How to Audit Your Existing Content (And What to Do With the Results)

Most local business websites have accumulated content over the years—blog posts of varying quality, age, and usefulness.

Before creating new content, it makes sense to understand what you already have. A content audit reveals:

• What's working and should be built upon
• What's underperforming but has potential
• What's outdated and needs updating
• What's hurting more than helping

Here's how to audit your existing content and what to do with what you find.

Why Audit Before Creating

Avoid Duplicating Efforts

You might already have content on topics you're planning to cover. Updating existing content often produces better results than creating new competing pages.

Find Hidden Opportunities

Some existing content may be close to ranking well with minor improvements. These "quick wins" can produce results faster than new content.

Identify Quality Problems

If your site has thin, outdated, or low-quality content, it can hurt your overall site authority. Identifying and addressing these problems improves everything.

Understand Your Starting Point

How much content do you have? What topics are covered? What's missing? Understanding your current state informs strategy.

How our packs relate: We don’t offer standalone audits. Our automated LLM site review pulls your services, voice, and service area, and our local research finds the highest‑value topics to target. That becomes your Month‑1 content pack and 12‑month calendar preview. Use the audit steps below if you want to evaluate your site yourself.

Step 1: Inventory Your Content

Create a Spreadsheet

List every piece of content with these data points:

Basic information:

• URL
• Title
• Publication date
• Last updated date
• Word count
• Topic/category

Performance data:

• Organic traffic (last 3-6 months)
• Top keywords ranking
• Backlinks
• Social shares (if trackable)

Quality assessment:

• Content quality score (1-5)
• Accuracy (current/outdated)
• Comprehensiveness (thin/adequate/comprehensive)

Where to Find Performance Data

• Google Analytics: Traffic by page
• Google Search Console: Keywords, impressions, clicks by URL
• Backlink tools: Ahrefs, Moz, or free alternatives
• Manual review: Actual content quality assessment

Don't Skip the Manual Review

Data tells part of the story. You also need to read each piece and assess:

• Is this actually good content?
• Is the information still accurate?
• Does it represent our expertise well?
• Would we be proud to share this?

Numbers without quality assessment lead to wrong conclusions.

Step 2: Categorize Your Content

Based on your inventory, place each piece into categories:

Keep: High Performers

Content that's:

• Generating meaningful traffic
• Ranking for valuable keywords
• Converting visitors
• Genuinely helpful and accurate

Action: Maintain and protect. Consider minor updates to keep fresh.

Improve: Close but Not There

Content that's:

• Ranking on page 2-3 (close to valuable positions)
• Getting impressions but not clicks
• Good topic but thin coverage
• Accurate but could be more comprehensive

Action: Update and expand. These are your best ROI opportunities.

Update: Outdated Information

Content that's:

• Contains old pricing or outdated recommendations
• References products/services that no longer exist
• Has time-sensitive information that's stale
• Uses old data or statistics

Action: Refresh with current information. Republish with updated date if changes are substantial.

Consolidate: Overlapping Content

Content that:

• Covers the same topic as other posts
• Competes with itself for keywords
• Has multiple thin posts that could be one comprehensive piece

Action: Combine into a single, stronger piece. Redirect old URLs to the new combined page.

Remove: Actively Harmful

Content that:

• Is embarrassingly thin or low-quality
• Contains inaccurate information you can't easily fix
• Gets zero traffic and has no strategic value
• Makes your site look unprofessional

Action: Delete or noindex. Redirect URLs if they have any backlinks.

Step 3: Prioritize Your Actions

Quick Wins First

Start with content that needs minor improvements for significant gains:

• Page 2 rankers that could reach page 1
• High-impression/low-click pages (title/description improvements)
• Good content with outdated details

These produce fastest visible results.

Strategic Updates Next

Content that needs more work but serves important business purposes:

• Core service pages that aren't performing
• High-value keyword targets
• Content supporting your main offerings

These take more effort but have significant impact.

Maintenance and Cleanup

Lower priority but still valuable:

• Consolidating redundant content
• Removing low-quality old posts
• General accuracy updates

Schedule these after higher-priority work.

Step 4: Execute Improvements

Improving Underperforming Content

For content close to ranking well:

Expand coverage:

• Add sections on missing subtopics
• Include more specific details
• Add FAQ sections addressing common questions
• Increase word count meaningfully (not padding)

Improve on-page SEO:

• Optimize title and meta description
• Add/improve header structure
• Include internal links to/from related content
• Add relevant images with alt text

Enhance quality:

• Add expert insights and professional opinions
• Include specific examples and numbers
• Update any stale information
• Improve readability and formatting

Updating Outdated Content

For content with stale information:

Verify all facts:

• Check all prices, dates, statistics
• Confirm product/service recommendations still valid
• Verify any technical information
• Update regulatory or code references

Refresh the presentation:

• Update publication date (if substantial changes)
• Add note about when last updated
• Ensure formatting matches current standards
• Check all links still work

Consider expanding:

• Has anything new emerged on this topic?
• Are there new questions to address?
• Can you add more helpful information?

Consolidating Redundant Content

For overlapping content:

Choose the strongest URL:

• Which has better rankings/traffic?
• Which has more backlinks?
• Which is more comprehensive?

Create the combined piece:

• Merge best content from all versions
• Ensure comprehensive coverage of the topic
• Optimize for the primary keyword target

Handle old URLs:

• Set up 301 redirects to the new combined URL
• This passes link equity to the new page
• Prevents 404 errors for bookmarked links

Removing Poor Content

For content that should go:

Check for backlinks first:

• If backlinked, redirect to relevant existing content
• If not backlinked, can simply delete

Options for removal:

• Delete entirely (URL returns 404)
• Noindex (stays on site but hidden from Google)
• Redirect to relevant alternative

Be cautious:

• Don't remove content just because it gets low traffic
• Consider if it serves a purpose (supports other content, answers important questions)
• When in doubt, improve rather than remove

Step 5: Document and Maintain

Track Your Changes

Keep records of:

• What changes were made to each piece
• When updates were made
• What the performance was before/after

This helps you understand what improvements actually work.

Schedule Regular Reviews

Content maintenance should be ongoing:

• Quarterly: Review top-performing content, check for staleness
• Annually: Full content audit
• Ongoing: Update content as information changes

Build Into Your Process

New content should be created knowing it will need future maintenance:

• Design content to be updateable
• Avoid time-specific references where possible
• Note where information is likely to change
• Plan for periodic reviews

Common Audit Mistakes

Only Looking at Traffic

Traffic isn't the only measure of content value. Content might:

• Support other content through internal links
• Answer important questions that don't get searched often
• Build authority on a topic even without direct traffic

Don't delete content just because it's low-traffic.

Ignoring Quality in Favor of Data

Data can mislead. A page might rank for a valuable keyword despite being poor quality—but that won't last. Quality assessment matters alongside metrics.

Trying to Fix Everything at Once

Audits often reveal more work than expected. Prioritize ruthlessly and make incremental improvements rather than trying to fix everything immediately.

Not Measuring Results

After making changes, track the impact. Did traffic improve? Did rankings increase? Understanding what works helps prioritize future efforts.

The Bottom Line

A content audit reveals opportunities hiding in your existing content—pages close to ranking that need minor improvements, outdated content that needs refreshing, redundant content that should be consolidated.

Before investing in new content, understand what you have. Often the best ROI comes from improving what exists rather than creating from scratch.

Audit systematically, prioritize based on potential impact, execute improvements methodically, and maintain ongoing content health.

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Prefer to skip the spreadsheet and just start publishing? Share your site URL, service area, and top services, and we’ll generate a free Month‑1 content pack plus a 12‑month calendar preview based on our automated review and local research. You’ll see exactly what we’d write for your business—no audit services, no retainers.

Related Guides

• The Complete Content Calendar Guide for Local Service Businesses
• How to Plan a Year of Content Without Burning Out or Going Broke
• Hero vs. Support Content: How to Structure Your Content Library
• Seasonal Content Timing: When to Publish What