How to Run a Content Audit in 2025 (With Tips From Content & SEO Specialists)

It’s not capable to make content. You person to make judge what you make is performing well. That’s wherever contented audits travel in.

As a contented marketer, I trust connected contented audits to support way of really contented is performing, understand what needs improvement, and usage analytics to pass early campaigns.

In this post, I’ll talk astir really you tin execute a contented audit for your ain business and spell complete high-quality devices to thief you streamline nan process.

I’ve besides originated adjuvant tips from SEO and contented professionals, which I’ve included passim nan article.

Keep reading, aliases usage 1 of nan links beneath to jump up to nan conception you're looking for.

Table of Contents

• What is simply a contented audit?
• Content Audit Tools
• How to Run a Content Audit
• Content Audit Template
• Content Audit Checklist

Content Audit Goals

Running a contented audit for your website tin boost your postulation and amended nan acquisition of your readers.

First, contented audits thief you return statement of nan areas connected your website that aren‘t decently optimized for hunt motor rank. For example, you mightiness adhd meta descriptions to your blog posts arsenic portion of your existent strategy. If that ever wasn’t nan case, a contented audit helps you find which posts request to beryllium updated.

Content audits besides thief you find caller SEO opportunities for your website. For example, did you cognize that adding keywords to nan headings connected your tract gives hunt engines much clues astir what your web page is about?

If hunt engines person arsenic overmuch knowledge arsenic imaginable astir nan contented connected your website, they'll beryllium capable to propose your web pages to browsers much accurately.

Running an audit is simply a chance for you to update nan contented connected your website to amended readers' comprehension of your site. For example, you mightiness not cognize nan links connected 1 of your merchandise pages are broken, but a contented audit provides you pinch a reminder to update those links.

I’ll talk immoderate further benefits below.

Benefits of Content Audits

Your contented audit should thief you bring your contented up-to-date, amended nan rank of your web pages, and make nan website you coming to readers easy to navigate and free of error. In addition, successful my experience, contented audits:

• Give data-driven penetration into nan capacity of your content, helping you make informed decisions based connected actual accusation alternatively than conscionable assumptions.
• Identify areas for contented repurposing aliases updating wherever numbers are little than desired.
• Highlight pieces of contented that execute champion that you tin leverage successful trading materials.
• Understand much astir what your assemblage likes and dislikes.
• Content attraction becomes easier erstwhile you person an knowing of what you’re offering.

To make judge your website contented audit is valuable, carve retired capable clip to complete it. I’ve put down a step-by-step guideline to thief you done nan process.

How to Run a Content Audit

Each audit should beryllium tailored to nan needs of nan organization, and I consciousness that nan steps beneath tin thief you create a civilization process to scope your contented goals.

1. Think of your goals.

First, I’d deliberation astir what you want to accomplish. When you person your goals successful mind, you will person a amended thought of really to categorize your audit later.

For example, if my extremity is to summation marque awareness, I mightiness audit nan contented pinch nan extremity of expanding branded keywords.

Other goals to see could beryllium figuring retired which pages request to beryllium SEO-optimized aliases uncovering nan best-performing website contented to spot connected your homepage aliases successful your email newsletters.

Ultimately, a contented audit identifies engaging contented for your audience. It tin besides see accusation connected SEO and conversion rates. This process will thief you spot nan strengths and weaknesses of your contented and workflow.

Leading pinch institution goals will guarantee your contented audit is useful for search and updating your strategy pinch improved tactics. After this is complete, past it's clip to cod your content.

2. Gather your contented and create an inventory.

Which contented are you going to audit? Content audits mightiness include:

• Blog posts.
• Landing pages.
• Product descriptions.
• Video media.
• Online publications.

Decide which contented you want to audit and stitchery nan backlog of that content. Pulling your contented together successful an organized spreadsheet will create a contented inventory. This will make it easier to way changes and goals for your content.

To start, I’d cod URLs and different page accusation for nan web pages I've chosen to audit. Page specifications I mightiness want to cod to statesman nan audit include:

• Page title.
• Content type.
• Content format.
• Word count.
• Date past modified.
• Linked CTAs.

A content audit template tin thief you quickly propulsion together a contented inventory to statesman your audit. There are besides online devices to thief you cod this data, for illustration SEMrush, Screaming Frog, and HubSpot.

Pro tip: Some devices will supply this accusation based connected your sitemap. A tract representation is simply a record that has each your website's information. You tin usually create your sitemap for free online. For much information, cheque retired this sitemaps guide.

3. Categorize your content.

After I stitchery nan content, I’d categorize it connected a spreadsheet. Tracking each metric for each portion of contented tin get overwhelming quickly. So, usage your goals to guideline nan categories you way for your audit.

Think of categories that connection useful insights from different pieces of content. For example, an SEO audit focuses connected metrics for illustration keywords, page speed, and backlinks. But if I’m moving a contented conversion audit, I whitethorn want to attraction connected traffic, click rate, and different types of conversions.

Some online devices will see metrics successful audit information arsenic well. Tools for illustration Google Analytics tin thief propulsion this data. Metrics tin adhd worth and discourse to your analysis.

Some online devices tin categorize nan accusation for you, but it’s often adjuvant to do it yourself. Adding applicable categories will support you organized, truthful your contented audit meets your needs.

In my opinion, it tin beryllium tempting to adhd and region categories passim nan process, but this tin springiness you much information than you‘re capable to analyze. It’s besides easy to commencement analyzing information earlier you've vanished categorizing.

But these habits tin besides make nan process much analyzable and time-consuming. They tin besides lead to hasty and incorrect analysis. If you announcement absorbing aliases astonishing data, return a speedy note, but support categorizing earlier you commencement your analysis.

In this step, your extremity is to complete a spreadsheet pinch nan categories of information that you request to audit your contented toward a circumstantial goal.

Pro tip: Angèle Chevalier, SEO and contented strategist astatine CharlieHR, shares a proposal to thief forestall spreadsheet overwhelm. (Quick note: this measurement combines some categorizing and study of data).

“I usage visualization devices for illustration Miro to make contented audits overmuch easier, particularly erstwhile it comes to identifying contented gaps,” Chevalier says.

Chevalier first organizes each portion of contented successful a spreadsheet, ensuring it’s attributed to nan correct chimney stage, taxable cluster, and website location. All nan metrics enactment connected nan sheet.

From there, she pulls retired each page pinch its criteria and maps it visually. Once nan pages are grouped by topic, it’s overmuch easier to spot gaps and place which parts of nan chimney request filling.

“While this mightiness sound time-consuming, it’s acold much effective and imaginative than staring astatine spreadsheets each day. Plus, you tin tackle it successful batches to support it manageable and debar nan repetitive broadside of it,” Chevalier says.

4. Analyze your data.

Now, it's clip to look astatine your information critically. This is nan measurement that will springiness you a bully measurement of nan authorities of your content. When analyzing your data, present are immoderate things to return statement of:

• Content that‘s missing — What is your assemblage willing successful that you haven’t covered?
• Content that‘s underperforming — Which pieces of contented aren’t getting nan numbers you want?
• Outdated contented — If you person aged content, tin you update aliases rework it for optimization?
• Top contented — Content that has performed highly well.
• Word count — Is location a saccharine spot for word count?

Based connected nan results of this analysis, shape them successful nan spreadsheet. A measurement to do this is to delegate different colors based connected what you're analyzing. Then, item nan rows pinch those colors truthful you person an thought of which class is which. This tin thief you spot which contented takes up nan largest portion of your contented library.

It‘s besides a bully thought to scan your results for patterns, trends, and connections that tin beryllium difficult to spot erstwhile you’re looking astatine modular reports. For example:

• Are location outlier posts whose capacity exceeds expectations?
• Are location caller topics that are getting much attraction than they did a fewer months ago?
• Have integrated backlinks spiked for circumstantial content?

This accusation tin thief you admit immoderate of nan happy accidents that are impacting your contented performance. You tin usage this information to grow these ideas into your contented strategy and tactics.

Pro tip: Georgia Tan, co-founder and caput of hunt astatine Switch Key Digital, recommends different facet to support successful mind. “Analyze personification behaviour to summation valuable insights into really users interact pinch your contented and place areas wherever your contented falls short,” Tan says.

According to Tan, devices for illustration heatmaps and personification convention recordings tin uncover areas wherever users driblet off, walk small time, aliases show signs of confusion.

You tin past usage this information to place contented that users consistently disregard aliases abandon, contented which users person debased engagement with, aliases that shows imaginable to pull their attraction for longer.

“Use personification behaviour information to refine your contented strategy by identifying opportunities to amended contented structure, ocular appeal, and nan relevance of nan accusation presented,” Tan says.

5. Create action items.

In this step, you will finalize and cleanable up your audit. You now cognize what to attraction connected based connected nan study and tin spell from there. Think astir nan posts to delete, update, re-write, aliases re-structure.

To shape these action items, I’d adhd 1 past file to nan spreadsheet — 1 that's adjacent to nan beforehand truthful you tin support tabs connected it. This file will fto you cognize nan action to return connected a circumstantial URL. For example, are you going to keep, update, delete, aliases re-write that blog post?

If you scheme connected ranking by privilege aliases including a timeline for this audit, now would beryllium nan clip to see that. Some organizations usage editorial calendars, while others take a much casual approach.

To make a privilege timeline that fits champion pinch your contented audit, deliberation backmost to your first goals and rank nan items you want to execute first.

Keep this database of action items apical of mind. As a result, your adjacent contented audit will show clear advancement toward your goals, based connected nan information you recovered during your audit.

Content Audit Template

You don‘t person to spell done an SEO aliases contented audit process without a compass — location are plentifulness of templates to guideline you if you’re unsure of wherever to start.

To show you really a template tin velocity up nan process, cheque retired HubSpot’s kit connected How to Run an SEO Audit. It’s a nine-step guideline that acts arsenic a template, stepping you done nan process of an SEO audit — pinch dedicated sections connected contented and on-page SEO. Best part? It’s wholly free.

Using sections from nan supra kit arsenic reference, I’ve put together a contented audit template that’ll make it elemental to understand what specifications to look for and capable in. Feel free to adhd aliases delete sections arsenic per your aliases organizational needs.

To start, unfastened a spreadsheet instrumentality and travel along.

Page Type

In nan first column, I’ll specify nan page type for each page I’m auditing. It useful for galore page types, for illustration a location page, landing page, blog post, aliases moreover a shape page.

URL

Then, I’ll capable successful nan URL.

Canonical Tags

Next, I’d statement immoderate canonical tags nan tract whitethorn have. Remember, you tin find canonical tags successful your page's root code.

Pagination

After that, I'd statement if nan page is simply a part of a series of pages to guarantee that nan codification is decently formatted for sequencing.

Page Title

Next up, I‘ll capable successful immoderate specifications astir nan page’s copy. For instance, nan page title. If I included a blog station akin to this 1 successful nan audit, for example, I would put “How to Run an SEO Content Audit” successful this section.

This conception helps maine later cheque that I person nan superior keyword successful nan page title, boosting SERP rank.

Page Purpose

In this section, I'll specify nan extremity of each page.

So, for this blog post, I would specify nan intent of this station successful a short and descriptive sentence. For example, “Educating readers astir really to do a contented audit.”

Focus Keywords

Then, I'd statement nan attraction keywords of that page. My keywords for this station would beryllium thing akin to “On-Page SEO” and “Content Audits.”

Headlines

After that, I’d statement nan headlines aliases title tags connected your page. A bully norm of thumb is to make judge astatine slightest 1 keyword appears successful an H2 to thief rank.

Meta Descriptions

Here, I’d statement whether nan page has a meta explanation and what it is.

Pro tip: Here’s a guide to penning meta descriptions.

Images

Once I outline nan headings and meta description, past I'll attraction connected images. I’ll see nan record sanction of nan images and statement nan alt text.

Pro tip: Alt matter tells Google what your image is about, truthful if your images don't person any, this is simply a bully reminder to adhd them.

Internal and Outbound Links

Next, I’m going to attraction connected links: internal, outbound/external. I’d see nan nexus URL and anchor matter successful nan spreadsheet. Note: nan supra image doesn’t show anchor text, but you tin adhd it successful brackets adjacent nan link.

Pro tip: During nan optimization process later, region surgery soul links, and make judge your page has astatine slightest 3 applicable ones. Remember, soul links thief you to boost nan postulation of different pages connected your site.

Page Speed

Following nexus optimization, I’d statement nan page speed. If nan page takes longer than 2 seconds to load, it mightiness not support nan reader's attention.

Social Sharing

Next, I’d statement down whether nan page is disposable for sharing connected societal media.

Content

I’d besides reappraisal nan contents of nan page, paying typical attraction to nan magnitude of your transcript and wherever and really keywords are used. This is besides a chance to cheque for copy aliases akin content.

Mobile-friendly

Finally, I’d cheque nan page connected mobile devices to thief amended nan accessibility of nan webpage.

Once you’ve entered these specifications successful your template, you’ll statesman to get a clear image of what you tin do to optimize your page. As you adhd much pages to nan template, you whitethorn commencement to announcement issues that travel up many times aliases holes successful your contented strategy.

For example, nan “Images” conception whitethorn show that respective posts are missing images and alt text. For those that person alt text, nan transcript mightiness not beryllium optimized for immoderate attraction keywords.

This contented audit information tin thief you shape a data-driven instauration for strategy updates and recommendations.

Content Audit Checklist

A contented audit checklist helps guarantee you’ve ticked disconnected nan correct steps arsenic you execute a contented audit. I wouldn’t want to beryllium midway done an audit, recognize I missed a important step, and past person to backtrack. A checklist helps forestall that.

Here’s a speedy and elemental contented audit checklist you tin usage to make judge you’re connected nan correct track.

Pro tip: Lisa Kubatzki, Senior SEO Content Manager for nan DACH marketplace astatine GetResponse, advises: “Don’t springiness up connected contented pieces pinch debased SEO worth truthful quickly. That intends contented pieces pinch debased to zero integrated postulation aliases debased rankings,” Kubatzki says.

Instead of simply deleting them, deliberation astir really to repurpose them.

“Is this contented really bully quality-wise? Re-use it for a PR run aliases effort to springiness it a societal media push. Could it beryllium improved? Update nan information, effort a caller format aliases re-write it, looking astatine nan taxable from a caller angle,” Kubatzki emphasizes.

Now, I’ll spell complete immoderate contented audit devices you tin usage to further automate your contented audit process.

While not a requirement, choosing a contented auditing instrumentality tin thief you pinch your process. Rather than gathering URLs manually, nan instrumentality tin automatically aggregate nan contented you’re looking for and show metrics for you to see.

But, I consciousness that nan astir important worth of contented audit devices is that they are fast, helping you prevention a sizeable magnitude of time.

SEO Tools

1. Screaming Frog

Price: First 500 links free, unlimited for $259/year.

Screaming Frog is simply a website crawler. It collects URLs from your sitemap and creates an SEO audit database for you. If you person a smaller site, Screaming Frog tin audit up to 500 URLs for free.

The desktop Screaming Frog website is awesome because it provides a ton of study astir your website and categorizes it for you.

Pro tip: Emina Demiri-Watson, caput of integer trading astatine Vixen Digital, talks astir a visualization instrumentality connected nan platform.

“Screaming Frog’s Force-Directed Crawl Diagrams coupled pinch Google Search Console API information is simply a superb ocular measurement to support your contented audits. By scaling nodes based connected clicks, you tin easy spot high-performing pages (according to clicks) and place those that request attention,” Demiri-Watson says.

2. Ahrefs

Price: Pricing for this instrumentality starts astatine $129/month and they connection Lite, Standard, Advanced, and Enterprise plans.

Source

Ahrefs makes it elemental to way your SEO tract performance. It besides offers powerful devices for keyword research, competitor analysis, and backlink tracking.

You tin export circumstantial reports aliases way URLs, SEO performance, aliases groups of keywords pinch this useful audit tool.

3. SEMrush

Price: Free trial, past pricing starts from $139.95/month.

Source

In a fewer steps, users of SEMrush tin person a robust tract audit. By putting successful nan desired domain, you'll get a customized study that shows you wherever you tin amended your site.

SEMrush’s features besides see keyword research, contented gaps, rank tracking, backlink analysis, and societal media analytics.

4. Google Search Console

Price: Free

This instrumentality makes it easy to way and analyse your website and hunt data. You tin manually corroborate that each page of your tract is indexed and way URLs for useful data. The mobile usability issues features are besides adjuvant during a contented audit. You tin besides link this instrumentality to Google Analytics for much SEO insights.

Pro tip: Learn much astir really to usage Google Search Console pinch this useful post.

5. Google Analytics

Price: Free, pinch paid premium options.

Google Analytics doesn't springiness you a accepted audit, but it provides bully accusation to thief formulate your audit. It lets you cognize who is visiting your website and from where. It besides gives a rundown connected nan behaviors of your visitors.

Google sunsetted Universal Analytics successful 2023. The caller version, called Google Analytics 4 (GA4), uses information to place (and moreover help predict) personification behaviour and springiness you a clearer image of your buyer journey.

Pro tip: Another free Google tool, PageSpeed Insights, is simply a awesome measurement to way page velocity connected mobile and desktop devices.

6. WooRank

Price: Pricing for this instrumentality starts astatine $19.99/month, and they connection Lite, Pro, Premium, and Enterprise plans.

Source

WooRank offers aggregate features for SEO and contented auditing that tin thief you analyse your tract and travel up pinch action items for nan future. This includes tract crawl, keyword tracking, website scoring, and competitory analysis.

Content Organization Tools

7. Google Sheets

Price: Free

If you're not utilized to spreadsheets, this useful online instrumentality makes it easy to shape your contented audit. This instrumentality tin thief you:

• Tie together different information points from your contented audit
• Let squad members collaborate and remark connected data
• Offers formulas and different devices to update captious metrics

If you're not judge really to make nan astir of this tool, this guide to Google Sheets tin thief you get started.

Pro tip: Looking for much useful tools? This database of content trading tools tin thief you shape and amended your content.

Another fantabulous assets to cheque retired is HubSpot’s content trading readying kit that includes 8 templates specified arsenic customer segmentation, contented mapping, contented trading calendar, and SEO planning, among others.

How to Do a Content Audit That Makes an Impact

Working connected this portion taught maine nan value of extremity mounting and systematic readying erstwhile it comes to carrying retired a contented audit. And I dream that this station has equipped you pinch nan knowledge needed to execute one.

I’ve gone done really to behaviour contented audits, devices to velocity up nan process, and a template to guideline you. You're afloat prepared to usage these audits successful your statement for amended contented strategy and results.

Give it a try, and happy auditing!