So, you have a website. You either taught yourself to build it or hired a firm to build the site for you. Either way, you invested a great deal of resources so that potential clients could find information about your company online. Now, all that you have to do is sit back and let the profits roll in forever, right?
Well, not quite. Much like a car, websites require consistent maintenance to keep running efficiently. One of those maintenance steps is a content audit. In this blog post, we will review what a content audit is, why it is important, and how to do it.
What is a Content Audit?
A content audit is a systematic review of your website’s pages and the media therein to optimize site function and searchability. According to Walker Sands, a U.S.-based b2b marketing company, the “main goal of a content audit is to provide a comprehensive framework of content that needs to be thrown out, edited, reorganized, optimized, repurposed, or created from scratch.” In short, it’s figuring out what content on your site works, and what doesn’t.
Why Do a Content Audit?
There are many reasons to do a content audit of your website.
1. Improve SEO
Rebecca Churt suggests using a content audit as an opportunity to bolster SEO. “You will be able to identify any missed SEO opportunities,” she writes for HubSpot, “and remedy any misguided or poorly executed SEO pitfalls” like keyword stuffing.
Using a content audit as an opportunity to improve your information structure can also help improve SEO. Walker Sands points out that, regardless of how good your content is, “it isn’t helpful if it isn’t accessible.” Breaking longer paragraphs out into shorter paragraphs with subheadings will help both skimming human readers and search engine crawlers navigate your content more quickly and easily. You can read more about that in our blog entry about writing copy for the web.
2. Identify Problems or Gaps in Current Content
Part of the audit process is taking inventory of the content you have and how it is performing. Once you have done that, consider your audience. Does the content currently on your website quickly and easily answer the questions that your audience has? If not, what new content can be created to alleviate this issue? Creating content that is relevant for your audience will help readers find what they need and help you keep your audience on your website.
3. Increase Sales Opportunities
Better SEO-optimized content will drive more traffic to your website, and customers who are more satisfied with the quality of information on your website are more likely to convert to sales leads. Further, in combing through your existing content, Mailchimp notes that you might find more places to include calls to action or to update product descriptions to keep your information accurate and customer journey clear.
4. You’re Considering a Design Overhaul
Websites need a design refresh every once in a while. However, you don’t want a fresh design with out-of-date copy. Content informs design. One of the best ways to begin a redesign of your website is to start with a content audit, and then transition to the design overhaul.
How to Audit Your Website Content
Now that you know what a website content audit is and why it is beneficial, let’s move on to the practical matters.
Pull and Review Existing Pages
The first step in auditing your website content is to pull your existing pages into a list in an excel document. Many online programs exist that will do this for you. Our developer recommends this one from check-domains.com. Simply copy your website URL and paste it into the Site URL box. Then, click “Create,” and let the online tool do the work of pulling all the pages of your website into a .txt file.
Once your pages have been pulled into a spreadsheet, start reviewing them. Click on each page link and scan the content that is there. On each page, ask yourself: does this page content match the page title? Does this content already exist elsewhere on the website? Check for duplicates that could be deleted or pages that could be merged. Use site analytics to gauge which pages are performing well and which pages should be cut or improved.
Then, develop a system that visually represents the suggested action step for each page, we recommend a categorized spreadsheet with color coding and comments to indicate suggested changes.
Once you know which pages you are keeping, you can do any site restructuring you want to do. Make sure all parent-child relationships between pages still make sense and that most pages have logical “homes” under menu navigation on your website.
This is also a good time to review your site URLs. Ideally, they are all short, relevant, and searchable.
Page Content Review
Now that you have audited your pages on a macro level, it’s time to get more specific. On each page, you should check for:
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H1 in Header
The H1 is one of the first things that tells search engine crawlers about the content on your page. An informative H1 in the header (where crawlers know to look for an H1) helps optimize your page for search engines, but remember that each page should only have one H1
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Heading Structure
After H1s, search engine crawlers scan H2s, H3s, and so on. Breaking content out into paragraphs with headings and subheadings allows search engines to skim your content more quickly. Headings also offer you the opportunity to use keywords more organically.
Adding heading structure also helps human readers find the information they’re seeking. Most people do not read all of the content on a site; they scan the page to find the information they’re looking for. Make it easier for them by utilizing descriptive headings.
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Chunking
No one likes looking at large blocks of text. Read through copy on your pages and search for places where longer paragraphs can be broken up into shorter ones. Add in relevant graphics like tables, pictures, graphs, and so on to bring visual variety to your pages.
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Internal Linking
Internal links are links on your website that point back to other pages on your website–like when I linked to the “writing copy for the web” blog post earlier. Internal links help prove to search engines that you are an expert in your field because they show you know about your topic beyond one post.
It is important to check each internal page when doing your content audit because most people land on internal pages, rather than on the homepage, of your website. Each internal page should be as polished as your homepage.
Content audits are required to maximize website function and searchability. Periodically reviewing the content on your website will help you improve SEO, find and improve underperforming content, and boost sales opportunities. Simply pull a sitemap and review your existing pages and their content to begin.
Work with Evolve Creative
If your site has gotten unwieldy, it may be time for a content audit. While you could do it on your own, depending on the size of your website, it may be easier to partner with professionals. Evolve Creative has audited the content for websites large and small and can offer a personalized quote to suit your needs.
