Let’s say your crew’s content material technique has been rolling alongside in response to plan for months or possibly even years. You’ve bought an environment friendly pipeline pumping out blogs, ebooks, infographics, social media, and thought management. And but, the outcomes nonetheless don’t mirror the trouble. That is your cue to take initiative within the subsequent planning assembly and recommend a deep dive to see why.
This course of—going by your backlog to see what’s efficient and what’s missing—known as a content material audit. Quite than a chore, a web site content material audit is a helpful train for sustaining an efficient advertising technique. It helps groups take a big-picture view and discover content material gaps and potential alternatives.
![2025 Social Media Content material Calendar [Infographic]](https://www.theautonewspaper.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/2025-Social-Media-Ideas-12-Month-Content-Calendar-120x86.jpg)
An outline on the content material audit course of
So, are you questioning carry out a content material audit? There are many approaches and instruments and you need to take into account whether or not your finish aim is to enhance website positioning, improve conversions, or drive visitors. Regardless, your audit ought to include these key steps beneath.
1. Discover each asset produced in a sure time interval
That is probably the most time-intensive a part of the method, and it could get unwieldy quick. The trick is to set boundaries. You don’t wish to waste time going again 10 years—any information or commentary you used has probably misplaced its relevance. As an alternative, evaluation and stock content material from the final two or three years.
Take note of how a lot you wrestle throughout this train. Does your group have an environment friendly labeling and archiving course of? How will you enhance on it to ease future content material audits?
2. Map content material to your advertising infrastructure
When you spherical up all of your content material, the subsequent step is to tag the whole lot. Not solely will a sound tagging construction show you how to set up your previous belongings, however it’ll additionally provide you with route for brand spanking new items. Widespread tags may apply to elements of the advertising funnel, personas, subject pillars, industries, and so forth.
3. Establish what’s value protecting
That is the enjoyable half. As you’re making use of your taxonomy, a superb audit will reveal what content material you may reuse, repurpose, or discard.
Advantages of a content material audit
Now that you understand how to conduct a content material audit, what are you able to count on subsequent? There are a number of common advantages, and having a tidy content material stock is only one of them.
Lower your expenses
When surfacing forgotten belongings, you may discover content material instantly able to go dwell or belongings that solely want minor revisions. After Contently carried out an inner audit in 2022, we found 22 articles that supplied our viewers essential recommendation however had outdated analysis. We up to date the copy after which resurrected all 22 hyperlinks. Quite than begin from scratch, the audit saved us money and time that may be redistributed elsewhere. Simply this yr, we went deeper and reviewed a decade’s value of weblog content material to find out what wanted refreshing or rewriting — as an alternative of making new content material — so we may proceed to supply the best-quality content material to our viewers.
Enhance effectivity
Losing content material is unhealthy, however this stat is much more disheartening: on common, 42 p.c of salespeople don’t use B2B content material advertising belongings to generate gross sales/income, in response to a Content material Advertising Institute and MarketingProfs research. Why? Perhaps as a result of your content material is both unusable or unfindable.
Both means, your content material ecosystem has an issue. If individuals can’t simply discover the content material they want, it doesn’t matter how good it’s. And if content material is straightforward to search out content material however not superb, it received’t get used both.
An audit is the right alternative to evaluate why content material goes unused. Maybe there’s a workflow breakdown, or your salespeople don’t know the place to entry the content material they want. Regardless of the motive, make it a degree to lower the litter. So, if you happen to discover a piece of content material that may’t be repurposed, delete it.
Keep consistency
Advertising departments reorganize on a regular basis — software program techniques change, model pointers evolve, and objectives regulate. As you’re deciding what content material to maintain, be sure previous belongings match these modifications. Getting thus far might require updating tags, tweaking language, and importing content material into a brand new system.
When you’re completed auditing, you’ll have an incredible alternative to do a broad evaluation of what content material carried out properly and why. You possibly can then use that historic information to tell your technique transferring ahead.
Corporations that take the time to maximise their editorial belongings can see huge outcomes. Are you prepared to begin a content material audit? Contently’s skilled content material strategists can assist you with the general technique, suggestions and execution of every step.
Ask the Content material Strategist: FAQs about carry out a content material audit
How typically ought to a content material audit be carried out?
It’s usually advisable to conduct a content material audit yearly or bi-annually, relying on the amount of content material and modifications in your advertising technique.
What instruments can be utilized to conduct an website positioning content material audit?
Instruments like Google Analytics, SEMrush, Screaming Frog, and content material administration techniques (CMS) with built-in analytics can assist you determine what content material is performing properly and what content material may use some consideration if you happen to’re doing an website positioning content material audit particularly.
Who needs to be concerned within the content material audit course of?
Sometimes, a cross-functional crew involving advertising, gross sales, and typically even IT or product groups needs to be concerned to make sure that the audit is complete and aligned with broader enterprise objectives.
To study extra about do a content material audit or construct a content material technique that performs, subscribe to The Content material Strategist.
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