Search engine optimization (SEO) is a fundamental component of successful digital marketing strategies. But to stay ahead of the game in an environment marked by constant algorithm updates (with Google, Bing, and others) and evolving consumer behavior, marketers need to conduct regular SEO content audits.
What is an SEO Content Audit?
An SEO content audit is a comprehensive examination of website content to assess its strengths, uncover weaknesses, and develop strategies for improvement. Audits aim to optimize content so it appeals to search engines and users alike, leading to increased visibility, organic traffic, and customer conversion rates. More specifically, content audits help to avoid extended content decay.
The Importance of SEO Content Audits
SEO content audits are essential for maintaining and enhancing the effectiveness of your SEO efforts. They provide a detailed view of your content’s performance and show where improvements can be made. These audits offer valuable insights that can help shape your content strategy, making them a crucial component of ongoing SEO efforts.
Key Issues Audits Identify and Their Solutions
- Underperforming Content: Audits can help identify content that is not driving traffic or achieving desired conversion rates. Solutions could include optimizing the content with relevant keywords, improving readability, adding compelling visuals, or updating with fresh, relevant information.
- Duplicate Content: Duplicate content can water down keyword rankings. Audits can identify such content, enabling you to correct the issue through canonical tags, redirecting duplicate pages to the original, or completely removing the duplicate content.
- Outdated or Irrelevant Content: A technical SEO audit can highlight content that is no longer relevant or accurate. Solutions may include updating the content with current information, repurposing it into a different format, or removing it if it no longer adds value to your audience.
- Complex Content: Content that reads with too high of a Flesching Reading Ease score can confuse users, reducing the chances of conversions. Identifying high Fleshing scores, and rewriting them can improve visibility of said content, as search engines promote clear simple answers.
- Not Enough Internal or External Links: Sometimes content can be underperforming in SERP, simply because search engines want to see more supporting internal or external links. For this reason, I always recommend sorting your content audits by number of: outgoing internal links, incoming internal links, and external links. Then tackle the weakest of each of those categories. So add external links to the ten articles with the fewest external links, for example. However, remember an important note: Internal link building is one of the strongest ranking signals that you have control over, so focus on internal links first.
Conducting regular SEO content audits is an essential part of a comprehensive and successful SEO strategy. It not only identifies problem areas but also offers the opportunity to refine and enhance your content strategy, leading to improved SEO performance over time.
Remember, SEO is not a one-time task but a continuous effort, and content audits ensure that your efforts stay on the right track.
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At SEO Succor, we take great pride in helping our clients conduct regular recurring content audits.
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To learn more about how content audits could improve your SEO, schedule a complementary consultation with one of our digital marketing experts.
