How to run a content audit
The Doily team
Reviewed by the Doily team, Oct 2026 Updated 4 min read
Quick answer
A content audit lists every page, adds search, conversion, and link data, and gives each page 1 decision: keep, update, merge, redirect, or remove. Judge pages against Google's helpful-content questions, fix the highest-value pages first, and never change dates to fake freshness.
Why it matters
Most sites carry pages that are outdated, thin, duplicated, or aimed at questions nobody asks. They dilute the site, confuse readers, and make updates harder to plan. An audit puts every page on 1 sheet so you can decide with data instead of instinct.
It is also where quick wins hide. Pages with strong impressions and weak clicks, or good traffic and no next step, show up fast once the numbers sit side by side.
Key takeaways
- Build the inventory from a crawl, your sitemap, and your CMS so nothing is missed.
- Combine search data, conversions, and links before you decide anything.
- Judge quality with Google's questions on originality, completeness, expertise, and accuracy.
- Do not republish old pages with new dates, and do not delete pages in bulk expecting a freshness boost. Google says neither helps.
Step by step
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Build the inventory
Crawl the site and combine the result with your sitemap and your CMS list. Put every URL in 1 sheet with title, page type, publish date, and last real update. Include pages that are not in the navigation.
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Add performance data
Pull clicks, impressions, click-through rate, and average position per page from the Search Console Performance report. Add conversions or form fills from your analytics, and the number of internal links to each page. Use at least 3 months so seasonal swings do not mislead you.
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Review quality against Google's questions
Open each important page and ask what Google asks: does it offer original information, a complete description of the topic, and analysis beyond the obvious? Is it written or reviewed by someone who knows the topic? Does it contain easily checked errors? Mark pages that fail.
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Assign 1 decision to every page
Keep means leave it. Update means refresh facts and add first-hand detail. Merge means combine with a stronger page and redirect. Remove means retire it. Add a short reason for each, so the next person understands.
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Prioritize by value and effort
Sort by what the page could earn, such as high impressions with low clicks or traffic that does not convert, against the work needed. Start with pages on your main services. A short list you finish beats a long list you do not.
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Update pages with substance
Replace outdated facts, add the specifics only you know, tighten the opening answer, fix the title and description, and add internal links. Change the displayed date only when the content changed in a meaningful way. Google lists faking freshness as a warning sign.
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Retire pages carefully
Redirect a removed page to the closest relevant page. If none exists, let it return a 404 or 410. Google says adding or removing lots of content primarily to seem fresh will not help your rankings, so cut only what has no purpose.
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Schedule the next review
Review your top 20 pages every quarter and the rest once a year. Keep the audit sheet as the living record, with dates and decisions.
Audit sheet columns
| Column | Why it is there |
|---|---|
| URL, title, page type | Identifies the page and what it is for |
| Published and last meaningful update | Shows how stale it is |
| Clicks and impressions, 3 months | Shows whether search finds it |
| Conversions | Shows whether it helps the business |
| Internal links in | Shows whether people can find it |
| Quality notes | Records what fails the helpful-content questions |
| Decision | Keep, update, merge, redirect, or remove |
| Owner and due date | Makes it happen |
Sort by decision, then by the value of the page. The first 10 rows are your starting work.
How Doily helps
Doily's site audit crawls your pages and ranks fixes by priority, and Doily rank tracking and keyword data show which pages carry your main terms.
Questions
How often should I audit my content?
Review your most valuable pages quarterly and the whole site once a year. Large publishers may do rolling reviews by section.
Will deleting old posts improve rankings?
Not by itself. Google says removing lots of older content primarily because you believe it will make the site seem fresh will not help. Remove or merge pages that no longer serve a purpose.
Should I update the date when I edit a post?
Only when the page changed in a meaningful way. Google lists changing dates to make pages seem fresh, when the content has not substantially changed, as a warning sign.
Sources
Primary sources, checked Oct 11, 2026.
