I’ve at all times been a knowledge nerd at coronary heart. Phrases like “audit” and “A/B testing” don’t scare me. Nonetheless, once I set about refreshing greater than 10 years’ value of branded content material to deliver The Content material Strategist updated with our present net optimization and model requirements, I knew I had my work reduce out for me.
We began writing weblog content material in 2011—again when Fb fan pages and Klout scores have been the advertising and marketing traits of the second. For sure, lots has modified since then. We wished a data-backed motion plan for making our content material as related as attainable in 2024 and past.
Whereas the method was extra difficult than I anticipated, the journey was extremely academic and, dare I say, even slightly enjoyable. It revealed helpful insights about content material longevity, website positioning, and the way our readership has advanced.
Right here’s what the train taught me—and what I feel different content material entrepreneurs can be taught from my expertise.
Easy methods to refresh content material: Our course of
After we set about auditing The Content material S trategist, we rapidly realized we had a bigger, extra complicated downside on our palms—one which wouldn’t be mounted with a fast website positioning scan of our weblog content material. The extra we dug in, the extra we discovered we had a elementary difficulty with our top-of-funnel advertising and marketing technique. As I put it to my crew, we have been making an attempt to catch a fish with a gap in our web.
There was no simple solution to repair this. Though it might be an enormous enterprise, we would have liked to conduct a simultaneous content material and search efficiency audit to determine what was damaged and the place.
This was a three-part course of, involving:
1. website positioning and key phrase evaluation
We knew we weren’t rating as excessive as we wished to for our essential areas of experience and that we would have liked to retool our website positioning method. So, we began out by conducting a complete key phrase and competitor evaluation.
First, we used Contently StoryBook—our proprietary content material technique device—and Contently Analytics, together with third-party instruments like SEMrush, Google Analytics, and Google Search Console to find out the energy of our natural key phrase distribution and rankings. We audited the key phrases we have been at the moment rating for to find out in the event that they nonetheless made sense for our model and viewers.
We additionally performed an website positioning competitor evaluation in opposition to corporations who provide comparable options to Contently. This audit revealed that our rivals have been outranking us in a number of key areas. Whereas we had been busy being probably the most well-known CMP in market, our rivals had gotten scrappy, creating mass quantities of content material to assist them rank for a wide selection of key phrase variations, typically with decrease search volumes. We wanted to take again a few of that area they’d acquired.
2. A complete content material audit
At the side of the website positioning audit, we completely assessed all our present content material. This revealed a disconnect between the kind of content material we’d been publishing for the previous three years and the subjects which are probably the most fascinating, helpful, and looked for amongst our audience.
We categorized our present content material into 4 essential buckets:
- Related matter, high quality content material, wants website positioning
- Related matter, not high-quality content material (e.g., out-of-date or misaligned)
- High quality content material, misaligned matter, misaligned website positioning
- Content material that now not served any function
This categorization helped us perceive the scope of the issue and prioritize our efforts.
3. Hole evaluation and technique improvement
Based mostly on how a lot of our content material match into every class, the way it was rating, and the key phrases we have been concentrating on, we have been capable of start pinpointing particular areas during which our top-of-funnel advertising and marketing actions had come out of alignment with our model and audience.
If I might put out a PSA to different entrepreneurs recapping what I discovered from this course of, it might be that having an built-in advertising and marketing technique is extremely essential—each exercise, whether or not paid, owned, or earned, must be coordinated and aligned. In our case, misalignment led to a compounding impact: As a result of our technique was off base, our key phrases have been out of sync, our content material was lacking the mark, our rankings have been falling, and our viewers was discovering what they wanted elsewhere.
Submit-audit actions to replace content material
To deal with these points, I set to work growing a multi-pronged technique to revitalize our content material, enhance its efficiency, and strengthen our key phrase rankings.
Right here’s what we did—and the way different content material entrepreneurs can apply these learnings to their very own methods.
1. Determine which tales to avoid wasting vs. toss
Step one concerned figuring out if a narrative was worthy of updating or if it wanted to be faraway from the weblog completely. We discovered that the majority of our content material was salvageable in some capability.
“Saving” content material was essential for a number of causes. Along with the prior funding—we’d already put effort and {dollars} into publishing the fabric—holding content material stay helps keep our area authority. If we have been to take away an article from our website and redirect site visitors to a different web page, it might take Google’s algorithm months to acknowledge the web page now not exists and deindex us for that key phrase hit. So, we opted to replace fairly than take away wherever attainable.
Takeaway for different content material entrepreneurs: Don’t throw the newborn out with the bathwater! Most content material—except area of interest posts like bulletins for long-past occasions—could be rejuvenated. Evaluating each bit rigorously to find out probably the most environment friendly method can prevent time, effort, and price range in a while.
2. Decide which “saved” tales should be rewritten vs. refreshed
Some tales wanted a full rewrite, whereas others simply wanted a minimal refresh—up to date cultural references, hyperlinks, stats, website positioning, and so on. So, we separated our “salvageable” pile into two classes. On Contently, we created two completely different story temporary templates and workflows for these tasks. The “refresh” temporary was barely shorter and didn’t want as a lot assessment inbuilt, so these workflows have been extra streamlined. Tackling these lighter refreshes first gave us a number of simple wins and a way of accomplishment.
Takeaway for different content material entrepreneurs: Make selections about whether or not or not you’ll replace a URL slug or the way you’ll change your website positioning method earlier than re-publishing.
3. Create new, evergreen weblog content material to fill gaps
Early in our auditing course of, we recognized that we have been lacking some key themes in our content material repository. So, for every matter hole, we deliberate a sequence of 4-6 net-new tales that might slot neatly into these gaps, complementing our present content material and offering extra complete steerage for our readers. We made these tales as evergreen as attainable, specializing in adaptable methods fairly than fleeting traits.
Takeaway for different content material entrepreneurs: Use your audit as a possibility to establish and fill content material gaps. Create new, evergreen items that handle present traits and consumer wants. This method helps guarantee your weblog content material stays a helpful useful resource on your viewers lengthy after publication.
Different learnings and takeaways from our weblog content material audit
Conducting this audit for our content material advertising and marketing weblog was a crew effort—there’s no manner I might have dealt with the carry alone. As quickly as I acknowledged the depth and breadth of labor concerned, I took a have a look at our price range to allocate funds for help employees, together with a managing editor to supervise the content material refresh course of and an website positioning strategist to deal with key phrase analysis, website positioning optimization, and ongoing evaluation of our efficiency.
Working with our Inventive Market crew, I staffed each of those roles with skilled professionals. To work effectively with these crew members, I arrange some key processes from the get-go, together with:
- A sturdy editorial calendar for monitoring progress and noting insights
- Biweekly, recurring conferences
- Common suggestions loops to repeatedly enhance our course of
Working with the managing editor, I additionally developed a scalable pricing mannequin so I might simply plan and price range for the variety of content material refreshes vs. rewrites vs. web new tales wanted every month and quarter.
This versatile pricing plan will show helpful for future content material, too. It permits me to regulate as wanted if we establish an enormous alternative to cowl a brand new cluster of key phrases. I can rapidly and simply pivot my technique and prioritize the price range towards the extra speedy want.
Takeaway for different content material entrepreneurs: When you’re already working with Contently, your managing editor or website positioning strategist can help the majority of the tactical day-in, day-out work behind the scenes, releasing up your time to deal with the larger image. When you’re not working with us, it’s an ideal concept to companion with consultants who will help you get probably the most out of the content material you may have.
So, what’s subsequent? To be trustworthy, we’re nonetheless engaged on it! Content material auditing and refreshing is rarely really “accomplished”—however now, we’ve a greater system in place and recent content material to work with. We’re dedicated to sustaining this course of, frequently revisiting our content material to make sure it stays related, helpful, and optimized, and that our funnel stays wholesome.
It might be a Sisyphean effort, however my interior knowledge nerd is up for the problem.
Ask the Content material Strategist: FAQs about weblog content material audits
How lengthy does the content material audit course of take?
The period of a content material audit can fluctuate significantly relying on the quantity of content material and sources out there. For Contently’s 10-year content material audit, it took a number of months to finish all levels, from preliminary evaluation to implementation of recent methods.
How typically ought to an organization conduct a content material audit?
The frequency of content material audits is determined by the corporate’s measurement, content material quantity, and trade modifications. As a basic rule, conducting a complete audit yearly, with smaller quarterly opinions, will help preserve content material recent and aligned with website positioning finest practices.
What particular website positioning metrics are possible to enhance after a content material refresh?
Possible enhancements embody larger key phrase rankings, elevated natural site visitors, and higher engagement charges. They may additionally embody elements like time on web page, bounce price, and conversion charges. That mentioned, the precise metrics will rely in your firm’s objectives and bigger weblog content material technique.
Are you able to refresh your weblog content material technique? Get began by scheduling a time to communicate with a member of our crew.
Picture by
WindAwake
