There is no right or wrong answer for when to do a content audit, as each site is different. However, signs might show that it’s time to assess your content.
Don’t be so quick to make changes if search engines like Google do an update as many times as good content prevails, and your rankings can return.
What is a content audit?
A content audit is essential to any website’s maintenance and optimisation. It involves collecting and analysing the assets on a website, such as landing pages or blog posts, to gain insight into what content should be created, updated, re-written, or deleted. This process helps to ensure that a website remains up-to-date and relevant for its users.
Content audits are typically conducted by web admins or SEO professionals who use various tools to analyse the content on a website. These tools can help identify which pages are performing well and which need improvement. They can also provide insights into how visitors interact with the site and what types of content they prefer. By conducting regular content audits, websites can stay ahead of their competition and remain competitive in the digital landscape.
Use this as a guideline instead:
- If traffic has plateaued and web pages that need to be ranked or usually do rank are not. (After tech and also framework concerns have been dealt with).
- Web content constantly in the top positions has slipped or started to slide, and you are finding that your competitors are starting to jump ahead of you.
- In the quiet season, if your traffic is seasonal, you can work on improving the content and reviewing your competitors.
- Yearly evaluations of your content.
Reasons why my traffic has stalled.
Have you noticed a drop in your traffic, and do you regularly add content? It’s best to stop and take a breath to look at the content you publish.
If you constantly write content about the same topic, your content may compete against itself. Try writing about a new topic or different products and services that can attract a diverse audience with various keywords. It’s also worthwhile thinking about your audience and identifying if using other words or terminology might change your user base.
Are you noticing a drop in sharing of your content through Social Media or your insights with click-through rates? It’s time to refresh your content and determine what works for your competitors.
Certain pages and categories are not being visited as much anymore.
If you’re noticing a slip in visitors for previously popular areas or themes on your website, it’s worth asking yourself these questions:
- What competitors or content have replaced you in the search results?
- What content is doing well for them?
- Do they have more Google Reviews than you?
- Do they have more backlinks and internal links?
- Do you have any underperforming content or outdated content?
- Is your site optimised properly:
- Alt tags for your images
- The correct schema for each area
- A sitemap that is up to date
- Robots text that allows your content to be thoroughly searched
- Well-written metadata descriptions
- Easy to read information with the correct headings (including only one H1 for each page).
- No broken links
My traffic is seasonal.
Some businesses have quiet times and are busier at different periods. Make the most of your quiet time and start looking at your content to see how you can improve it. Check out your competitors, write a plan and get others to read your content to see what works before heading into the busiest season of your business.
Evaluate yearly
If you don’t check in on your content yearly, you are doing yourself and your business an injustice. The best way to get the most out of your website is to know what works and doesn’t for you AND your competitors.
Make sure when you do evaluate that you look at the following:
- What content is working and what isn’t.
- What keywords are working for each page or category?
- Know your audience and where your traffic is coming from.
- Where do people fall off on your website?
- Compare the results of your pages in different periods of the year to understand what content works when.
When deciding when to do a content audit on your website, there is no one-size-fits-all answer. It depends on the individual needs of your website and what you hope to achieve from the audit. It is, however, a good idea to conduct a content audit at least once a year or during a quiet period when you can focus and improve on the website content.
If you’re wanting some advice on how to audit, need some content written or do a competitor analysis? Look no further; contact Design Grid for all your content and auditing needs.
