Why Should Technology Companies Conduct a Content Audit?

Why Should Technology Companies Conduct a Content Audit?

The term “content audit” is employed quite frequently in content marketing, and even on this blog. But what exactly may be a content audit, and why do technology companies need one?

What is a content audit?

For starters, a content audit at its simplest form may be a qualitative analysis of the content published on a company’s web properties, including its website and blog. A content audit is usually built off a content inventory, which is only a record of all content published along with the date created, URL, and other content metadata. While a content inventory includes plenty of information on each content piece, it doesn’t speak to the standard of the content – and that’s what a content audit is for.

However, there are many various types of content audits, including:

Full content audit: A full audit may be a comprehensive account of a company’s website content.

Partial content audit: Typically a partial content audit focuses on a subcategory of content on an internet site. for instance, you'll perform a partial audit on solely product or service pages, a resource center or a blog. A partial content audit could even be performed on a specific set of assets being used in a specific campaign or with a certain media partner.

Rolling content audit: A rolling audit is monitored and maintained well past the initial go-through of content on some kind of a regular basis. A rolling audit is treated as a living and breathing document, updated weekly, monthly, quarterly, etc.

A content audit typically involves looking into attributes like topic/pain points, buy cycle stage, accuracy, goals, and calls to action, also as performance metrics – information that speaks to the quality of the asset at hand.

How a Content Audit Can Help Technology Companies

Now that we’re on the identical page in terms of what a content audit is, let’s speak about how a content audit can be useful to technology companies.

Gauge and improve content performance

Obviously, by recording content performance metrics (lead volume, conversion rate, traffic, click, etc. counting on the goal) you can easily identify top performers. But watching the other attributes of top performing content can help you improve content performance across the board.

What stage of content is performing best? If early-stage content is outperforming the remainder of your assets, which will be an indication of the state of the market. for instance, if you’re creating content round the Internet of Things, presumably early-stage, awareness content will outperform late-stage assets, because the market is still emerging and IT buyers still have lots of questions about the topic. this will dictate how to position existing and future content that speaks to similar pain points.

Similarly, watching trends in content format can provide insight into the types of content your audience likes to consume. Do webcasts and videos outperform PDF assets? Are infographics driving plenty of eyeballs? This insight could inspire content repurposing projects, also as direct future content creation endeavors.

Identify gaps and generate ideas

There are many various ways to identify content gaps, including watching the market overall, also as competitive offerings. But taking a deep dive into your own content library also can uncover content gaps that need to be filled.

For example, a content audit could help to uncover a niche in your persona coverage. because it buying is a team sport, technology companies must have content that speaks on to each buying team member. If all of your content is concentrated on messaging IT managers and directors, you’re alienating the remainder of the team who influences the purchase decision.

Similarly, a content audit can poke holes in your buy cycle coverage. Technology companies should have content that speaks to researchers at altogether stages – from identifying a problem and finding solutions to vetting out vendors and making a shortlist. Skewing heavier on either side provides competitors the chance to influence – making full coverage a necessity.

Finally, auditing your content can help inspire new content projects. Once you recognize what topics and pain points your existing content addresses, you'll easily recognize where you’re lacking. Cross referencing your content audit with market trends and buy intentions can also assist ideation for new content.