Content audits are necessary to ensure your website is functioning properly, as well as to find any errors that need correction. Like any sort of maintenance, content audits should be done every once in a while to evaluate your website or before and after a major change in the industry. This way, you can keep your website updated according to the latest SEO tips. While most people think that audits are tough, it really comes down to a few simple steps:
Start With a Plan
With something quite complex as a content audit, you definitely dont want to do all the work alone. You need a few fresh pairs of eyes to help you with the daunting task of running through the entirety of your content. If you dont have the manpower, then perhaps it is in your best interest to hire an SEO company to conduct the audit for you instead. Be sure, however, to have a strategy in place before the work even begins; this way, you will be going about things in an organized manner, which will be a great help as you track your progress.
Use Audit Tools
Aside from getting professional help, an article on Entrepreneur.com (@Entrepreneur) says you may also opt to use some tools to help speed the work along. Most businesses have thousands of pages of content, so you can imagine how difficult it must be to painstakingly go through each and every one of those pages with only your eyes. One of the most popular tools used today by many SEO companies is Google Analytics, a nifty little tool that helps you determine which of your content is getting the most traffic (and why) so you can replicate the results.
Make Changes After the Audit
No matter how perfect you think your website is, youre bound to find some mistakes when you conduct an audit. It might be a faulty link or outdated content; whatever it is, you need to make changes that will improve your overall content. For example, as a result of the audit, you found out that one type of content is not really clicking with your readers or the topic is so broad that its hard to comprehend. You might want to try a smarter approach like narrowcasting; another article on Entrepreneur.com says this is a practice that creates content targeted to specific buying personas.
Conducting a content audit might be just what you need to get to the top of the page. For more information on audit tools and narrowcasting, check out the 5 Tools to Help You Audit Your Web Content and How to Use ‘Narrowcasting’ to Boost Engagement and Conversions. To gain the best results and remain up-to-date with current SEO news, look to trusted SEO news sites like Marketing Digest (@mktgdigest).