If you just keep churning out content without reviewing what you’ve already done, you’re missing out on opportunities to make your content perform better. A content audit exercise involves systematically reviewing what you’ve published on your website and blog. As you adjust your content marketing plan to your business goals, this audit can help you find gaps in your content and see what’s been successful. When reviewing your content, look for these things that can negatively impact your content strategy.
1. Outdated Material
Outdated content can hurt your rankings on search. Users won’t respond positively to content that doesn’t reflect your current brand, which also can impact your SEO strategy. Users and search engines want fresh, relevant copywriting. Low quality content makes your site seem less credible. Make a list of pages that aren’t performing well in search. Review each page and decide whether it should be deleted or updated to make it more current.
2. Content that Doesn’t Engage Your Audience
Many content creators forget that for content to be successful, the reader needs to find it interesting and engaging. We don’t create content for ourselves, but for our audience. When content doesn’t have value for the user, they won’t consume it. Keep the audience in mind when creating content and always ask yourself whether the content is valuable for your reader.
3. Bad Writing and Poor Grammar
Your readers are judging your business based on first impressions. When your content has mistakes, it won’t get your message across because your audience is distracted by the errors. Mistakes in your blog or on your website are a turn-off for the reader. What’s the solution? Have your content writers depend on a third person/editor to review content before it goes live.
4. Boring Titles or Subject Lines
Your audience clicks on links because they get interested in the subject. Same goes for emails. Want more clicks? Make sure your reader understands what they’re clicking on. Give your audience a reason to click on the link to read your content by creating engaging subject lines, but remember that ‘engaging’ cannot mean ‘misleading’!
5. Duplicate Content
The search engines frown on duplicate content. Readers too, don’t take kindly to content that neglects giving proper credit. Duplicate content brings your brand down. Delete pages that are similar in nature. Create unique content. Share content by giving credit to the original author(s).
6. Content that Doesn’t Reflect Your Brand
The content on your website should help your customer understand what your company stands for and how it stands out against your competitors. Generic content doesn’t deliver authenticity, which is the one, most important thing that customers and search engines want.
Set Your Content Up for Success
Managing your content strategy doesn’t have to take up all your time. Partner with an experienced content agency to help you monitor how your website is doing and to get the most out of your content. Contact MintCopy to learn more.
Use our online form to get in touch. You can also follow us on Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter to stay up-to-date with the latest content marketing trends.
Resources:
https://contentmarketinginstitute.com/articles/digital-content-mistakes-hurt-brand
Sheetal Pinto is the founder of MintCopy, a content agency that has been helping businesses communicate effectively since 2008. With a passion for words and a knack for SEO, she’s worked with companies around the world to craft copy that not only engages but ranks. Whether it’s blog posts, website content, or social media updates, Sheetal has a talent for turning complex ideas into compelling stories. When she’s not optimizing content or editing for clarity, she’s probably daydreaming about the perfect headline or debating the Oxford comma. With over 16 years in the business, she’s seen the digital marketing and SEO content landscape evolve and grow. Sheetal’s mantra? Fresh copy, refreshing results!
