Today’s Ask SEO Question comes from Nick, who asks:
“Which period is most important for content analysis? My traffic changes are based on Google Algorithm updates and there is also a certain season. Should I use one year of performance data to influence my strategy or would it be better to use smaller data sets?”
There is no right or wrong answer to when to do a content review, as each site is unique, but there are signs that it is time to do a content review.
And an annual checkup doesn’t hurt either.
One thing to be careful about is changing things just because you have a temporary ding, C-suite executive panics because of the season, or there are changes during the search engine update.
Many times, when search engines like Google update, they reverse it, and good content and pages come back.
Don’t rely on updates as a sign that it’s time to review your content alone.
Plateaued Traffic
Contents
If the traffic is high, but you’ve been adding content regularly, it’s a good idea to take a step back and look at what you’re putting out.
If you are not getting new traffic, do you already have a page that is getting the same type of traffic from SEO?
If yes, change topics and find new things that can bring in your audience while still working on your core products, services, and offers.
You don’t want to cannibalize the page when the pages are running. But don’t just look at SEO traffic and keep writing about the same topic – look at your user base and audience.
Have people on social media stopped sharing and clicking through to your pages?
If this happens, you will be sending topics that are not interesting to your user base, or you have outgrown those topics, and they are tired of the same thing.
Look for other types of articles that meet the needs of the same user base.
That is, if your target is single fathers with young daughters and you sell books, consider other “single father problems.” It could be doing hair, planning birthday parties, shopping for clothes, introducing your daughter to your new significant other, etc.
Each of these topics will have corresponding publications that can cross-sell your content and provide solutions to your audience’s needs. And the topics allow you to work with influencers in your niche and create cross-promotion marketing campaigns with related companies.
This, in turn, builds exposure and can lead to natural backlinks.
It’s a big win and can help grow your traffic back to the right audience while feeding other channels and helping your company grow across the board.
You, as an SEO pro or copywriter, be the hero and you can get a seat at the marketing planning table.
Pages And Categories That Are Slipping
If you notice pages or sections on your site are sliding, now is a good time to check them.
But don’t just start dragging, trimming, and rewriting. First, check:
Around Six Months Out From Seasonal Traffic
When you’re six months into your busy season, check to see if you’re showing up now for your keywords.
If not, do the same exercise as above, and start looking at how you can improve your copy.
I start eight months in advance, but that’s because I want to do more testing than necessary – six months is enough time so you can get to your content and winter code three or four months before your busy season starts.
Pro-tip: Don’t split test organic traffic and pages.
This affects in many ways. Instead, create a plan, test copy, and keywords to convert through PPC, and then release the best action in time to see how it index and rank.
Annual Evaluations
It’s always a good idea to do an annual inspection.
You probably know what your copy really does, but maybe that part of your site isn’t being shown. This is easy to find in many analytics packages.
Sort by SEO traffic, then display by category folder (collections if you’re in Shopify), and you’ll see how the categories are doing.
From there you can change the look of the site, build content, and search for missing sites.
You can also easily see if copy and H tags are active on sections, and find skipped sections.
One of the biggest discoveries in this exercise was that the seats that used to be good fell, but others took their place. You can see this by comparing the time, and then repeat the fallen pages if necessary.
When you see that the traffic is stable because one post took off from another, you now have the opportunity to double your traffic.
Work on picking up dropped pages and keep the existing ones. Editing old pages can sometimes be more efficient than creating new ones, and it’s easy to save time.
There is no one size fits all when to do a content SEO audit, but these are four good times to do one.
Credit: Andrey_Popov/Shutterstock
What should be included in an SEO content audit?
Content Details Review
- URL.
- The writer.
- Which team created it (content team, social team, SEO team, etc.).
- Total Time (how long it took to load the full content).
- Title.
- Date.
- Type of content (i.e. blog post, infographic, case study, etc.).
When should you do a content audit?
Content Monitoring – Review Every 3-6 Months Content monitoring quality can lead to rapid user conversion, so you should always be aware of its performance. Reviewing this content every three to six months will give you time to respond and adapt to changing trends or user needs.
Why should you do content analysis? Content analysis is an important part of any content strategy and can help you evaluate your content marketing strategy, giving you the opportunity to organize everything you have on record and help clarify your content expansion plans.
What is Stage 1 content analysis? Step 1: Define Your Goals and Metrics. Step 2: Take Inventory of Your Content. Step 3: Collect and Analyze Data. Step 4: Create an Action Plan.
When should an SEO audit be done? We recommend that websites be reviewed once a year. It allows your teams to solve critical issues as they arise. There are certain aspects of SEO that you should focus on after your analysis to ensure that you stay competitive.
How often should you audit your business?
Audits can be done monthly, quarterly, twice a year, or once a year. It is important to understand the processes that need to be monitored before defining the internal audit frequency, as not all processes need to be monitored at the same time.
How long is an audit good for? It usually occurs three years after the return is due or filed, whichever is later.
Do I have to check every year? A taxpayer is required to have a tax audit conducted when sales, returns or business receipts exceed Rs 1 crore in a financial year. However, the taxpayer may be required to have their accounts audited in certain circumstances.
Do companies get audited every year?
If the IRS is haunting your dreams, allow me to soothe you to sleep: About 1 in 100 businesses are audited each year. In addition to that, there are a few simple things you can do to avoid the dreaded scrutiny of the IRS.
Does the IRS audit every year? If we see a big mistake, we can add more years. We usually don’t go back more than six years ago. The IRS tries to review tax returns as soon as possible after they are filed. Accordingly most audits will be for returns within the last two years.
Is it common for a company to be audited?
Assessment can be scary, especially if you find yourself below average. Only one to two percent of businesses are audited, but some problems can be the reason for the taxman to come calling from time to time.
Why will the company be audited? The IRS can flag a tax refund for many different reasons, but the most common reasons why you might be audited include the following situations: Claiming business losses for many years. Reporting unexpected, high income levels. Taking several withdrawals is huge.
How often is a company audited?
Fortunately, you can breathe easy knowing that only a small percentage of businesses – about 1% to 2% – are audited. Even if you are among those businesses that are audited, there is nothing to fear from an IRS audit as long as you are adequately prepared.
How can a business be audited? One in 100 businesses are audited each year.
What triggers a company audit?
Overspending Spending too much or changing too much money from one year to the next can lead to an IRS audit. Although you may have a business credit card, the transaction does not have to be overwhelming. For example, billing all your meals during the workday as a business expense can raise red flags.
What makes a company auditable? Reasons for small business reviews include being a sole proprietor, finding entertainment discounts and investing in your business vehicle. Knowing what catches the eye of the Internal Revenue Service can help you avoid an audit.
How often should audits be done?
An audit should be scheduled at least once a year and should cover everything you do – especially if it is related to your Management System. Depending on the process being tested, it may be necessary to change this frequency.
Are companies audited every year? Yes. By law, the annual financial statements of public companies must be audited each year by independent auditors, accountants who review the data for compliance with US Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP).
How is audit frequency determined?
Choosing the frequency should take into account: The results of previous auditions. Status & Significance of Action. Specific or regulatory requirements. Major changes in management, organization, policy, techniques or technologies.
How often should companies conduct audits? Quarterly or Biannually Your Compliance Officer will recommend reviewing the most recent quarterly performance. Inspections become less frequent as the process becomes more refined and stable. Accordingly, the organization must review the process quarterly or twice a year with a history of deficiencies or âglitchesâ in the system.
What is the frequency of ISO quality audit? ISO monitoring audit frequency The ISO monitoring audit is conducted in the first year and two after initial certification, and again in the first and two years following each recertification audit. ISO certification is valid for three years after which the company needs to be reissued.
How often do companies do audits?
Fortunately, you can breathe easy knowing that only a small percentage of businesses – about 1% to 2% – are audited. Even if you are among those businesses that are audited, there is nothing to fear from an IRS audit as long as you are adequately prepared.
Is it normal for a company to be audited? Assessment can be scary, especially if you find yourself below average. Only one to two percent of businesses are audited, but some problems can be the reason for the taxman to come calling from time to time.
What causes a business analysis? Miscellaneous Deductions & Excessive Costs However, deductions that do not match the nature of your business or are disproportionate to your income are an important tax audit. A large increase in deductions or income compared to the previous year can also attract attention.
What does a content audit include?
Your content analysis should also include an analysis covering content quality, search engine optimization (SEO), conversion rate, and optimization. The content review process involves taking a site content audit and allows you to review the breadth of content you have on your site.
What do you mean by content analysis? Definition: Content analysis is the process of documenting and evaluating all content on a website, including its performance. Online businesses that publish content and follow an ongoing content marketing strategy can maximize their benefits by analyzing strengths, weaknesses, and opportunities.
How many steps are there in literature review? There are seven key steps to conducting an internal audit: Set clear goals. Click your focus: choose a type of content to explore. Play content in the library (collect, organize, and categorize).
What is the main purpose of a content audit?
A content audit is a process of carefully evaluating everything you have on your site. This process allows you to focus more on your optimization efforts to see how you are achieving your business goals.
What is the purpose of website content analysis? Content analysis describes the process of collecting and analyzing resources on a website, such as landing pages or blog posts. Content analysis keeps a directory of the website and provides insight into what content to create, edit, rewrite, or delete.
