Tutorial: Content Audit Process - Identifying and Fixing Underperforming Pages

Learn a systematic process for auditing your website content, identifying underperforming pages, and creating an action plan for improvement.

Prerequisites

Step 1: Export Your Content Inventory

From Google Search Console

# Using the Search Console API
from google.oauth2 import service_account
from googleapiclient.discovery import build
import pandas as pd

def export_gsc_data(site_url, start_date, end_date):
    credentials = service_account.Credentials.from_service_account_file(
        'credentials.json',
        scopes=['https://www.googleapis.com/auth/webmasters.readonly']
    )
    service = build('searchconsole', 'v1', credentials=credentials)
    
    request = {
        'startDate': start_date,
        'endDate': end_date,
        'dimensions': ['page', 'query'],
        'rowLimit': 25000,
    }
    
    response = service.searchanalytics().query(
        siteUrl=site_url, body=request
    ).execute()
    
    return pd.DataFrame(response.get('rows', []))

data = export_gsc_data('https://your-site.com', '2025-01-01', '2025-06-01')

From Analytics

Export:

Step 2: Categorize Your Content

Content Classification

Category Description Example
Pillar Comprehensive topic guide Complete SEO Guide
Cluster Focused subtopic article On-Page SEO Tips
News Time-sensitive content Google Update News
Product Product/service page SEO Audit Service
Resource Tool or template Keyword Template
Archive Old/outdated content 2020 SEO Trends

Step 3: Score Each Page

Traffic Score (0-25)

Traffic Score
>1000/month 25
500-1000 20
100-500 15
50-100 10
10-50 5
<10 0

Engagement Score (0-25)

Metric Score
Time on page > 3 min 25
Time on page 2-3 min 20
Time on page 1-2 min 15
Bounce rate < 40% +5
Scroll depth > 75% +5

SEO Score (0-25)

Factor Score
Top 3 ranking 25
Top 10 ranking 20
Top 20 ranking 15
Multiple keyword rankings +5
Featured snippet +5

Conversion Score (0-25)

Conversion Rate Score
>5% 25
3-5% 20
1-3% 15
0.5-1% 10
<0.5% 5

Step 4: Determine Action for Each Page

Action Matrix

Total Score Action Priority
75-100 Maintain and promote Low
50-74 Optimize and refresh Medium
25-49 Major update or consolidate High
0-24 Delete, redirect, or rewrite Critical

Specific Actions

Keep: High-performing content

Improve: Moderate performance

Consolidate: Similar thin content

Remove: No value content

Step 5: Create Action Plan

Priority Timeline

Week 1-2: Critical actions (delete/redirect)
Week 3-4: High priority (major updates)
Week 5-6: Medium priority (improvements)
Week 7-8: Low priority (maintenance)

Action Plan Template

URL Score Action Owner Due Date Expected Impact
/old-guide 15 Redirect to /new-guide John Jun 15 Traffic consolidation
/seo-tips 40 Major update Sarah Jun 20 +50% traffic
/seo-guide 70 Add FAQ section Mike Jun 25 +10% CTR

Step 6: Measure Audit Impact

Track these metrics 30/60/90 days after implementing changes:

Expected Results