SEO is one of the most important tools site owners can use to build traffic. Part of optimizing for SEO is performing regular content audits so that you are able to maintain your site to a high quality.
However, if content audits are new to you, you may have questions about how to approach them. You may wonder what exactly a content audit should entail, how many times you should audit your site for SEO, and how you can make sure your content aligns with your goals.
Don’t worry; we’re going to dig into content auditing so that you can make sure your site always reaches high SEO standards.
What is a Content Audit?
A content audit is a review of your content which analyzes the ways it can be updated and improved in order to reach your goals. This is an especially important process for SEO, as it can help you stay up to date with trends and changing requirements in order to stay ahead of the competition.
A content audit may involve manually reviewing your site, as well as conducting research and analyzing data from analytics in order to fully understand your site’s needs.
How Many Times Should You Audit Your Site For SEO?
There is no limit to how many times you should audit your site for SEO. There are a number of ways to approach your content auditing, and the best one for you depends on your niche, content creation style, and what your goals are. Some ways you can conduct content audits include:
Annual Content Audit
An annual content audit is best for websites with a long, intricate content strategy. If your content is informational and evergreen, then you may not need to update your content that often. It is, however, crucial to go back in and check for keyword gaps, broken links, and outdated information now and again.
Quarterly Content Audit
For websites with high traffic and frequent content updates, a quarterly content audit is a great idea. If you run an e-commerce site or a news outlet, this can help you to ensure your content is still relevant, up to date and performing well against the competition.
Monthly or Weekly Audits
While monthly or weekly audits are not common for most industries, they are ideal for fast-changing industries or businesses needing real-time adjustments. If you work in fashion or tech, then a monthly or weekly audit will help you to keep on top of the rapidly changing trends and fierce competition.
Key Areas to Evaluate During a Content Audit
Content Performance
Make sure to look at how your content is performing, as this can give you insight into what needs improving. Look at your sessions, engagement, and conversions. Also take into consideration which content types are performing best for you.
SEO Metrics
Noting your SEO metrics is crucial when performing a content audit to improve your SEO rankings. Make sure to note your keyword rankings, backlinks, and target keywords. Research potential keyword gaps in your content and goals for improving your site’s SEO. Keyword growth is essential for keeping your site relevant, so making sure to adjust for SEO can keep you ahead of the curve.
User Experience
User experience can have a massive impact on your SEO performance. Make sure to check and fix any issues with site design, load times, and overall usability. With good user experience standards, Google will be more friendly when ranking your site in search results.
Calls to Action (CTAs)
Finally, check that all your content has clear CTAs. These are important because they turn traffic into leads and conversations, improve engagement, and have a knock-on effect on your rankings.
How to Prioritize Content for Update
When thinking about how many times you should audit your site for SEO, you may want to consider how you prioritize content for update. It can be helpful to use different audit strategies on different parts of your site depending on what they contain.
For instance, you may decide to do a whole site audit once a year but do a monthly audit on a segment of your site where this may be more suited.
Consider what content is best served by what kind of audit, as this will help you stay focused and motivated while keeping your site up to date.
What to Do After a Content Audit
After you’ve completed your content audit, there are a few things you can do to keep things running smoothly
Build A Content Calendar
Once you know what content needs to be worked on, organize your updates and set deadlines for them to be done. This will make sure that your updates actually happen without disrupting your regular publishing schedule.
Scheduling The Next Audit
Once you’ve figured out how many times you should audit your site for SEO, you can keep a schedule for when the next audit should happen. This means you will be easily able to stay on track for audits in the future, and can easily keep on top of your site’s success.
Moving Forward With Your SEO Audit
Knowing how many times you should audit your site for SEO is a huge part of making sure you can keep on top of the maintenance your site needs. With this knowledge under your belt, you are well on your way to creating a well-maintained site that ranks highly and continues to drive traffic. With your audit plan, schedule, and goals in line, there is nothing in your way to stop your site from growing to new levels.
Why Should You Work With SEO Baguette?
A content audit can end up being a huge and time-consuming operation, especially with a whole-site audit.
At SEO Baguette, we’ve decided to help you out by offering a completely free content audit. We will analyze your content, site usability, and marketing strategies to help you understand how to achieve your personal marketing goals and reach your target audience.
If you want extra help, we can then use your audit to implement the recommended improvement steps and optimize your site for you, saving you time, stress, and confusion along the way.
Reach out and recieve your free content audit so you can start to build a site that truly works for you.
