Most websites accumulate content faster than they maintain it. Old blog posts, outdated service descriptions, duplicate landing pages and forgotten campaign pages pile up. A content audit gives you a clear view of what you have, what works and what needs to change.
Why run a content audit
- Find pages that could rank higher with an update.
- Identify thin, outdated or duplicate content that weakens the site.
- Spot keyword cannibalization between similar pages.
- Discover gaps in topics and funnel stages.
- Align content with current services and positioning.
- Prepare for a redesign or migration.
Step 1: Build a content inventory
Create a spreadsheet listing every indexable URL. Sources include:
- A crawl of the site with an SEO crawler.
- The XML sitemap.
- Search Console's pages report.
- Analytics landing pages.
For each URL, record title, content type (blog, service, landing page), topic or cluster, publish and update dates, word count and author.
Step 2: Add performance data
| Column | Source | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| Organic clicks and impressions (last 12 months) | Search Console | Search visibility |
| Top queries and average position | Search Console | Keyword targeting and opportunity |
| Sessions and engagement rate | GA4 | Overall usage |
| Key events (leads, demo requests) | GA4 or CRM | Business value |
| Backlinks and referring domains | SEO tool | Authority worth preserving |
| Last updated date | CMS | Freshness |
| Topic or cluster | Manual | Strategic fit |
Use the same time window for all pages so comparisons are fair.
Step 3: Assess quality and relevance
Numbers do not tell the whole story. Review each important page for:
- Accuracy: are facts, screenshots and prices current?
- Intent match: does the page answer what searchers want today?
- Depth: does it cover the topic as well as current top results?
- Strategic fit: does it support a service you still offer and an audience you still target?
- Conversion path: does it offer a relevant next step?
Step 4: Decide an action for each page
| Action | When to use it |
|---|---|
| Keep | Page performs well and is accurate |
| Update | Page has potential (impressions, rankings on page 2, links) but is outdated or incomplete |
| Merge | Several pages cover the same intent; combine into the strongest one |
| Redirect | Page is no longer needed but has links or traffic; send users to the closest relevant page |
| Remove (content pruning) | Page has no value, traffic or links and no strategic purpose |
| Create | Gap identified: a needed topic or funnel stage is missing |
Content pruning: do it carefully
Content pruning means removing or consolidating low-value pages. It can help by concentrating quality signals, but it is easy to overdo. Before removing a page, check for backlinks, conversions and long-tail traffic. Prefer merging and redirecting over deleting. Never prune pages simply because they are old; old pages can be your strongest assets.
Step 5: Prioritise by impact
Score each action on expected impact (traffic, leads, strategic importance) and effort. Start with:
- High-impression pages ranking in positions 5 to 20 that need updates.
- Cannibalizing pages that can be merged.
- High-traffic pages with weak conversion paths.
- Commercial pages that are outdated.
Our guide to updating old blog posts explains how to refresh pages effectively.
Step 6: Execute and track
Assign owners and deadlines. After changes, track the affected pages for 8 to 12 weeks: impressions, clicks, positions and conversions. Record what you changed so you can learn which updates work best.
A content audit example
Imagine a B2B software company with 180 blog posts. The inventory shows that 20 posts generate 80% of organic leads, 45 posts have impressions but sit on page two, 30 posts overlap on three topics, and 60 posts have almost no traffic, links or conversions. The resulting plan is straightforward: protect and refresh the top 20, upgrade the 45 page-two posts in order of commercial value, merge the overlapping posts into three strong guides with redirects, and review the 60 low performers individually, merging useful sections and retiring the rest. Within a quarter, the site has fewer, stronger pages and a clear backlog of improvements.
How often to do a content audit
Run a full audit annually and a lighter review of top pages every quarter. Always audit before a redesign or migration; see our SEO website migration checklist.
Content audit for AI search
AI assistants and Google's AI features favour clear, accurate, current content. During your audit, check whether key pages answer questions directly, show authors and dates, and contain facts that might be quoted. Outdated information is particularly risky because AI tools may repeat it.
Turning the content audit into a strategy
An audit ends with a plan: which pages to update, merge or remove, and which gaps to fill. Connect the plan to your B2B content marketing strategy and topic clusters so new content strengthens existing themes rather than adding more disconnected pages.
If you want an expert content audit with prioritised recommendations, request our free content and SEO audit.
