In brief: A content audit is a systematic review of existing pages and materials, their role, quality, performance and relationships. Its output should decide what to retain, merge, rewrite or remove.
How I use a content audit in practice
I start with the decision the audit must support, not with an export of every URL. I record the audience, page role, evidence, owner and next action for each important item. I then compare the inventory with search intent, business relevance and actual user behaviour, so that the review produces a workable priority rather than another spreadsheet.
What to watch for
Metrics alone do not explain why content succeeds or fails. An old page may still support an important journey, while a highly visited page may have no useful purpose. Avoid changing many things at once without a baseline, and distinguish a content issue from a shared technical template issue.
Questions for decisions
- What role does this content play for the reader and the business?
- Which evidence supports retaining, merging or rewriting it?
- What can distort the observed performance?
- Who owns the next action and its review?