and stick to it. This will help you stay on top of your content and identify issues before they become bigger problems.

In addition, make sure to keep track of any changes or updates you make to your content. This will help you measure the impact of your updates and determine what is working and what isn’t. Over time, this will help you refine your content strategy and improve your website’s performance.

Additional Information To Track

In addition to tracking metrics and analyzing data, there are other pieces of information that you should track during a content audit. These include:

• Content type: Categorize each piece of content by types, such as blog post, product page, or landing page. This will help you identify gaps in your content strategy and ensure that you have a good mix of content types.
• Content owner: Assign an owner to each piece of content, such as a writer, editor, or marketing manager. This will help you ensure that each piece of content has a clear owner who is responsible for keeping it up to date.
• Publication date: Keep track of the publication date for each piece of content. This will help you identify outdated content that needs to be updated or removed.
• SEO keywords: Keep track of the SEO keywords that each piece of content is targeting. This will help you ensure that your content is optimized for search engines and that you are targeting the right keywords.

By tracking this additional information, you can gain a more comprehensive understanding of your website’s content and make more informed decisions about how to improve it.

Step 4: Take Actionable Steps And Develop A New Content Strategy

The fourth and final step in conducting a content audit is to take actionable steps based on your findings and develop a new content strategy. Use the insights and data gathered from the audit to identify areas for improvement and create an action plan for updating and optimizing your content.

For example, you may need to update outdated content, consolidate similar pieces of content, or create new content to fill gaps in your content strategy. Use the categories you created in Step 2 to prioritize your updates and ensure that you are making the most impactful changes first.

Additionally, use the insights gathered in Step 3 to inform your new content strategy. Identify the topics, formats, and keywords that are performing well and incorporate them into your content strategy moving forward.

By taking actionable steps based on your content audit, you can improve the quality and relevance of your website’s content, which can lead to increased traffic, engagement, and conversions.