How to Run a Content Audit

How frequently do you do content audits as a marketer? How do you monitor the performance of your content? Do you utilize these stats to help you better future campaigns?  

A content audit can benefit your overall marketing strategy by boosting traffic and taking note of areas of your website that are not aligned per Google search engine optimization (SEO). It can help you to find new SEO opportunities for your website and ultimately help you to grow your website’s reach. So, how do you run a content audit? This blog will provide an overview of how to audit your website content and the key factors to keep in mind. 

Best Tips to Run a Content Audit 

Here are some practical tips to follow when performing an audit of your website’s content. 

Think about your goals and achievements.  

This step is determining your end goals, so you can take the necessary steps to achieve them. For instance, if you want to boost brand awareness, you might audit your content to include more branded keywords.  

Other objectives include determining which pages require SEO optimization and locating the best-performing website content to publish on your homepage or in email newsletters. 

Ultimately, a content audit can identify engaging content for your targeted audience. It can also include information on SEO optimization and conversion rates. This process will help you identify your website’s strengths and weaknesses.  

Collect your content and make an inventory 

An SEO content audit can include product descriptions, blog posts, videos, and online publications.  

You may make a content inventory by compiling your material into a well-organized spreadsheet. This will make it simpler to monitor updates and reach content-related objectives. 

Gather the URLs and other page details for your chosen websites to audit first. To start your audit, you should gather the following page information: 

1. Linked CTAs
2. Content type
3. Content format
4. Page title
5. Word count
6. Date last modified

Some tools can help you collect this data, like Hubspot, Semrush, and Screaming Frog. 

Organize your content 

Sort your stuff into categories on the spreadsheet after gathering it. The number of metrics to track for each piece of content may become overwhelming. Utilize your goals to determine the areas you need to focus on and track for your audit. 

Consider creating categories that provide insightful analysis of various bits of material. An SEO audit, for instance, is concerned with factors like keywords, page speed, and backlinks. However, if you’re doing a content conversion audit, you should pay attention to traffic, clickthrough rates, and other conversion kinds.  

By using Google Analytics, you can audit data efficiently. Some online tools can organize your data, but doing it yourself is recommended; adding relevant categories will keep you organized so your audit meets your ends.  

If you’re just starting your content auditing process and are unsure of where to begin, schedule a free 30-minute consultation with a content marketing expert at Agency Partner Interactive today! 

Evaluate your data 

In this step, you need to look at your data as it will provide you with a reliable assessment of the quality of your material. While evaluating, keep these points in mind. 

• What information is lacking that would be of interest to your audience?
• Can you update or change old or existing content for better optimization? 
• Which is your top-performing pages, and why have they been successful? 
• Which pieces of underperforming content aren’t generating the desired results?

Based on your findings, categorize the information in your spreadsheet. You can use this to determine which material occupies most of your content collection.  

Assigning different colors based on the data you’re looking for is one method to better organize your material. Then, emphasize the rows corresponding to those colors so you can see which category belongs to which. 

It’s also a good idea to search for patterns, trends, and connections in your data that could be hard to see in standard reports. 

• Are there any recent subjects receiving greater attention than they were previously?
• Were there any posts that did better than expected?
• Have natural connections increased for a particular piece of content?

This step will help you to recognize your satisfied customers who are impacting your content performance. You can use this idea in your content strategies and practices. 

Make a list of tasks 

In this step, you will finalize your audit. Based on your analysis, you can determine which areas to focus on first. Think about which post you need to delete, repost, write, or restructure. Create one last column towards the top of the spreadsheet to group these action items so you can keep track of them.  

You can use this column to find out what to do on a specific URL. For instance, will you rewrite, alter, remove, or maintain that blog post? 

Now would be the moment to incorporate anything you intend to include in the audit, such as a schedule or a priority ranking. While some businesses employ editorial calendars, others take a more relaxed approach. 

Consider your initial objectives and rank the tasks you want to complete first to create a priority timetable that works best with your content audit. Keep this list of recommendations in mind. Depending on the facts you discovered during your audit, your subsequent content audit will demonstrate progress toward your goals. 

Why Run a Content Audit? 

At first glance, a content audit could seem intimidating. However, it’s one of the easiest and most effective ways to improve your content marketing strategy when done correctly.  

One of the best things you can do to enhance your content strategy is to begin an audit of the information on your website. It’s much simpler to see what needs to be improved, and when you have collected all of your assets in one place, you should have a clear understanding of where to start. It also makes prioritizing and resolving problems easier. 

Once you’ve completed a content audit, maintaining your assets moving forward is simple. You won’t have any trouble stepping up your content marketing efforts.  

Grow with a Top Digital Marketing Agency  

Agency Partner Interactive is a leading online marketing firm that helps businesses reach their full potential. Whether you need help in content gap analysis, targeting high-intent customers with paid search advertising, digital marketing tips, content marketing services, or just developing a dynamic online presence, our digital marketing experts in Dallas, Austin, and Houston can help you. 

Our clients see a 400% boost in site traffic, a 170% rise in conversion rate, and a 65% drop in cost per lead on average. Are you ready to put your ideas into action? Schedule your free consultation now! 

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