{"id":4861,"date":"2026-03-20T23:49:27","date_gmt":"2026-03-20T15:49:27","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/longzhuplatform.com\/?p=4861"},"modified":"2026-03-20T23:49:27","modified_gmt":"2026-03-20T15:49:27","slug":"a-thorough-guide-on-how-to-do-a-website-content-audit","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/longzhuplatform.com\/?p=4861","title":{"rendered":"A Thorough Guide on How to Do a Website Content Audit"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><\/p> <div> <p><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1200\" height=\"650\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-254895\" src=\"https:\/\/www.bruceclay.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/expert-tips-content-audit-banner.png\" alt=\"A professional blog banner with the text &quot;Expert tips on website content audits&quot; overlaid on a workspace background with a purple tint.\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.bruceclay.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/expert-tips-content-audit-banner.png 1200w, https:\/\/www.bruceclay.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/expert-tips-content-audit-banner-336x182.png 336w, https:\/\/www.bruceclay.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/expert-tips-content-audit-banner-700x379.png 700w, https:\/\/www.bruceclay.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/expert-tips-content-audit-banner-150x81.png 150w, https:\/\/www.bruceclay.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/expert-tips-content-audit-banner-768x416.png 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px\" title=\"A Thorough Guide on How to Do a Website Content Audit\u63d2\u56fe\" \/><\/p> <p>\u00a0<\/p> <p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Picture this: You step into a room filled with every piece of content your website has ever published.\u00a0<\/span><\/p> <p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">You sift through pages of content, looking for those pages that truly resonate with your audience. You\u2019ve got clutter and lots of it.\u00a0<\/span><\/p> <p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">That\u2019s where a website content audit comes in.\u00a0<\/span><\/p> <p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Despite its benefits, <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">37% of marketers<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> have never conducted a website content audit \u2014 probably because it can feel like an episode of \u201cHoarders.\u201d<\/span><\/p> <p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" class=\"giphy-embed\" src=\"https:\/\/giphy.com\/embed\/m1WTLx5dNISdO\" width=\"480\" height=\"273\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/p> <p>via GIPHY<\/p> <p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">But a well-executed audit can transform your online presence from good to outstanding.<\/span><\/p> <p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In this article, I\u2019ll uncover why revisiting and analyzing every page on your site is essential for SEO growth.<\/span><\/p> <ol> <li style=\"list-style-type: none;\"> <ol> <li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> Know Your Goals<\/span><\/li> <li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> Gather and Organize Your Content<\/span><\/li> <li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> Analyze Your Data<\/span><\/li> <\/ol> <\/li> <\/ol> <h2\/> <h2><strong>Understanding Website Content Audits<\/strong><\/h2> <h3><strong>What Is a Content Audit?<\/strong><\/h3> <p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A content audit scrutinizes every piece of content on your website to gauge its performance and relevance.\u00a0<\/span><\/p> <p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This includes blog posts that have been gathering dust, landing pages from yesteryears and everything in between.\u00a0<\/span><\/p> <p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The goal? Get a crystal-clear picture of what works, what doesn\u2019t and how close or far off you are from nailing those SEO and marketing goals.<\/span><\/p> <h3><strong>Why Conduct a Content Audit<\/strong><\/h3> <p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It seems like a huge undertaking, and you might be thinking: <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Why bother? <\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Here are three reasons:<\/span><\/p> <ol> <li><b> Staying relevant.<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> What worked two years ago may not cut it today. Information changes, which means publishers need to evergreen their content so that it\u2019s up to date.\u00a0<\/span><\/li> <\/ol> <p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Trends change, so content strategies need to keep up with the times, too \u2014 and search engine algorithms.\u00a0<\/span><\/p> <p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Case in point: <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Google\u2019s March 2024 updates<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> targeting unhelpful and AI-generated content. Many websites were de-indexed and many more were badly hurt.\u00a0<\/span><\/p> <p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Every website publisher had to take a hard look at their content strategy.<\/span><\/p> <ol start=\"2\"> <li><b> Streamlining content.<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> We\u2019ve all been there: drowning under tons of content without knowing what still holds value.\u00a0<\/span><\/li> <\/ol> <p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A thorough audit helps declutter this mess by identifying winners worth doubling down on and losers ready for retirement (or revamp).<\/span><\/p> <ol start=\"3\"> <li><b> Driving organic traffic.\u00a0<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">There\u2019s been more than one study published over the years that shows only a small percentage of pages on a site drive the majority of traffic.\u00a0<\/span><\/li> <\/ol> <p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">An <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Ahrefs study <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">revealed that 96.55% of all pages in their index got zero traffic from Google, and 1.94% got between one and 10 monthly visits.<\/span><\/p> <figure id=\"attachment_254903\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-254903\" style=\"width: 1846px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-254903 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/www.bruceclay.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/ahrefs-google-traffic-pie-chart.png\" alt=\"A pie chart from Ahrefs showing that 96.55% of pages in their index get zero traffic from Google, emphasizing the difficulty of SEO.\" width=\"1846\" height=\"1334\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.bruceclay.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/ahrefs-google-traffic-pie-chart.png 1846w, https:\/\/www.bruceclay.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/ahrefs-google-traffic-pie-chart-252x182.png 252w, https:\/\/www.bruceclay.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/ahrefs-google-traffic-pie-chart-524x379.png 524w, https:\/\/www.bruceclay.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/ahrefs-google-traffic-pie-chart-138x100.png 138w, https:\/\/www.bruceclay.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/ahrefs-google-traffic-pie-chart-768x555.png 768w, https:\/\/www.bruceclay.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/ahrefs-google-traffic-pie-chart-1536x1110.png 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1846px) 100vw, 1846px\" title=\"A Thorough Guide on How to Do a Website Content Audit\u63d2\u56fe1\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-254903\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Image credit: Ahrefs<\/figcaption><\/figure> <p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Conducting audits can lead to major clean-ups, resulting in boosted user satisfaction and more organic traffic.<\/span><\/p> <p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The bottom line? Embrace the chaos because at the end of the journey awaits more helpful content and better SEO outcomes.<\/span><\/p> <h2\/> <h2><strong>Tools and Resources for Website Content Audits<\/strong><\/h2> <p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It\u2019s not possible to do an efficient and well-informed website content audit without the help of good analytics tools and guidelines for how to create quality content.\u00a0<\/span><\/p> <h3\/> <h3><strong>Analytics and SEO Tools<\/strong><\/h3> <h4><strong><em>Google Analytics<\/em><\/strong><\/h4> <p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Google Analytics<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> offers a deep dive into your website visitors journeys no matter where they came from. It\u2019s an essential tool in any website content audit because it offers detailed insights into the metrics you are tracking.\u00a0<\/span><\/p> <h4><strong><em>Google Search Console<\/em><\/strong><\/h4> <p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">While Google Analytics gives data on a broad range of channels, <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Search Console<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> is more focused on the performance of your website in Google Search and is critical in gaining SEO insights.<\/span><\/p> <h4><strong><em>Screaming Frog<\/em><\/strong><\/h4> <p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Screaming Frog<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> is a great tool in any content audit. As a site crawler, it pulls all the URLs on a site and offers a ton of valuable SEO information on each URL, which you can slice and dice to uncover opportunities for better content.<\/span><\/p> <h4><em><strong>SEOToolSet<\/strong><\/em><\/h4> <p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">I created the first tool inside the SEOToolSet back in the 90s, and we have been evolving the software ever since.\u00a0<\/span><\/p> <p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Today, the SEOToolSet brings together a suite of SEO tools you can use in a content audit, including the ability to:<\/span><\/p> <ul> <li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Track your search engine rankings from search engine markets worldwide.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/li> <li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Compare your webpages to the top-ranked competitors and SEO best practices.<\/span><\/li> <li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Proactively uncover issues that could impede search engine indexing.<\/span><\/li> <li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Check critical page elements and easily search across your website to save time making site edits.<\/span><\/li> <li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Sort data tables by any column, paginated from 10 to 100 rows per page, and print or export in bulk to CSV format for use in spreadsheets.<\/span><\/li> <\/ul> <figure id=\"attachment_254905\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-254905\" style=\"width: 1999px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-254905 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/www.bruceclay.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/seo-ranking-report-dashboard.png\" alt=\"A digital dashboard showing a &quot;Ranking Report by Page Name&quot; for a website, featuring a bar chart of search positions and a list of indexed keywords.\" width=\"1999\" height=\"1072\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.bruceclay.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/seo-ranking-report-dashboard.png 1999w, https:\/\/www.bruceclay.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/seo-ranking-report-dashboard-339x182.png 339w, https:\/\/www.bruceclay.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/seo-ranking-report-dashboard-707x379.png 707w, https:\/\/www.bruceclay.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/seo-ranking-report-dashboard-150x80.png 150w, https:\/\/www.bruceclay.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/seo-ranking-report-dashboard-768x412.png 768w, https:\/\/www.bruceclay.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/seo-ranking-report-dashboard-1536x824.png 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1999px) 100vw, 1999px\" title=\"A Thorough Guide on How to Do a Website Content Audit\u63d2\u56fe2\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-254905\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">SEOToolSet Ranking Report by Page Name<\/figcaption><\/figure> <p>\u00a0<\/p> <p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Any good content audit will bring together a variety of tools to analyze the data and develop a plan of action. The magic happens when they work together.<\/span><\/p> <h3><strong>E-E-A-T<\/strong><\/h3> <p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Experience, expertise, authoritativeness and trust (E-E-A-T)<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> are the pillars of quality, according to Google\u2019s Search Quality Rater Guidelines. Understand these factors, so that you can create content and websites that uphold quality and build trust with visitors.<\/span><\/p> <h3><strong>Helpful Content Guidelines<\/strong><\/h3> <p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Google offers more guidance on <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">how to create helpful, people-first content<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. Running through their list of questions offers food for thought when evaluating the content you create.<\/span><\/p> <figure id=\"attachment_254904\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-254904\" style=\"width: 1004px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-254904 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/www.bruceclay.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/google-helpful-content-checklist.png\" alt=\"A text-based document listing self-assessment questions for content quality and expertise, often used for Google's &quot;Helpful Content&quot; guidelines.\" width=\"1004\" height=\"798\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.bruceclay.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/google-helpful-content-checklist.png 1004w, https:\/\/www.bruceclay.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/google-helpful-content-checklist-229x182.png 229w, https:\/\/www.bruceclay.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/google-helpful-content-checklist-477x379.png 477w, https:\/\/www.bruceclay.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/google-helpful-content-checklist-126x100.png 126w, https:\/\/www.bruceclay.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/google-helpful-content-checklist-768x610.png 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1004px) 100vw, 1004px\" title=\"A Thorough Guide on How to Do a Website Content Audit\u63d2\u56fe3\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-254904\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Image source: Google Search Central<\/figcaption><\/figure> <h3\/> <h3><strong>Spam Rules<\/strong><\/h3> <p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Bad content continues to be the bane of Google\u2019s existence.\u00a0<\/span><\/p> <p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In March 2024, Google updated its spam policies to focus on AI-generated content that offers little to no value.\u00a0<\/span><\/p> <p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">To learn more about the updated <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">spam policies<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> and for help using AI the right way, see my <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">beginner\u2019s guide to creating AI content<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.\u00a0<\/span><\/p> <h2\/> <h2><strong>3 Initial Steps in a Website Content Audit<\/strong><\/h2> <h3><strong>1. Know Your Goals<\/strong><\/h3> <p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Zig Ziglar once said if you aim at nothing, you\u2019ll hit it every time. Setting a clear goal is the first step in any successful content audit.\u00a0<\/span><\/p> <p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Here are some general goals you might be striving for:<\/span><\/p> <ul> <li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Increased website traffic:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> More traffic from search and social.<\/span><\/li> <li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Better engagement:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> Keeping people on the page and on your site for more time.\u00a0<\/span><\/li> <li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Stronger brand:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> Ditching outdated info that makes you cringe and better uphold your brand as a thought leader.\u00a0<\/span><\/li> <li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Increased conversions: <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Moving visitors to the next step in the customer journey.<\/span><\/li> <\/ul> <p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In truth, you will likely want to achieve all these goals, and you <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">will<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> achieve them when you do a content audit right.\u00a0<\/span><\/p> <p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Keep in mind though that conversions may be more of a focus for some of the sales-type landing pages, whereas SEO may be more important for a subset of your webpages like your blog or service pages.<\/span><\/p> <p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Depending on your goal, you will deploy different methods for improving the content.\u00a0<\/span><\/p> <p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">If it\u2019s conversions, you\u2019d sink resources into conversion optimization. If SEO, you\u2019d spend more effort on search optimization.\u00a0<\/span><\/p> <h3><strong>2. Gather and Organize Your Content<\/strong><\/h3> <p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Gather every piece of content \u2014 from blog posts in years past talking about trends to other musings that you wouldn\u2019t dare publish today.\u00a0<\/span><\/p> <p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Here are a few next steps:<\/span><\/p> <ul> <li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Pull together a list of all URLs on the site using Screaming Frog or similar tools.<\/span><\/li> <li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Categorize the types of content by type first \u2014 think blogs versus landing pages versus FAQs \u2014 and then by topic (e.g., SEO tips versus social media hacks).<\/span><\/li> <li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Dive deeper by tagging which stage of the buyer journey each piece caters to \u2014 Awareness? Consideration? Decision? This may help you prioritize efforts further.\u00a0<\/span><\/li> <li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Mark what needs updating or axing altogether (after you 301 redirect it, of course) based on performance metrics from SEO tools.<\/span><\/li> <\/ul> <h3><strong>3. Analyze Your Data<\/strong><\/h3> <p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Once you are clear on your goals for a page, you can pick metrics that directly relate to the goal.<\/span><\/p> <p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Then you\u2019re going to explore what the metrics might be telling you about the content:\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p> <ul> <li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Traffic sources: <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Where is the majority of traffic coming from and why?<\/span><\/li> <li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Organic traffic:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> How much organic traffic is the page getting? Why or why not? How is its visibility in the search results?<\/span><\/li> <li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Bounce rate:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> Why did they leave?<\/span><\/li> <li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Engagement:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> What is it about this page that makes people stay longer? What is it about this blog article that makes people want to comment?<\/span><\/li> <li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Conversions:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> What made them take the next step? Or why aren\u2019t they?<\/span><\/li> <li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Links:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> Who is linking to this page? Why is it so popular, or not popular at all (lack of promotion)?<\/span><\/li> <\/ul> <p><b><i>Related: How do I analyze content performance metrics to identify improvement opportunities?<\/i><\/b><\/p> <h2\/> <h2><strong>Next Step: Develop a Plan of Action<\/strong><\/h2> <p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">You\u2019ve gone through the initial steps and surfaced a ton of data and hypotheses about the performance of your webpages. Now what? Prioritize<\/span><b>.\u00a0<\/b><\/p> <h3><strong>Prioritize Your Next Moves<\/strong><\/h3> <p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">When we do SEO audits here at Bruce Clay, we always prioritize our recommendations from things that will move the needle the most, first.\u00a0<\/span><\/p> <p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Remember that not all content will hold the same weight. Starting with the top performers will always be a good first step.\u00a0<\/span><\/p> <p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Not everything needs fixing at once (and trying to do so is a recipe for burnout). Start with what will give you quick wins, or has been bothering users most according to feedback or metrics like bounce rates and page views.<\/span><\/p> <p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">If meta descriptions are missing across several high-performing pages, that\u2019s low-hanging fruit ripe for picking.\u00a0<\/span><\/p> <p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Or maybe you\u2019ve noticed some duplicate content issues. Time to consolidate or rewrite so every piece is original.<\/span><\/p> <p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Some tips:<\/span><\/p> <ol> <li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">First off, categorize your audit discoveries by potential impact and effort required. High-impact, low-effort fixes? Those are your sweet spots, so tackle them first.<\/span><\/li> <li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Next up, think long-term but act short-term. Which actions can you take now for immediate results while also setting the stage for future wins?<\/span><\/li> <li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Last but not least, set clear deadlines and assign responsibility. Accountability is key here. A task without a deadline is just wishful thinking.<\/span><\/li> <\/ol> <h3><strong>Repurpose and Optimize Existing Content<\/strong><\/h3> <p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A big part of updating your old content will be to repurpose and optimize old webpages.\u00a0<\/span><\/p> <p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A blog article from two years ago with solid advice just needs a little facelift to shine again. And why create something new when you can polish up the old?<\/span><\/p> <p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Once you\u2019ve updated the content itself, you\u2019ll want to think about optimizing the content and the webpage as a whole.\u00a0<\/span><\/p> <p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">One of the primary things we want to see from a content audit is improved organic search traffic. Here are some things you\u2019ll want to consider as you audit your content:<\/span><\/p> <ul> <li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>On-page SEO:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> There are endless ways to improve a webpage. To figure out what to do, you have to balance SEO best practices (non-negotiable things) with what\u2019s likely required for the page based on the keywords you are targeting and competitive analysis to help refine your focus. Check out our <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">SEO checklist<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> for more.<\/span><\/li> <li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Duplicate content:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> Got repeat offenders? Addressing <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">duplicate content<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> is one of those things you can and should prioritize.<\/span><\/li> <li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>User experience:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> Your site\u2019s performance can impact user experience and rankings. Dig deeper into the fixes that can impact this including site speed, mobile friendliness and Google\u2019s Core Web Vitals.\u00a0<\/span><\/li> <li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Content architecture: <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Is the site\u2019s content organized for SEO success and user experience? Dive into <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">SEO siloing<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> to get this right.<\/span><\/li> <\/ul> <p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Your existing content has potential; don\u2019t let it go to waste. By carefully adjusting and enhancing your content, you\u2019re bound to witness significant boosts in both visitors and interactions.\u00a0<\/span><\/p> <p><b><i>Related: How do I prioritize my content audit findings to maximize ROI without feeling overwhelmed?<\/i><\/b><\/p> <h2\/> <h2><strong>Keeping Your Website Content Fresh and Relevant Moving Forward<\/strong><\/h2> <p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A website content audit will be an ongoing project. And it\u2019s never really \u201cdone.\u201d<\/span><\/p> <p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">People often ask how much effort they should put into keeping their older content fresh. The answer is it depends on things like the type of topic and keyword (is it a topic that deserves freshness or is it inherently evergreen?).\u00a0<\/span><\/p> <p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In general, though, I recommend spending 50% of the time updating old content and 50% of the time creating new, quality content.\u00a0<\/span><\/p> <p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">(See my article on <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">optimizing old content vs. creating new content<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> for more.)<\/span><\/p> <h3\/> <h3><strong>Audit on a Schedule<\/strong><\/h3> <p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">To ensure you\u2019re never letting things slip through the cracks and start piling up again, here are some things to consider:<\/span><\/p> <ul> <li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Audit regularly:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> Regularly visit each page of your site. Consider whether the content remains relevant and accurate.<\/span><\/li> <li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Create an action plan:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> Decide whether each piece should be kept as is, optimized with updates or SEO tactics, <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">removed completely<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, repurposed into another format (video maybe?) or combined with other posts to create something great.<\/span><\/li> <li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Schedule updates: <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Got pages tied to dates or events? Set reminders to refresh them so they\u2019re never out of step with reality.<\/span><\/li> <li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Rinse and repeat:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> This isn\u2019t a one-and-done deal. Your website evolves; so should your content. Do this audit regularly, and watch your site stay relevant.\u00a0<\/span><\/li> <\/ul> <p>\u00a0<\/p> <p><b><i>Related: How do I maintain a consistent content audit schedule to stay ahead of trends?<\/i><\/b><\/p> <h2\/> <h2><strong>Planning for Future Content Creation<\/strong><\/h2> <p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">When you\u2019re not strategic in the content you can create, it can quickly become irrelevant. Staying ahead involves designing a forward-looking plan to help ensure relevance for longer.\u00a0<\/span><\/p> <h3><strong>SEO Siloing<\/strong><\/h3> <p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">SEO siloing<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> offers a framework for the content you can create now and in the future. That way, you\u2019re not just throwing darts in the dark.<\/span><\/p> <p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">By focusing on the most relevant keywords for your business, and methodically crafting webpages that align with the customer journey, you will have a roadmap to spark ideas for current and future content.\u00a0<\/span><\/p> <h3><strong>Content Planning<\/strong><\/h3> <p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Here are some ideas for keeping things organized as you create new content:<\/span><\/p> <ul> <li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Choose your content types:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> Map out what types of content you will feature on your site. This may largely be driven by your competition and a <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">whole-SERP strategy<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.<\/span><\/li> <li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Create a content calendar:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> Organization is key but leave room for spontaneity.<\/span><\/li> <li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Analyze and adjust:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> The only constant in life (and SEO) is change. A regular review of what\u2019s working \u2014 or not \u2014 lets us tweak things for better performance.<\/span><\/li> <\/ul> <p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Above all else, keep track of progress and adapt as needed. This journey doesn\u2019t stop at \u201cfixes.\u201d It\u2019s about evolving continually to achieve and maintain E-E-A-T.\u00a0<\/span><\/p> <h2\/> <h2><strong>Final Thoughts<\/strong><\/h2> <p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In this era <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">where attention spans are shorter than ever<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, every detail counts towards creating experiences online users love, which ultimately boosts both traffic and conversions.\u00a0<\/span><\/p> <p>\u00a0<\/p> <p><b><i>Need a full professional SEO audit?\u00a0<\/i><\/b><\/p> <p>Meet with Us to Learn More!<\/p> <p>\u00a0<\/p> <h3><strong>Quick Solutions<\/strong><\/h3> <h3><strong>FAQ: How do I perform a comprehensive SEO content audit so that we get results?<\/strong><\/h3> <p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">To do a comprehensive content audit for SEO, you need to evaluate all the content on your website to determine its effectiveness, relevance and alignment with SEO goals.\u00a0<\/span><\/p> <p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This begins with creating a complete inventory of your website\u2019s pages, and then gathering data on metrics such as rankings, traffic and engagement. Identify the content that is valuable, needs improvement or should be removed.\u00a0<\/span><\/p> <p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">As you are doing this, evaluate the relevance of each page related to its target keywords and the intent behind the search.\u00a0<\/span><\/p> <p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This includes checking whether the content meets the expectations of both search engines and users, and identifying any technical SEO issues.\u00a0<\/span><\/p> <p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Additionally, assess the content against Google\u2019s E-E-A-T framework (does it have the experience, expertise, authoritativeness and trust it needs?).<\/span><\/p> <p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">After the evaluation, take action.\u00a0<\/span><\/p> <p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">You\u2019ll want to rewrite, combine or even remove weak or outdated content, and high-performing content can be refined and expanded as needed.\u00a0<\/span><\/p> <p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Put technical SEO strategies into place so that the content aligns with your SEO objectives and also enhances user experience.<\/span><\/p> <p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">After the audit, you will have effectively established a framework that you can use for ongoing content maintenance and improvement.\u00a0<\/span><\/p> <p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">From this point, make regular audits part of the workflow.\u00a0<\/span><\/p> <p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This helps you maintain the site as a valuable, authoritative resource that people want to rely on and search engines want to rank.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p> <h4><strong>Action Plan<\/strong><\/h4> <ol> <li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Create a complete inventory of all pages on your website using tools like Screaming Frog and Bruce Clay\u2019s SEOToolSet.\u00a0<\/span><\/li> <li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Categorize your webpages by type, such as blog posts, product pages or landing pages.<\/span><\/li> <li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Gather performance metrics on all pages, including visibility, rankings, traffic and engagement rates.\u00a0<\/span><\/li> <li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Identify the target audience and intent for each page, and use this as a foundation for keyword research to ensure you are targeting the right queries on your pages.\u00a0<\/span><\/li> <li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Assess the content against Google\u2019s E-E-A-T principles to establish credibility.<\/span><\/li> <li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Compare your content to competitors to identify areas for improvement.<\/span><\/li> <li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Rewrite or update weak or outdated content, and remove content that no longer serves a purpose or adds value. Implement 301 redirects for removed or merged pages to preserve link equity.<\/span><\/li> <li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Expand on high-performing pages as needed.\u00a0<\/span><\/li> <li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Add new content to address gaps in topics or user needs.<\/span><\/li> <li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Optimize on-page elements, including headings, meta tags, formatting and more.<\/span><\/li> <li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Review all technical SEO elements like page performance (speed and ease of use), alt text, schema markup, URL parameters, etc.<\/span><\/li> <li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Don\u2019t forget small but important tactics like evaluating each page\u2019s metadata for accuracy and keyword optimization or checking internal links for functionality and relevance.<\/span><\/li> <li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Optimize any non-text content like images and videos for SEO.<\/span><\/li> <li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Monitor the results of the implemented changes, and adjust strategies based on performance data.<\/span><\/li> <li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Schedule regular content audits to maintain quality and relevance.<\/span><\/li> <\/ol> <h2><strong>About Us<\/strong><\/h2> <p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Bruce Clay Inc. has been a pioneer in the field of search engine optimization since the 1990s. Our team of experts is dedicated to helping businesses achieve visibility in the search results through ethical SEO practices. <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Learn more about our services and history here<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.<\/span><\/p> <section class=\"blog-author-bio\" aria-label=\"About the author\"> <div class=\"blog-author-desc\"> <p> Bruce Clay is founder and president of Bruce Clay Inc., a global digital marketing firm providing search engine optimization, pay-per-click, social media marketing, SEO-friendly web architecture, and SEO tools and education. Connect with him on LinkedIn or through the BruceClay.com website. <\/p> <p> See Bruce&#8217;s author page for links to connect on social media. <\/p> <\/p><\/div> <div> <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\"  src=\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/ebda925174b8f931ea0f0d2b16380306b2e7e48b81e254ddf7d0171f29c8699e?s=96&amp;d=retro&amp;r=g\" srcset=\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/ebda925174b8f931ea0f0d2b16380306b2e7e48b81e254ddf7d0171f29c8699e?s=192&amp;d=retro&amp;r=g 2x\" class=\"avatar avatar-96 photo\" height=\"96\" width=\"96\" title=\"A Thorough Guide on How to Do a Website Content Audit\u63d2\u56fe4\" alt=\"A Thorough Guide on How to Do a Website Content Audit\u63d2\u56fe4\" \/> <\/div> <\/section><\/div> <p>SEO Content,content strategy,E-E-A-T,on-page optimization,SEO Audit Process,SEO siloingcontent strategy,E-E-A-T,on-page optimization,SEO Audit Process,SEO siloing#Guide #Website #Content #Audit1774021767<\/p> ","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>\u00a0 Picture this: You step into a room filled with every piece of content your website has ever published.\u00a0 You sift through pages of content, looking for those pages that truly resonate with your audience. You\u2019ve got clutter and lots of it.\u00a0 That\u2019s where a website content audit comes in.\u00a0 Despite its benefits, 37% of [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":4862,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[21],"tags":[421,185,17928,13324,342,17929,17930,14905,354],"class_list":["post-4861","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-digital","tag-audit","tag-content","tag-content-strategy","tag-e-e-a-t","tag-guide","tag-on-page-optimization","tag-seo-audit-process","tag-seo-siloing","tag-website"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/longzhuplatform.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4861","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/longzhuplatform.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/longzhuplatform.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/longzhuplatform.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/longzhuplatform.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=4861"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/longzhuplatform.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4861\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/longzhuplatform.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/4862"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/longzhuplatform.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=4861"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/longzhuplatform.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=4861"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/longzhuplatform.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=4861"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}