Free Content Audit Template

What Is a Content Audit?

Even if you put a lot of effort into your content, it might not rank well, convert visitors, or contribute to your business. It can be frustrating.

But that doesn't mean your efforts were in vain.

You can always revisit the content, figure out what didn't work, and make adjustments to improve its performance.

That's essentially the content audit process, and it's a crucial element of a successful content strategy.

Think of it as a thorough check-up of all the content on your website or digital platform.

A successful content audit will help you answer questions such as:

• What constitutes your current content?
• Does this content offer value?
• How do users discover this content?
• What is the performance status of the content?
• Is the content up to date?
• Does the content align with current business goals?
• Are there any gaps in content coverage?
• How well does the content resonate with your target audience?
• Is the content consistent with your brand messaging?
• Are there ways to repurpose existing content?

By assessing each piece of content, you ensure it aligns with your brand, connects with your target audience, and contributes to your overall goals.

All in all, a content audit is a strategic process to identify strengths and address weaknesses. It sets the stage for creating more impactful content in the future.

Why Is a Content Audit Important?

At first glance, content audits may appear time-consuming. You may even find them unnecessary, demanding resources that could be allocated elsewhere.

But that’s hardly true.

In the grand scheme, content audits prove to be invaluable investments.

Much like tending to a garden requires initial effort, regularly auditing content ensures that only the most fruitful and relevant elements thrive.

This proactive approach helps in identifying issues early on. This prevents potential crises that might otherwise lead to increased costs down the road.

Here are some aspects a thorough content audit can help you with:

• Identifying and cataloging all existing content
• Assessing and improving the overall quality of content
• Addressing SEO issues and enhancing search performance
• Evaluating content performance metrics
• Ensuring content remains relevant to the audience
• Aligning content with business and marketing strategies
• Enhancing overall user experience by removing outdated content
• Establishing or refining content governance policies
• Identifying and addressing gaps in the content strategy
• Optimizing resource allocation based on content performance

Beyond the expected benefits, content audits bring about some uncommon advantages.

For instance, analyzing existing content may spark new ideas. Simultaneously, team members gain a deeper understanding of their content's impact, which can boost confidence.

How to Perform a Content Audit Effective

Short answer? Download our free content audit template!

Here’s the long one:

Content audits can be tricky because they demand detailed analysis and organization of diverse content. They involve assessing quality, relevance, and performance metrics, requiring a grip on SEO and user experience.

And that’s not it.

Coordinating efforts among team members for a comprehensive view adds an extra layer of complexity.

So that you don’t miss a beat, we've outlined a step-by-step process for conducting a content audit. It’s a valuable resource for both novices and experienced content marketers seeking a refresher.

But when's the right time for a content audit?

There are various situations where it can be beneficial. Here's an example:

Let's say you run a tech blog, and there's been a recent shift in industry trends towards artificial intelligence. Conducting a content audit in this scenario helps you identify and update older posts to include the latest information on AI.

This ensures your content remains relevant and valuable to your readership.

Step 1: Define Objectives and Assemble a Team

Begin by clearly articulating the objectives of your content audit. Make sure you align them with overarching business goals.

Let’s say your objective is to enhance brand messaging. In that case, assemble a dedicated team encompassing content creators, SEO specialists, and strategy experts.

This collaborative approach ensures a holistic evaluation. It leverages diverse perspectives and expertise to create a well-rounded content strategy.

Step 2: Create a Content Inventory.

Compile an exhaustive inventory of your content assets using our template. Include crucial details such as URLs, content types, publication dates, and meta descriptions.

Your content assets could include blog posts, landing pages, videos, PDFs, and interactive content. Color coding aids in handling diverse content types and formats.

This comprehensive list offers a clear overview of your content landscape. And you can always use content audit templates to quickly gather a content inventory for your audit.

Step 3: Collect and Evaluate Content Audit Data

Now, it’s time to assess the quality of the existing content. Conduct a meticulous evaluation by systematically considering quality, relevance, and performance metrics.

Evaluate engagement, conversion rates, and SEO effectiveness to identify strengths and weaknesses. This detailed analysis forms the basis for informed decision-making.

Data collection can be complex and time-consuming, often requiring manual input from multiple sources. To simplify the process, you can consider using online analytics tools.

Step 4: Create an Action Plan

Before creating an action plan, revisit the goals outlined in Step 1. This will help you ensure each aspect of your content strategy aligns with a business objective.

Use the assessment to develop specific recommendations for each piece of content, including updates, SEO optimization, repurposing, or removal of outdated material.

You can also prioritize these actions by adding a ‘priority' column to your spreadsheet. This aids in prioritizing tasks by weighing resources against expected results.

Step 5: Extract Strategic Insights

Summarize critical findings and insights extracted from the content audit. Additionally, identify emerging trends or patterns to inform proactive content strategies.

This step spotlights successful strategies and areas that need improvement. It becomes a valuable resource for strategic planning and guiding future content initiatives.

You can also take a look at your competitors' content to further refine your strategy. This way, you can understand how your content compares in terms of quality and relevance.

Step 6: Set a Specific Date for Monthly Review

Establish a routine for reviewing and updating your content strategy. You can do this by designating a specific date for monthly reviews.

Revisit your goals during each review and confirm that your content aligns with them. In case of shifts in business priorities or new opportunities, adjust your approach.

Additionally, assess how resources are allocated for content creation and distribution. Always ensure that your team's efforts are directed toward high-impact areas.

What Metrics Should I Track During a Content Audit?

Various metrics are available for tracking during a content audit. They fall into informational, qualitative, or quantitative categories. Ideally, you want to maintain a balance across all three types of metrics.

That said, the choice of metrics to emphasize hinges on the goals of your content audit.

Let’s say your content audit aims to win new customers. In that case, focus on metrics like conversion rates, customer acquisition costs, sales funnel progression, and keyword rankings.

Depending on your objectives, here are key metrics to consider:

• Comments and social shares
• Organic traffic from search engines
• Bounce rate
• Backlinks
• Time on page
• Unique visitors
• Pages per session
• Traffic sources
• Conversions

Don’t spread yourself thin by monitoring an exhaustive list of metrics. Stay focused on relevant indicators.

Additionally, acknowledge that the objectives of your content audit are dynamic and may shift over time. Ensure that the metrics you monitor adapt accordingly to align with evolving goals.

When Should You Perform a Content Audit?

Content performance cannot be viewed in isolation. It is shaped by a range of factors, such as evolving algorithms and emerging trends.

Hence, regular analyses of your content are crucial to gauge performance and pinpoint areas for enhancement.

Now, what does ‘regular' truly mean?

Well, you can start by conducting an audit annually or biannually and then adjust as needed.

That said, particular situations could prompt you to kickstart a content audit. These include:

• After major website updates, redesigns, or overhauls
• Amidst rebranding efforts or shifts in business focus
• A sudden decline in site traffic or engagement
• When refining your content strategy or targeting a new audience
• Before launching significant marketing campaigns or product releases
• During changes in content management or ownership
• After observing major shifts in competitor strategies
• When implementing new monetization strategies

The timing of content audits holds significant importance in ensuring their effectiveness.

But it doesn’t end there.

Tailoring the content audit focus to specific goals is equally crucial.

For instance, an SEO-focused content audit may emphasize keyword optimization and backlink analysis. Conversely, a user experience-focused audit might prioritize content structure, readability, and multimedia elements.

Why Do You Need a Content Audit Template?

Imagine a content audit like cleaning out a closet filled with years of stuff.

Sorting through various items, from old clothes to hidden gems, can be overwhelming—similar to navigating the diverse web pages, images, and videos during a content audit.

Overlooking any crucial elements can diminish the effectiveness of your audit.

The solution?

A content audit checklist of tasks and tips to ensure accurate execution.

Fortunately, our free content audit template offers just that. It guides you through a comprehensive audit, ensuring that no task is overlooked from start to finish.

Want to know the best part?

Whether you're a novice or an expert, this content audit template is designed to suit your needs seamlessly.

Take a glimpse into what it provides and the advantages it offers:

• Helps create a comprehensive list of all existing content assets, such as articles, blog posts, images, videos, etc.
• Organizes content based on URLs, titles, publication dates, and other relevant metadata.
• Assists in evaluating the quality, relevance, and effectiveness of each piece of content.
• Tracks and assesses the performance of content in terms of Search Engine Optimization (SEO).
• Helps identify outdated content that may need updating or removal.
• Evaluates the user experience by looking at factors such as clarity, layout, and multimedia elements.
• Examines how well each piece of content contributes to the desired goals.
• Helps in planning future content creation and resource allocation by identifying areas of improvement.
• Facilitates collaboration among content team members by providing a centralized document.

A content audit serves as a valuable tool for various individuals. These include content managers, SEO professionals, content creators, entrepreneurs, and more.

Moreover, agencies juggling multiple projects often find that templates significantly improve the organization of their work. So, don't hesitate any longer—grab our free content audit template now.

What’s Included in This Free Content Audit Template?

This free content audit template lets you do several things—organize your assets, evaluate performance, tick off tasks, and effortlessly collaborate while creating and tracking your action plan.

And that’s not it.

Our content audit template offers the added advantage of tracking audit dates, auditors, and the purpose of the audit all in one convenient location. This ensures easy reference whenever required in the future.

Eager to explore further details about the template?

Let's jump right in.

Content Inventory

The initial phase of a content audit involves taking stock of your existing assets. This includes articles, blog posts, images, videos, or any other relevant content.

By having a clear inventory, content managers and marketers can gain an overview of the entire content landscape.

This facilitates efficient analysis, tracking, and strategic decision-making during the content audit process.

Using our content audit template, you can:

• Catalog content, including URL, type, publication date, target audience, and status
• Record external or internal links embedded in the content
• Monitor the tone of voice employed in each piece
• Document keywords utilized within the content
• Keep track of the last update date for each piece of content

Content Assessment

Given the ever-changing consumer behaviors and constantly emerging trends, content may become outdated quickly.

However, this aspect of our content audit template acts as a safeguard against such occurrences.

This stage focuses on assessing the quality, relevance, and performance of every content piece in the inventory.

In this context, our content audit template offers you the ability to:

• Monitor the clarity, accuracy, engagement, and visual appeal of your content
• Scrutinize elements such as grammar and spelling
• Analyze key metrics including traffic, engagement, and conversion rates
• Assess the content's ranking for target keywords.
• Evaluate the performance of the content on social media platforms
• Verify if the content aligns with your brand's voice and objectives

Recommendations, Action Plan, and Conclusion

By completing the content inventory and assessment steps, you gain valuable insights. This part of the content audit template helps you translate audit insights into actionable steps.

This way, you’ll have informed recommendations to enhance content quality and relevance.

A robust action plan outlines necessary actions for existing content, identifies the creation of new content, and establishes timelines for implementation.

Utilize our content audit template to:

• Determine whether to retain, update, or archive existing content
• Establish precise actions for enhancing content quality and performance
• Pinpoint areas requiring the creation of new content
• Strategize how to promote valuable yet underperforming content
• Establish timelines for the implementation of recommended actions
• Summarize key findings based on the content audit

How to Use This Free Content Audit Template?

Our content strategy template is not only free but also remarkably easy to use. Nevertheless, let's walk through a step-by-step process to assist you:

• Access this free template using one of the download buttons on this page.
• Take a moment to review the template structure.
• Specify your primary business and content goals.
• Begin populating the template with information about your existing content.
• Include details such as URLs, titles, publication dates, and other relevant metadata.
• Evaluate the quality, relevance, and metrics of each piece of content.
• Decide on actions to be taken for each piece of content.
• Use insights gained from the audit to plan future content creation.
• Set a specific date for the monthly review.

FAQ

Q1. How do you conduct a content audit?

A. Here's a step-by-step process for conducting an effective content audit:

• Create a content audit spreadsheet, or use our free content audit template.
• Clearly define content audit objectives aligned with major business goals.
• Form a dedicated team based on your goals.
• Compile a comprehensive content inventory.
• Systematically assess content quality, engagement, conversion rates, and SEO effectiveness.
• Revisit goals, align content strategy with business objectives, and develop specific recommendations for each piece.
• Evaluate competitor content for comparative insights into quality and relevance.
• Summarize critical findings, identify emerging trends, and refine content strategies.
• Establish a routine for monthly reviews.

Q2. What are the 3 goals of a content audit?

A. Among the various objectives of a content audit, here are the three essential ones:

• Enhance content quality: Assess and improve the overall quality of existing content. The goal is to ensure clarity, accuracy, and engagement, aligning the content with high standards.

• Optimize relevance: This involves ensuring content remains pertinent to target audiences and aligns with business goals. It’s achieved by identifying and updating or removing outdated or underperforming material.

• Maximize performance: Furthermore, content is evaluated using metrics such as engagement, conversion rates, and SEO effectiveness. The objective is to enhance overall content performance and impact.

Q3.  Why is a content audit useful?

A. Conducting content audits brings forth a myriad of benefits. Firstly, it provides a comprehensive understanding of existing content, identifying strengths and weaknesses.

In the realm of SEO, a content audit enables the tracking and optimization of key metrics. This enhances the website's visibility, thus boosting traffic from search engines.

Moreover, the audit serves as a tool for efficient resource allocation. By highlighting successful strategies, it contributes to a more targeted and effective content strategy.

Finally, the collaborative aspect of a content audit fosters improved communication and coordination among team members.

Overall, the benefits of content audits extend to improved user experience, enhanced SEO performance, and a more effective content strategy.

Q3. What is an SEO content audit?

A. An SEO audit examines a website's content with a focus on SEO factors. With it, you can:

• Assess keyword effectiveness for SEO relevance.
• Optimize meta elements like titles and descriptions.
• Analyze backlink quality and quantity for SEO impact.
• Review content quality, readability, and relevance.
• Examine internal links for improved navigation and SEO.
• Consider factors like page speed and mobile-friendliness.
• Identify and address duplicate content issues.
• Ensure the accuracy of metadata for search engine visibility.
• Check image optimization for improved SEO.
• Compare SEO performance with competitors for insights.

Q5. How can I perform a content audit for free?

A. Conducting content audits doesn't always require a financial investment. Use our free content audit template as a starting point.

Additionally, explore various content audit tools to enhance your efforts. Here are some options worth considering:

• Google Analytics for analyzing website traffic and user behavior
• Semrush for conducting competitive analysis and keyword research
• Ahrefs for evaluating backlink profiles and conducting competitor analysis
• Google Search Console for a website content audit
• Copyscape for checking content for plagiarism and duplicate content
• Grammarly for identifying grammar and readability issues
• Yoast SEO for optimizing content for SEO within WordPress
• BuzzSumo for identifying popular content and trends in your industry

Ready to Elevate Your Content Game? Start Your Audit!

Grab our FREE content audit template and analyze your content assets. Ditch the guesswork, and make informed decisions about your future content strategy. Optimize resources by focusing on what truly matters.