Content Audit Checklist for Existing Blog Posts

Old blog posts slowly go stale: facts age, links break and newer posts compete with older ones on the same topic. A content audit looks at every post you've published and decides what to do with each.

1. List every post

Export your post list from your CMS, or crawl your site. Screaming Frog's free version crawls up to 500 URLs. Put them in a spreadsheet with the URL, title and publish date.

2. Add performance data

• Google Search Console: impressions, clicks and average position for each page over the last 12 months.
• Analytics: visits, engagement time and conversions.
• Backlinks: from Search Console's Links report or an SEO tool.

3. Check each post

• [ ] Is the information still accurate and current?
• [ ] Does it answer what people searching for it want?
• [ ] Do all links work?
• [ ] Are images loading and do they have alt text?
• [ ] Is the title clear and under about 60 characters?
• [ ] Is the meta description specific and under about 155 characters?
• [ ] Does it link to related posts, and do they link back?
• [ ] Is there another post on the same topic competing with it?
• [ ] Is it readable: headings, short paragraphs, clear answer near the top?

4. Decide what to do

• Keep: accurate, getting traffic, nothing to fix.
• Update: useful topic but outdated, thin or underperforming. Often the biggest wins.
• Merge: two or more posts on the same topic. Combine the best parts and redirect the others.
• Remove: no traffic, no links, no value. Redirect if there's a close match; otherwise let it go.

5. Prioritize

Start with posts that get impressions but few clicks, or rank between positions 5 and 20. Small improvements there pay off fastest.

6. Track results

Note the date of each change and compare performance in Search Console a few months later.

Tools that help

Word Counter shows a post's word count and reading time, useful for spotting thin posts. A crawler such as Screaming Frog lists broken links across the site. See word count and content strategy and depth vs length.

How often

A full audit once a year works for most sites, with quick checks on top posts every few months.