Content audit: Step by step

Content audit: Why?

So why do we go to all this effort in the first place? Why is it so important to know the exact current status of a website?

A content audit helps us identify which existing content already contributes to the company's strategic goals. After all, keeping all content – including unnecessary ballast – and starting from scratch simply because no content strategy existed before often leads to avoidable damage.

Content analysis is therefore an important tool for improving a website on a data-driven basis and aligning it with corporate and marketing objectives, regardless of whether you:

• plan a relaunch
• pursue a content strategy for the first time
• have changed company objectives
• need to conduct a regular content review

Prevent keyword cannibalization

We want to prevent keyword cannibalization at all costs. Keyword cannibalization occurs when two or more pages on the same website are optimized for the same keyword.

In such cases, Google’s algorithm cannot determine which page offers the most relevant content for that topic. The result? None of the pages perform well in rankings. If we create new content without understanding what already exists, we risk producing pages that compete with one another.

A case study on the optimisation of a large real estate website shows how significant the impact can be. To combat keyword cannibalization, an American SEO agency deactivated no fewer than 15 million URLs. The result? Website traffic increased by 110%!

Of course, this is an extreme example that cannot be directly transferred to every project. Still, it clearly demonstrates how important a content audit is for understanding all existing content and preventing keyword cannibalization.

Benefit from well-performing content

A content audit also provides valuable insights into which pages already achieve good or even very good Google rankings. Even without strategic planning, it is entirely possible that certain pages rank well for specific keywords – after all, even a blind hen occasionally finds a grain.

These may be pages that already rank in the top 5 or at least the top 10, positions we definitely do not want to give up. But they may also include content that is just barely reaching the first page of search results and could benefit from a targeted optimization push.

So if you decide to take a more strategic approach to content production and are planning a relaunch, it is not advisable to simply start from scratch and delete everything that has been created so far. On the contrary, it is essential to first identify which existing pages you can build upon. A content audit is invaluable for this purpose.

Conduct a content audit

If we are to produce user-centered (SEO) content that contributes to a client's strategic goals, we will always begin by conducting a content audit to establish the status quo.

Quantitative analysis

The first step is straightforward: collecting data. Before we can evaluate content based on specific criteria, we first need to identify it. There is, however, one important point to start with:

Step 1: Understanding corporate goals

Only those who know and truly understand a company’s goals can assess which content already contributes to them. And this applies not only to us at Moccu, but also to our clients themselves. You would be surprised how often companies are unable to clearly define their own goals. “Well … um … to generate revenue,” is then muttered after a while with a shrug. That is a legitimate goal, and most commercially operating companies aim to maximize their profits. For a corporate and website strategy, however, that alone is still a bit thin.

Instead, the focus should be on defining short-, medium-, and long-term goals that support this overarching objective. What forms the core of the brand? Which target group should be addressed? Are there ecological, reputational, or other non-economic goals in addition to financial ones?

If these are not already defined, our clients must first clarify their business objectives and communicate them to us. Based on this, we can derive relevant website KPIs, track them through performance monitoring, and use them to identify content that contributes to these goals during the content audit.

Step 2: Crawling

Now it's finally time to get started with the actual content audit. To identify all existing pages, we initiate what is known as a crawl. You may already be familiar with this term from search engine optimization. Day after day, the Google bot crawls the web, creating an inventory of the entire accessible World Wide Web.

We do the same for the website we’re auditing, albeit on a much more manageable scale than Google’s bot. For this purpose, we rely on the SEO tool with the memorable name Screaming Frog SEO Spider, although there are other providers as well, such as Ryte or SearchVIU.

So we launch the tool, enter the URL of the website to be analyzed, and the crawler begins scanning all pages belonging to the domain. At the end of the process, it outputs the relevant data.

Step 3: Integrate data from the Google Search Console

To make sure we don’t overlook any content that may not have been crawlable for various reasons, we additionally include all URLs from Google Search Console. From there, we also retrieve key metrics such as clicks and impressions, meaning how often a page appeared in Google search results. Screaming Frog allows access to Google Search Console via an API interface.

At this stage, data from Google Analytics – including traffic, conversions, or other metrics that have already been tracked – can also be added to the content audit via API.

Depending on the timing and purpose of the content audit, additional SEO-related factors such as page speed, internal linking, backlinks, or metadata may also be included. This is particularly relevant if the audit, as discussed above, is closer to a classic website audit focused on on-page optimization.

Step 4: Topic clusters and content format

In the final step of the quantitative analysis, we prepare for the subsequent qualitative evaluation. To do this, we assign all identified content to appropriate topic clusters. These clusters later support the development of a link:839]. We also identify and define the content formats. For example, is the content a how-to guide, an inspirational article, or a product category? At this stage, our SEOs work closely with our UX designers.

Qualitative analysis

All pages have now been identified, enriched with relevant data, and clustered by topic and format. It is time to evaluate them based on qualitative criteria.

Step 5: Define criteria and create filters

We now define evaluation criteria and create corresponding filters in our audit table. This enables us to use an evaluation matrix to determine which content should be retained, optimized, or removed because it no longer provides strategic value.

Criteria may include: Does the page generate high traffic? Does it lead to conversions? What is the product fit, i.e. the potential for product placement? Does the content align with the target audience? Does it strengthen the brand experience?

These examples illustrate our holistic approach at Moccu, where SEO, UX, and UI are considered together – starting with the content audit. From an SEO perspective, we evaluate elements such as headline structure, structured data, and image alt tags. At the same time, UX and UI considerations must not be overlooked.

Step 6: Consider the UX and UI perspective

At Moccu, a content audit is not viewed solely from an SEO perspective. Design and usability aspects are also taken into account. Our UX and UI designers analyze strategically relevant templates, especially those related to engagement, conversion, and branding, and assess both existing and missing layout modules.

Brand-compliant template structures are typically based on consistent core elements that are governed by a design system and included in the analysis. We also review whether CI-compliant images and videos are available and can be reused. Such assets ensure a consistent look and feel, convey the right message, and strengthen brand identity.

Our performance-driven approach always considers SEO, UX, and UI. That is why these criteria must also be evaluated during content analysis. Here, too, the key questions are: What can be reused, and what needs to be newly developed?

Step 7: Evaluate results and make decisions

The final step focuses on analyzing the content results and making decisions based on the company’s objectives and website KPIs. It is important to avoid falling into the trap of overengineering, meaning trying to solve a problem with unnecessary complexity. This risk becomes very real when working with massive Excel spreadsheets full of data and filters.

That is why, despite all the numbers, we ultimately place great value on applying common sense and, at times, trusting our gut.

Based on the analysis results and the decisions made about the existing content, we then initiate the next steps. Specifically, we first answer the following questions:

• Which content do we keep?
• Which content should be optimized, merged, or rewritten?
• Which content do we remove because it is no longer relevant?
• Where are there relevant thematic gaps that have not yet been addressed?

Based on these insights, we then design a semantic information architecture that takes SEO and UX into account, define technical and design requirements, and begin SEO topic research for the upcoming content production.

If you commission us to support the strategic direction of your website and oversee content production, we will also carry out the content audit for you. Prefer to run the audit yourself? The following checklist will help you stay organized:

Define and understand corporate goals
Perform a website crawl
Retrieve additional data: Google Search Console, Analytics, etc.
Build topic clusters and define content formats
Define evaluation criteria
Consider the UX and UI perspective
Evaluate results