How to do a content audit for a small business

A content audit is a list of everything you have published, with one decision next to each item. For a small business, that list usually fits in a single spreadsheet: website pages, blog posts, downloadable guides and the social posts you still point people to. The goal is to find out which pieces still help a customer and which ones mislead, repeat or simply sit there.

You do not need special software for a first audit. A spreadsheet, access to your website analytics and one uninterrupted afternoon are enough for a site with fewer than a hundred pages. This guide walks through the steps and uses a fictional bakery with invented figures to show how the decisions look in practice. None of the numbers describe a real business.

Decide what the audit must answer

Write one sentence before you open the spreadsheet. Examples: 'Which pages should a new customer read before ordering a cake?' or 'Which old posts give prices or opening hours that are no longer true?' A clear question keeps the audit short. Without it, the list grows into a record of everything, and nobody acts on it.

Set a boundary too. A first audit can cover the website and blog only. Newsletters, social posts and printed leaflets can wait for a second round unless your question is about them. Write the boundary at the top of the sheet so the next person who opens it knows what was checked and what was left out.

Build the inventory

Create one row per URL or document. Use these columns:

• Address or file name.
• Title as the visitor sees it.
• Content type, such as service page, blog post, guide or FAQ.
• Date of the last real update.
• Owner, meaning the person who can change it.
• Main question the piece answers for a customer.

Your sitemap is the fastest starting point. Most website builders publish one at /sitemap.xml, and you can paste its addresses into the sheet. Then add anything the sitemap misses: PDFs linked from emails, landing pages from old campaigns and pages hidden from the menu. If a page exists but you cannot say which customer question it answers, write 'unclear' in that column. That label is already a finding.

Add the numbers you already have

Pull two or three figures per row from the tools you use today. Page views over the last twelve months show whether anyone reaches the piece. Search impressions from Google Search Console show whether Google shows it for any query. If you track enquiries or orders, note which pages people visited before contacting you.

Use the same period for every row. Mixing a three-month figure with a twelve-month one makes a newer page look weaker than it is. Low numbers do not automatically mean a page is useless. A delivery policy page may get few visits and still prevent a complaint. Treat the numbers as one input next to your own judgement about what customers need.

Pick the content KPIs you will reuse in later audits and write them in the sheet header. Measuring the same things each time lets you compare this audit with the next one.

Score each piece with four questions

Answer yes or no for each row:

1. Is it accurate? Prices, opening hours, product names, legal information and screenshots match today.
2. Is it useful? A customer with the stated question would get a complete answer.
3. Is it unique? No other page on your site answers the same question in almost the same way.
4. Does it lead somewhere? The reader can see a sensible next step, such as a contact form, a related guide or a product page.

Four yes answers mean the page stays as it is. Any no answer points to the type of work needed. An inaccurate page needs an update. A page that repeats another one is a candidate for merging. A page with no clear customer question and no visits may be removed or redirected.

Choose keep, update, merge or remove

Give every row exactly one action:

• Keep. Accurate, useful and unique. Check it again at the next audit.
• Update. The topic is right, but facts, examples or links are out of date.
• Merge. Two or more pages answer the same question. Combine the best parts into one page and redirect the others to it.
• Remove. The page has no current purpose, such as an expired promotion. Redirect its address to the closest relevant page so links and bookmarks still work.

Pages that stay useful for years are your evergreen content. Mark them, because they deserve a scheduled review rather than a rewrite whenever someone has spare time. Seasonal or time-bound pieces need an end date in the sheet so they do not sit online after the season is over.

Worked example - a small bakery website

The fictional bakery has 32 pages: 6 service and product pages, 22 blog posts and 4 PDF price lists. The owner's question is 'What should a customer read before ordering a celebration cake?'

After scoring, the sheet looks like this:

The counts add up to 32, which is a quick check that no row was skipped. The merges reduce seven pages to three, so the site ends with 11 + 9 + 3 = 23 pages after the removals and merges. Three separate posts about cake sizes become one guide with a single size chart, and the other addresses redirect to it.

The audit also shows a gap. No page explains how far in advance to order. That is a question customers ask by phone, and nothing on the site answers it. The owner adds it to the plan as a new page. Finding missing topics this way is a basic content gap analysis done as a side effect of the audit.

Turn the findings into a work plan

An audit only helps when its actions get dates. Sort the sheet by action and estimate the effort for each row in hours. Do the fixes that protect customers first: wrong prices, wrong opening hours and broken order links. Then handle merges, because they change addresses and need redirects. Updates and new pages come after that.

Move each task into your content calendar with a date and an owner. In the bakery example, the owner blocks two hours a week for five weeks. That time covers the nine updates, the three merged guides and the new ordering-time page. Writing time for new posts is planned only after the backlog of fixes is scheduled.

When you rewrite a strong old post, consider content repurposing. A good answer on the website can become a short social post or a newsletter section without starting from a blank page.

Keep the audit small next time

Save the sheet with its date and do not delete it after the work is done. At the next audit, copy it, add new pages and check only what changed. Many small businesses repeat the exercise once or twice a year, with a quick monthly check of the pages that mention prices. The right rhythm depends on how often your offer changes.

Record what happened after the changes. Note the date each page was updated and look at the same figures three months later. Keep in mind that traffic moves for many reasons, including seasons and competitors, so treat any change as an observation. The lasting value of a content audit is a website where every page has a reason to exist and someone responsible for it.

Related glossary terms

• Content audit
• Content gap analysis
• Content KPIs
• Evergreen content
• Content repurposing
• Content calendar

See also

• Content plan for a personal trainer
• Content plan for a real estate agency