Why content audits are a must do
By transforming a simple content list into a content audit, you gain a really powerful tool in understanding how your website ticks and what content hooks in an audience and what is left out to dry.
A content audit allows you to dig deep into your online content, analyzing page-by-page your content, how it is displayed and maintained. The goal isn’t to collect a mountain of data about your website (and also perhaps network sites and social media presence), it is about collecting quality data that can help you make informed decisions and giving you and your team real insight into the content.
It also gives you a chance to take a regular look at your tools and software, such as the content management system (CMS) to make sure it is doing its job properly.
What am I going to learn?
Content audits may sound laborious, but they are key in understanding and evaluating the performance of your content against business goals and user requirements to leverage your investment in content.
From an editorial standpoint it helps you maintain standards and highlights where the gaps are between content you have and content you need. It also allows you to check that all the SEOs are in place. Search engine optimization begins and ends with content, so it essential this is nailed.
They will also enable you to look at performance factors such as search engine optimization, the audience’s appetite for content and web analytics and show you were you are exceeding expectations and where you need to do better.
How long is this going to take?
It really depends on the size of your website and how deeply you want to dive into the content. Yes, they can be time consuming, but you need a plan in place before you start. Make sure you establish goals for content evaluation from the onset and work out what quantitative and qualitative data you want to pull in. There are a number of website content audit software packages out there that will help you with the dig. You need to spend time assessing which one works best for you.
Know your content assets
A content audit is the only way you can really keep track of your content assets successfully so that you can make decisions about what content needs refreshing, what can be repurposed and what needs farming off into your content archives.
Don’t forget, spending time on analysing the data collected is paramount. This will show you the way forward and give you a lead over the competition.
Make audit your mantra
Audit might not be the most popular word on the planet when it comes to websites and social media. But it really is the only way to make sure you are getting consistent relevant content out to your users and ensuring they come looking for more.
Contact Futurity Media to find out more about content audits and how to produce content that meets your marketing goals.