How to conduct a content audit on the website
A content audit is a systematic review of every page on your site, using performance data, to decide what to keep, update, merge, redirect or remove. It shows which content brings traffic and sales, which has lost relevance, and where gaps are. Below is our four-step process with a template you can copy. Key takeaways […]
A content audit is a systematic review of every page on your site, using performance data, to decide what to keep, update, merge, redirect or remove. It shows which content brings traffic and sales, which has lost relevance, and where gaps are. Below is our four-step process with a template you can copy.
Key takeaways
- Step 1, preparation: define the goal, audience and business goal; collect all URLs and target topics.
- Step 2, inventory: group pages by purchase stage (awareness, consideration, decision) and page type.
- Step 3, data: Search Console (clicks, impressions, CTR, position, queries), GA4 (engagement, key events), last update, author, AI visibility.
- Step 4, decisions: assign every URL an action: keep, update, merge, redirect or remove.
- Don’t score length or keyword density. Google has no preferred word count; judge whether the page fully answers the search intent.
Make your brand visible – from Google to AI chatbots.
How do you prepare for a content audit?
Define the goal
Decide what the audit should achieve, for example: find content gaps, improve conversions on pages with traffic but few sales, recover lost visibility, fix keyword cannibalization or prepare content for AI search. The goal decides which data matters most.
Define the audience and business goal
Who reads the content and how do they decide (on impulse or after research)? Is the content meant to sell, build brand awareness or establish expertise? This shapes the format, length and tone you’ll look for.
Prepare tools and data
| Tool | What for |
|---|---|
| Spreadsheet (Google Sheets / Excel) | The audit file: one row per URL |
| Google Search Console | Clicks, impressions, CTR, position and queries per page |
| Google Analytics 4 | Engaged sessions, engagement rate, key events and revenue per landing page |
| Crawler, e.g. Screaming Frog (free up to 500 URLs) | All URLs, titles, headings, word count, status codes, canonicals |
| Keyword tool (Semrush, Ahrefs, Senuto) | Topics and queries, competitors’ content |
| AI visibility tool or manual prompts | Whether ChatGPT, Gemini or Perplexity cite your pages for key questions |
Prepare topics and keywords
List the topics and queries that define your business, grouped by search intent (see search intent). Use Search Console, keyword tools, competitors’ headings and Google’s autocomplete and People also ask.
Step 1: How do you group content by purchase stage?
| Stage | Typical pages | Role of content |
|---|---|---|
| Awareness | Blog posts, guides, how-tos | Help the user understand and solve a problem |
| Consideration | Category pages with buying advice, comparisons, size guides | Help choose between options; build trust |
| Decision | Product pages, pricing, offers | Convince: benefits, reviews, delivery and returns, promotions |
If you have no awareness-stage content (for example no blog), that’s already a finding. See the e-commerce purchase path.
Step 2: What data should you collect for each page?
| Column | Source |
|---|---|
| URL, page type, purchase stage, content format (text, video, both) | Crawler, manual |
| Title, meta description, H1 and heading structure | Crawler |
| Main topic and target intent; topics covered vs. missing | Manual, keyword tool |
| Clicks, impressions, CTR, average position (last 12 months and change vs. previous period) | Search Console |
| Top queries and other URLs ranking for them (cannibalization) | Search Console |
| Engaged sessions, engagement rate, average engagement time, key events / revenue | GA4 |
| Last substantial update; outdated facts, prices, dates | CMS, manual |
| Author named, with bio; sources cited | Manual |
| Main content visible in HTML without JavaScript | View source / DevTools |
| Cited in AI answers for key prompts (yes/no, which platform) | AI visibility tool, manual |
| Internal links in/out; backlinks | Crawler, link tool |
Use consistent labels in each column so you can filter and sort later.
Step 3: How do you evaluate each page?
Score each page on what affects users and search engines today. Word count and keyword repetition aren’t on the list: Google says it has no preferred word count, and topic coverage matters more than keyword density (topical authority).
| Criterion | Question | Points |
|---|---|---|
| Intent match | Does the page type and format match what ranks for its main query? | 0–2 |
| Completeness | Does it answer the main question first and cover the related questions users ask? | 0–2 |
| Freshness | Are facts, prices, dates and screenshots current? | 0–2 |
| Trust (E-E-A-T) | Named author with expertise, sources, first-hand examples? | 0–2 |
| Structure | One H1, clear H2/H3, lists and tables where useful, title that reflects the content? | 0–2 |
| Performance | Stable or growing clicks; CTR in line with position; key events? | 0–2 |
| AI readiness | Content in HTML, clear answers, cited in AI for key prompts? | 0–2 |
Maximum: 14 points. Low scores show where to start; see also E-E-A-T in AI search.
Pages with traffic but low engagement
If a page gets many visits but low engagement, either users don’t find what they wanted, or they found it and had no reason to stay.
- They don’t find the answer: compare with the top results, put the answer first and make it scannable. Someone looking for how to remove a beetroot stain wants “Sprinkle salt on the stain, leave it for 15 minutes, then wash”, not the history of beetroot at Christmas.
- They find it and leave: add a next step suited to the stage: related guides, a category or a product, with clear links and CTAs. For a guide on leather shoe care, list “7 ways to keep leather shoes looking good” and link to care products.
Pages with little or no traffic
- Not targeted to any real query: align the topic, title and headings with how people search.
- Niche topic: connect it to a broader one. A page about your proprietary sole foam can become part of a guide on choosing soles for different sports.
- Highly competitive topic: cover long-tail questions, add unique data or experience, improve internal links and build mentions and links.
- Duplicates another page (cannibalization): merge them into one stronger page.
Step 4: What should you do with each page?
| Decision | When | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| Keep | Performs well, current and complete | Monitor; refresh on schedule |
| Update | Has potential, but outdated, incomplete or poorly structured | Rewrite key sections, update facts, improve title and headings |
| Merge | Several pages on the same topic compete | Combine into one page; 301-redirect the others |
| Redirect | Outdated page with links or traffic, and a relevant replacement exists | 301 to the closest relevant page |
| Remove | No traffic, no links, no business value, no replacement | Delete (410/404) or noindex; update internal links |
Prioritize by impact: first pages with high impressions and falling clicks, then those close to page one, then the rest. Repeat the audit at least yearly; content keeps decaying, and pages cited by AI tend to be fresher. See why one-off optimization doesn’t last.
Let your customers find you, wherever they look.
FAQ
How often should you do a content audit?
A full audit once a year, and a lighter review of key pages every quarter or after a major Google update.
Does content length matter in a content audit?
Not as a score. Google has no preferred word count. Check whether the page fully answers the question for its intent, whether it takes 300 words or 3,000.
Should I delete old content?
Only if it has no traffic, links or business value and no relevant replacement. Otherwise update it, merge it with a related page or redirect it.
What tools do I need for a content audit?
A spreadsheet, Google Search Console, GA4 and a crawler such as Screaming Frog. A keyword tool and an AI visibility tool help with gaps and AI search.
Sources
- Google Search Central: Creating helpful, reliable, people-first content
- Google Search Central: Control your snippets in search results
- Google Search Console Help: Performance report
- Screaming Frog: SEO Spider pricing (free up to 500 URLs)
- Search Engine Land: Google changed 76% of title tags
- Ahrefs: Do AI assistants prefer to cite fresh content?
About the author: This article was prepared by the Insightland SEO and GEO team. Insightland is a Wrocław-based agency, part of the Hexe Capital Tech Hub, that connects business, tech and data: SEO and GEO, performance marketing, UX and analytics, and SEO and AI training. Contact us.
