{"id":7294,"date":"2022-12-13T13:49:32","date_gmt":"2022-12-13T13:49:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/craighordlow.com\/index.php\/2022\/12\/13\/after-the-content-audit-7-steps-for-improving-content\/"},"modified":"2022-12-13T13:49:32","modified_gmt":"2022-12-13T13:49:32","slug":"after-the-content-audit-7-steps-for-improving-content","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/craighordlow.com\/index.php\/2022\/12\/13\/after-the-content-audit-7-steps-for-improving-content\/","title":{"rendered":"After the content audit: 7 steps for improving content"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>While we may all have goals when we start producing content, it can be easy to stray away from them or stop tracking them over time.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>As your website grows, it\u2019s recommended you run a <a href=\"https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/what-is-a-content-audit-388544\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">content audit<\/a> periodically to allow yourself to reset your goals and expectations and align your content with your current business KPIs.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>You can greatly expand your content marketing campaign and boost your business outcomes by aligning these goals and acting on information in your content audit.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/content-audit-guide-388695\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Performing a content audit<\/a> is only one step toward improving your marketing performance. <\/p>\n<p>To truly see results from your efforts, you must actively fix any problems in your audit and align your strategy with your established goals.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>In this article, you\u2019ll learn seven ongoing steps that can help you improve content after your audit is complete and <a href=\"https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/tips-optimize-content-people-search-engines-388271\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">optimize new content<\/a> to reflect your business goals.\u00a0<\/p>\n<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_81 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-grey ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<div class=\"ez-toc-title-container\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\" style=\"cursor:inherit\">Table of Contents<\/p>\n<span class=\"ez-toc-title-toggle\"><a href=\"#\" class=\"ez-toc-pull-right ez-toc-btn ez-toc-btn-xs ez-toc-btn-default ez-toc-toggle\" aria-label=\"Toggle Table of Content\"><span class=\"ez-toc-js-icon-con\"><span class=\"\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #999;color:#999\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #999;color:#999\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a><\/span><\/div>\n<nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/craighordlow.com\/index.php\/2022\/12\/13\/after-the-content-audit-7-steps-for-improving-content\/#1_Establish_clear_KPIs\" >1. Establish clear KPIs<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/craighordlow.com\/index.php\/2022\/12\/13\/after-the-content-audit-7-steps-for-improving-content\/#2_Prioritize_technical_fixes\" >2. Prioritize technical fixes<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-3\" href=\"https:\/\/craighordlow.com\/index.php\/2022\/12\/13\/after-the-content-audit-7-steps-for-improving-content\/#3_Identify_opportunities_for_wins\" >3. Identify opportunities for wins<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-4\" href=\"https:\/\/craighordlow.com\/index.php\/2022\/12\/13\/after-the-content-audit-7-steps-for-improving-content\/#4_Redirect_old_and_underperforming_pages\" >4. Redirect old and underperforming pages<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-5\" href=\"https:\/\/craighordlow.com\/index.php\/2022\/12\/13\/after-the-content-audit-7-steps-for-improving-content\/#5_Revamp_old_content_to_follow_new_guidelines\" >5. Revamp old content to follow new guidelines<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-6\" href=\"https:\/\/craighordlow.com\/index.php\/2022\/12\/13\/after-the-content-audit-7-steps-for-improving-content\/#6_Promote_new_and_revamped_content\" >6. Promote new and revamped content<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-7\" href=\"https:\/\/craighordlow.com\/index.php\/2022\/12\/13\/after-the-content-audit-7-steps-for-improving-content\/#7_Monitor_your_analytics\" >7. Monitor your analytics<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"1_Establish_clear_KPIs\"><\/span>1. Establish clear KPIs<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>Generally, the first step of any content audit will be a review of your business goals to help you benchmark content performance moving forward.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>After your audit, it\u2019s essential to benchmark these KPIs and track various fields of progress in your analytics.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>There are several metrics to use for this, including:<\/p>\n<p>Traffic\/pageviewsOrganic keyword positionBacklinksBounce rateConversion rateTime on page<\/p>\n<p>Once you\u2019ve established a list of KPIs for benchmarking and comparison to the content audit, you can discover strategies to improve existing content based on your intended outcomes.<\/p>\n<p>For example, are you looking to rank for higher volume keywords that bring in more traffic? Are you looking for less competitive ones with higher click-through rates?\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Furthermore, KPIs can be used to model new content that reflects your underlying business strategy.\u00a0<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"2_Prioritize_technical_fixes\"><\/span>2. Prioritize technical fixes<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>In your research, you may uncover a <a href=\"https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/3-ways-to-check-technical-seo-health-issues-on-your-website-378361\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">technical issue<\/a> causing your content to rank below its potential, such as <a href=\"https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/speed-page-experience-seo-387478\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">page speed<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/100-percent-indexing-impossible-385773\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">indexing<\/a> or <a href=\"https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/pro-tip-how-to-fix-3-not-so-obvious-crawl-errors-331226\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">crawling<\/a> issues.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Resolving these problems on your backend is an essential first step to ensuring that all present and future content can rank higher in organic search.\u00a0<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"3_Identify_opportunities_for_wins\"><\/span>3. Identify opportunities for wins<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>Now it\u2019s time to dive deeply into your audit and identify potential opportunities for easy wins.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>For example, in this <a href=\"https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/content-audit-guide-388695\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">content audit guide<\/a>, the author divides her content into several categories, including underperforming, thin, and outdated content.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>These categories allow you to implement easy changes, such as updating body text to reflect new changes or to make content more engaging to improve your content\u2019s relative performance.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Of course, you can always get more granular, conduct a backlink audit on <a href=\"https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/optimize-underperforming-content-389465\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">underperforming pieces of content<\/a>, and build external and internal links.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Look for content ranking for \u201cstriking distance\u201d keywords and make changes, based on the data, that will help it move to the first page.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>I also recommend writing new topics for high-volume keywords you might be ranking for in Position 41 or lower.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><!-- START INLINE FORM --><\/p>\n<div class=\"nl-inline-form border py-2 px-1 my-2\">\n<div class=\"row align-items-center\">\n<div class=\"col-12 col-lg-3 col-xl-4 pe-md-0 pb-2 pb-lg-0\">\n<p class=\"inline-form-text text-center mb-0\">Get the daily newsletter search marketers rely on.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"col-12 col-lg-7 col-xl-6  pe-lg-0\">\n<div class=\"form-nl-inline\">\n<div class=\"row g-0\">\n<div class=\"form-group col-12 col-lg-8 mb-0\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"col-12 col-lg-4 col-xl-4 mb-0\">\n<div class=\"d-none\">\n<p>Processing\u2026Please wait.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<button class=\"btn btn-dark inlineButton w-100 rounded-0 font-weight-bold\">SUBSCRIBE<\/button>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"col-12 col-lg-2 col-xl-2 ps-1\">\n<p class=\"text-center mb-0\"><a class=\"nl-terms\" href=\"https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/termsofuse\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">See terms.<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><!-- END INLINE FORM --><\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"4_Redirect_old_and_underperforming_pages\"><\/span>4. Redirect old and underperforming pages<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>Throughout your content audit, you might find several URLs with duplicate content and also some content that is just outdated or irrelevant.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>In that case, I recommend implementing a 301 redirect to a similar page to help give that page some <a href=\"https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/relevance-vs-authority-link-value-part-1-274270\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">link authority<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>However, consider being tentative about 301 redirects, as you might create more problems for your developer if you abuse them too much.\u00a0<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"5_Revamp_old_content_to_follow_new_guidelines\"><\/span>5. Revamp old content to follow new guidelines<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>Updating content allows you to win any opportunities you found during your audit. Generally, I like to let the data inform me.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>For instance, if I find some content that is outperforming others and leading to better traffic, I might update my internal linking strategy to promote this page.<\/p>\n<p>Ultimately, I recommend using content audits as a guide and a reset to develop a new content calendar and outline strategy.\u00a0<\/p>\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<\/div>\n<p>Create a healthy mix of new and revamped content to give you a boost in Google search.<\/p>\n<p>And if it makes sense, I like reformatting or transferring content into a new medium.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Conducting podcasts around existing content on your site or adding a video on underperforming pages could give them a much-needed boost.\u00a0<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"6_Promote_new_and_revamped_content\"><\/span>6. Promote new and revamped content<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>After updating your content, you&#8217;ll need to promote it to give it traction. I recommend the following promotional strategies for any piece of content:<\/p>\n<p>Sharing on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn.Building links.Tagging an influencer.Sharing in a newsletter.Advertising over search or Facebook.Syndicating content.<\/p>\n<p>By getting more eyeballs and traffic to your pages, you can use your content to create better results for your website.\u00a0<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"7_Monitor_your_analytics\"><\/span>7. Monitor your analytics<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>You must continuously track your analytics and ensure your content is performing to your preferred standards.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Your analytics will give you an excellent benchmark to measure your content\u2019s performance and give you ideas about where your content is underperforming or lacking.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Similar to everything in life, there is no get-rich-quick scheme or something you can buy to make your content rank better.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Instead, content marketing requires an ongoing commitment and a holistic approach, leveraging the best practices from technical SEO and link building to perform at its best.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>However, with a content audit, you are one step closer to achieving your business goals using content marketing. Now, you just need to start doing the heavy lifting.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>The post <a href=\"https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/improve-content-after-audit-390109\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">After the content audit: 7 steps for improving content<\/a> appeared first on <a href=\"https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Search Engine Land<\/a>.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>While we may all have goals when we start producing content, it can be easy to stray away from them or stop tracking them over time.\u00a0 As your website grows, it\u2019s recommended you run a content audit periodically to allow yourself to reset your goals and expectations and align your content with your current business KPIs.\u00a0 You can greatly expand your content marketing campaign and boost your business outcomes by aligning these goals and acting on information in your content audit.\u00a0 Performing a content audit is [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"h5ap_radio_sources":[],"cybocfi_hide_featured_image":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-7294","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-best-seo-blogs"],"featured_image_src":null,"featured_image_src_square":null,"author_info":{"display_name":false,"author_link":"https:\/\/craighordlow.com\/author\/"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/craighordlow.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7294","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/craighordlow.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/craighordlow.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/craighordlow.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7294"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/craighordlow.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7294\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/craighordlow.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7294"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/craighordlow.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7294"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/craighordlow.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7294"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}