WHAT IS A CONTENT AUDIT?

A content audit is the process of looking at content elements and information assets on some part or all of a website and documenting all of the content created on your site, giving you the opportunity to analyse, purpose and optimise existing content for refinement of your own work.

A content audit involves taking a look at all the content on your website and assessing its relative strengths and weaknesses in order to prioritise your future areas of work.

WHY DO A CONTENT AUDIT?

Understand how content is laid out (understand the information heirarchy better & how to prioritise information effectively)
understand how much information is dedicated to each website section
understand specific words that are used throughout
locate gaps in my own content
gain new ideas about sections I could include in my own website
Shows all content thoroughly (gives you ability to focus on words and meaning rather than getting distracted with appearance)
Some parts of the site include duplication (for example the contact section is in the footer), an audit allows you to see where this happens and saves you time on your own projects

HOW DO I CONTENT AUDIT?

Content should be displayed on a spreadsheet and split into the following sections:

site map (elements are numbered)
title (a label for the section being talked about)
description (including information being included as well as font size, style, and whatever other
filename
links (external links included in the page)
URL