A content audit in 30 minutes — the short version

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1. 1Build the page list. Gather every page address in one list — from the menu, the content management system, or a search engine query using site:yourdomain.com.
2. 2Ask three questions per page. Is the content still true? Is the page still needed? Can anyone find it? Answer each with a plain yes or no.
3. 3Sort into a category. Keep, revise, merge, or delete — you don't need more categories than that.
4. 4Fix the wrong stuff first. Correct factually wrong details first, then duplicates, then wording.
5. 5Set the next review date. Decide when the fast-changing pages get checked again.

Why the big spreadsheet usually fails

The classic content audit starts with an export of every URL, enriched with traffic, ranking position, word count and load time. Two hours later the spreadsheet is finished and nobody ever opens it again.

For a site with twenty to fifty pages, that effort isn't justified. What matters is finding the pages that say something wrong — and you find those faster by reading than by measuring.

Four questions that decide each page's fate

A long audit gets long by asking too much. The short version needs four questions per page, each answered yes or no:

• Is everything on this page still accurate? Prices, dates, names, numbers.
• Would I create this page again today? If not, it's a candidate to merge or delete.
• Can anyone actually find this page? Through the menu, internal links, or search.
• Is there a second page saying almost the same thing? Duplicate content weakens both.

The thirty-minute run

The timings below are deliberately tight. Spend too long on any single page and you'll be stuck on page five when the hour's up.

• Minutes 0–5: build the page list. Main navigation plus everything linked in the footer is a solid base.
• Minutes 5–20: open each page briefly and mark it with one letter — K for keep, R for revise, M for merge, D for delete.
• Minutes 20–27: sort the R and D pages by importance. Homepage and service pages first, minor pages last.
• Minutes 27–30: write the three most important fixes into your calendar with a date. Nothing without a deadline gets done.

What each category means afterward

Keep means do nothing, but note the review date. Revise means fix the specific wrong detail, not rewrite the whole page — turning a correction into a rewrite project is the most common way audits stall.

Merge means keep the stronger page and permanently redirect the weaker one to it, preserving whatever value the old address had instead of letting it vanish into an error page. Delete means delete — and redirect the old address to the closest relevant page. A deleted page with no redirect is a dead end for anyone who still has the old link.

The second pass is the one that matters

A content audit is a habit, not a project. The first pass cleans up. The second pass keeps things clean — and, in practice, it only happens if something reminds you to run it.

Häufige Fragen

What is a content audit?

A systematic review of every page on a website, aimed at correcting what's wrong, removing what's no longer needed, and surfacing gaps.

How often should you do a content audit?

A full pass once a year. Fast-changing pages — offers, events, prices — need a shorter monthly check in between.

What tools do I need for this?

For small sites, a browser and a text file are enough. Extra tooling only earns its keep on the repeat runs — specifically, spotting when a page has gone stale again.

Can a content audit be done by one person, or does it need a team?

One person can run the thirty-minute version for a small site alone. Larger sites benefit from splitting sections among a few people, as long as each still ends with a clear decision per page.

What's the biggest time-waster in a typical audit?

Reading every page in full before deciding anything. The three-question format works precisely because it forces a fast yes-or-no instead of an open-ended review.