The Ultimate Content Audit Process Checklist

The Ultimate Content Audit Process Checklist

You poured your heart and soul into the content you created. It shouldn’t be subjected to the mists of time to earn the dreaded “outdated” label. 

Did you know companies that update old content see an average traffic increase of 111 percent?

A content audit is key for maintaining a website’s quality. 

Regularly updating and improving your existing content ensures it stays relevant, engaging, and high-performing. For instance, consolidating similar pieces and repurposing the popular ones into different formats can breathe new life into your site.

But where do you start? 

This guide will walk you through the essential steps to evaluate and enhance your content, making it more valuable and effective for your readers. By the end, you'll be equipped to perform a content audit with confidence. Let’s dive in. 

1. Keep Inventory of Your Content

List Out All Content

Start by creating a comprehensive list of all your content pieces. This includes blog posts, pages, videos, and any other formats you have in an organized spreadsheet. This list will serve as your content inventory. Having a complete list helps identify what content you have and what may be missing.

Consider using a content audit template to organize your content inventory effectively.

Categorize Content

Next, organize your content into categories or themes. This makes it easier to analyze and compare similar content pieces, based on a specific topic. For example, if you are a CPA firm, you can group all the content you created about filing taxes together. This will make your life easier when you get into the nuts and bolts of the audit. 

Categories help you see patterns and trends in your content, making it easier to plan future pieces.

2. Assess Content Performance

Traffic Metrics with Google Analytics

Review your website traffic metrics to see how your content is performing. Use tools like Google Analytics to gather data on Look at page views, unique visitors, and bounce rates. These metrics show how many people are visiting your content and how long they are staying.

In terms of website traffic, link Google Search Console to your website. This tool will tell you which keywords and phrases are leading people to your website. This is very important in your content audit, showing you which content pieces are getting the best results. 

Engagement Metrics

According to research by Buzzsumo, content that receives more social shares also tends to get more backlinks, enhancing its overall performance.

Check engagement metrics such as time on page, social shares, and comments. High engagement indicates that your content is resonating with your audience. Engaged users are more likely to become loyal customers.

SEO Metrics

SEO –  Search Engine Optimization – involves metrics like organic search traffic, keyword rankings, and backlinks. These are the most foundational metrics to consider in your content audit – as they help you understand how well your content is performing in search engines. Higher search rankings can lead to increased visibility and traffic.

Studies have shown that the average top-ranking page gets the majority of its traffic from just a few top keywords, highlighting the importance of keyword optimization. Additionally, on-page SEO is crucial for analyzing content performance, as it involves checking on-page elements like title tags, meta descriptions, and SEO-friendly URLs.

The next section will dive deeper into the importance of SEO.

3. Check for SEO Best Practices

Meta Descriptions

Creating effective meta descriptions can greatly enhance your content's visibility and improve click-through rates from search results. Each meta description should be engaging and include your target keywords naturally. Think of it as a preview for your content.  

For example, a well-crafted meta description for a blog post about SEO tips might read, "Discover top SEO tips to boost your website's ranking. Learn actionable strategies for keyword research, on-page optimization, and link building." 

This strategy helps attract more visitors and boosts your overall SEO performance.

Alt Text for Images

Including descriptive alt text for all images is essential for both accessibility and SEO. It allows search engines to index your images properly, potentially increasing your site’s visibility in image search results.

For example, in a blog post about summer gardening tips, the alt text might be: "colorful flower garden in full bloom during summer". This small but important detail can help improve your site's user experience and search engine ranking, making your content more discoverable and accessible to a wider audience.

Internal Links and External Links

Make sure your content naturally includes relevant internal links and external links. 

• Internal links = links to other pages on your own website. 
• External links = links to other webpages. 

These links should add value and help guide the reader to additional information. Internal linking helps keep users on your site longer, while external links can enhance credibility.

4. Evaluate Content Quality

Relevance

This is sounds super basic, but you’d be amazing how much content misses the mark in terms of relevance. Everything you produce must genuinely align with your audience’s interests and needs. Most importantly, it needs to be written in a way they can understand. In other words, keep industry jargon to a minimum. 

For example, say you’re a mechanic producing a piece of content about how to change the oil. You’re going to have to discuss some internal components of the vehicle. Instead of just telling people to “remove the drain plug”, tell people a) what it is, b) where to find it, and c) how to remove it. You content needs to be as user friendly as possible. 

Accuracy

It’s no secret we’re living in a world full of bad information. 

According to Pew Research, inaccurate content can significantly damage trust, with more than 60% of people saying fake news confuses them about basic facts. Take the time to verify that the information in your content is current and factual. 

Clarity

To echo a previous point, check that your wording is clear and concise. Avoid jargon and complex language so sentences are easy to understand by the average person. 

Readability

As a general rule of thumb, aim for a readability score that corresponds to an eighth-grade reading level. This ensures that a broad audience can understand your content. Tools like Hemingway Editor and Grammarly can help simplify your writing.

To improve readability, try to:

• Use bullet points and lists to highlight key points. 
• Keep paragraphs to no more than 3-4 lines.
• Add section headers over 2-3 paragraphs.
• Keep sentences to 20 words or less. 

People these days have a very low tolerance for poor readability. These are just a handful of readability best practices to keep in mind as you update your content. 

5. Review Content Structure

Headings and Subheadings

Ensure your content has a keyword-rich page title with descriptive headings and subheadings. They help break down the content into manageable sections, making it easier to read. Headings also improve SEO and readability by highlighting key points.

Paragraph Length

Concise paragraphs keep readers engaged, so try to keep them short. Ideally, each paragraph should be 3-4 lines long. This prevents your content from looking like a big wall of text. Short paragraphs are easier to read on screens, especially on mobile devices.

6. Evaluate User Experience

Mobile-Friendliness

Over 50% of global website traffic comes from mobile devices. Ensure your content is easily readable. Check that text, images, and other elements are properly formatted for smaller screens.

Loading Speed

According to Google, 53% of mobile users abandon sites that take longer than three seconds to load.

Check the loading times of your pages using PageSpeed insights. There are many ways to speed up a webpage. Compressing image files and using a content delivery network (CDN) are some of the most common ways to improve speed.

Navigation

Well over 70% of consumers say that the most important factor in a website’s design is ease of finding information across all website pages. Make sure that users can easily find and access your content with easy navigation. Well-organized menus and links can guide users through your site.

Need Help with Content Audits?

A thorough website content audit helps ensure that your website’s content performs and engages readers. By following this checklist, you can systematically evaluate and improve your existing content, making it more valuable for your target customers.

Are some of your content pieces underperforming? 

Dog and Rooster is here to help with your content audit to enhance your website’s performance and user experience.

Connect with us today!