Would A Content Audit Help Your Marketing? – Reade Milner

Whenever I begin working with a new client, one of my first steps is to do an audit of all of their existing content. This helps me not only get a feel for how they’ve been talking to their customers in the past, but I can repurpose most content for blogs, premium assets, and social media.

Here’s how to do it.

First, start by creating a simple spreadsheet. I like Google Drive for this, but some people are hardcore Excel devotees, which is fine. Add columns at the top for Title, Funnel Stage, Views, Main Keyword, and Social Shares. I’ll explain these later.

Next, go through your entire website and list all pieces of content in the first column (with links, preferably) and their relevant data.

• Funnel Stage refers to how close the typical reader of this piece would be. For example, if it is a basic piece that gives an overview of a topic, then it would be considered Top of the Funnel (TOFU). If it is a hard-hitting piece like a whitepaper or a case-study, then it is probably Bottom of the Funnel (BOFU) or at least Middle of the Funnel (MOFU).
• To get views, this will require that you have a Google Analytics account or some other tool that gives you insights into your page performance. Recording this will be important, as it will tell you what kind of content resonates with your audience and what you should make more of.
• Keyword refers to the most relevant keyword that the content is wrapped around. While the importance of keywords has decreased slightly with Google’s new algorithm changes, it is still important to try to keep your content focused on the keyword or phrase that you want to rank for.
• Social shares is pretty self-explanatory. Ideally, you’re using a plugin like AddThis that will show you the social shares right there on the page.

Once you’ve put together your audit, you can more easily plan your content strategy for the future based on what has done well in the past.

At the very least, it is a good practice to quantify your marketing efforts whenever possible.