Consider the websites and services you use regularly. Google, Netflix, and even social media profiles all rely on their content to succeed or fail. You’ll immediately terminate your subscription if they fail to keep you involved or meet your needs. You will have a negative view of them and their online reputation.
This content’s relevance isn’t by chance. Any website should regularly have a content audit to nip, tuck, and alter what’s on its pages. A business website is no different. Learning how to conduct a content audit on your online presence and when to do so can make a significant difference in your online reputation.
What is the purpose of a content audit?
A website audit is a thorough examination of your company’s internet presence. The goal of a content audit is to ensure that your website will attract visitors and convert them into customers. A business website that fails to generate leads is a waste of time and money.
Many people devote practically all of their time to creating new material for a website. However, repurposing existing materials can be just as effective, if not more so. Furthermore, a review of your current material will disclose what your target audience responds to – and, more significantly, what makes them uncomfortable.
What are the benefits of conducting a content audit?
There are numerous reasons why a company should do a website audit regularly. These are some of them:
• Relevance. Because the internet is infinite, earlier content will always appear in searches. You must ensure that your reputation is not harmed due to users discovering old content that is no longer relevant.
• Efficiency. Make sure your content isn’t harming your website’s performance. Videos, for example, may cause loading times to be slowed. Users will become irritated, and your Google quality score will plummet.
• SEO. Keep an eye on SEO trends, particularly Google’s constantly changing algorithms. While attempting to second-guess Google is a surefire way to go insane, at the very least, try to keep up. You could lose a lot of traffic overnight if your content does not meet the standards of a current algorithm.
• Security. With the advent of cyber-crime, you can never be too cautious when it comes to internet security. Check your website’s security certificate regularly to ensure that user data is entirely secure. Users will have more faith in your site as a result of this.
• Conversion evaluations. Website audits will identify which pages receive the most user interest. An audit can also identify which pages are most likely to cause users to abandon a website. These locations may require some work.
If you do website audits regularly, you’ll stay ahead of the curve – and, as a result, dramatically improve your chances of online success.
How often should you conduct a content audit on your website?
Seasonality is something to keep in mind while doing a content audit. Google’s algorithms are continually changing based on users’ search behaviors, influenced by the time of year.
Building content audits around the seasons and public holidays are just the beginning of a seasonal policy. The popularity of Christmas search phrases will skyrocket in December, while summer will reignite interest in outdoor activities. However, if you dig a little deeper, you’ll discover various events and ways to adapt your material to appeal to all users.
Schedule a content assessment every three months to stay on top of these opportunities. You’ll be able to keep an eye on ever-changing trends with these quarterly reviews. Furthermore, it is advantageous to make these adjustments in small increments and frequently. If you wait six months or more between audits, your website may require more extensive and time-consuming surgery. This can cause undesired downtime for your site, which has a negative impact on profits.
When it comes to an audit, though, don’t get too attached to the calendar. Do not sit on your hands and wait many weeks for a scheduled audit if you have a problem, such as a sudden decline in online traffic. Examine your site right away, and take any required steps to right the ship. If necessary, obtain the assistance of a professional to assist you.
In five easy stages, you may execute a content audit.
If you aren’t already doing content audits, you should do so right away. Even if you perform frequent website content audits, are you sure you’re doing so in the most efficient way possible? To assure success, follow this five-step procedure.
1. Schedule an audit of your website. We’re not talking about a two-minute once-over. To dig deep into your topic, you’ll need to set aside enough time and patience. So that everyone understands the purpose of your audit, invite your entire staff to attend to you.
2. Think about your goals and objectives. What do you hope to get out of your content audit? To get rid of non-essential blog entries and make your site the most authoritative in your field? Go through your SEO plan and make sure you’re doing everything you can to appeal to Google? To enhance your bottom line by encouraging more clients to convert?
3. Gather and organize facts relevant to your article. Utilize this data to examine the path taken by visitors to your website. From your home page, where do users go? How might this journey be improved to give the consumer a better experience? Is it better to have more or less copy?
4. Make a spreadsheet with all of the pages that have content. Sort these in whatever way that makes sense to you. The most effective method is to use the date the content was uploaded.
5. Go over each of these pages one by one, beginning with the oldest, and note how they performed. How many people are visiting these pages? How much time do visitors spend on these pages? Are users moving on to another site after that, or are they abandoning the current one? Are the pages loading swiftly or painfully slowly? It’s time to take action now that you’ve done your content audit. You can either edit or delete information or start from scratch and entirely change your marketing plan. This content audit will help you determine what works well on your site and what could be improved. You’ll set yourself up for future success if you pay heed to this insight and act on it, not to mention the much-needed boost in your online reputation.