Content Audit Template: Score and Act

What is a content audit?

A content audit is a systematic inventory and evaluation of all published content on your website. It answers three questions: what do we have, how is it performing, and what should we do about it (keep, update, consolidate, or remove)?

Why content audits matter

Most websites accumulate content debt over time. Blog posts from 2021 with outdated advice. Duplicate articles covering the same topic from different angles. Thin content that ranks for nothing and helps nobody. A content audit surfaces this debt and gives you a plan to address it.

Without regular audits, your content library becomes a liability — confusing search engines, diluting topical authority, and presenting outdated information to potential customers.

Content audit template: what to track

The four audit actions: keep, update, consolidate, remove

• Keep: Content that ranks well, drives traffic, and is still accurate. No action needed.
• Update: Content that has potential but needs refreshing — outdated stats, old screenshots, missing sections. Feed these into a content refresh workflow.
• Consolidate: Multiple thin articles covering the same topic. Merge into one comprehensive piece. Redirect old URLs.
• Remove: Content with zero traffic, no keyword potential, and no strategic value. 301 redirect or noindex.

How to run a content audit step by step

1. Export all URLs from your CMS or run a site crawl.
2. Pull performance data from analytics (sessions, conversions) and SEO tools (rankings, backlinks).
3. Score each page against performance thresholds: traffic, engagement, ranking position.
4. Assign actions — keep, update, consolidate, or remove — based on scores and editorial judgment.
5. Prioritize updates — Focus on pages with ranking potential (positions 5–20) that could move up with improvements.
6. Build a refresh calendar — Map update and consolidation actions to your editorial calendar.

Auditing content for AI search readiness

Beyond traditional SEO metrics, audit your content for AI search readiness. Does each piece have structured headings, FAQ sections, clear definitions, and schema markup? Content that's well-structured for AI Overviews is more likely to be cited in AI-generated summaries.

Add an "AI readiness" column to your audit template: does the page have structured data, FAQs, and clear authoritative answers? This helps prioritize updates for AI search visibility.

How often to audit

Run a full content audit annually. Run focused audits quarterly on top-performing content and content approaching staleness (6+ months without updates). Use content gap analysis alongside audits to identify what's missing, not just what's underperforming.