Content is never “done.” In the ever-changing world of SEO and user expectations, analyzing your existing content is critical to improving performance, filling content gaps, and staying competitive. This guide will walk you through 5 actionable steps to analyze existing content and identify clear content improvement opportunities.

1. Set Goals for Your Content Audit

Before diving into analysis, clarify your objectives. Are you trying to increase organic traffic? Improve engagement? Boost conversions?

Your goal will shape the criteria you use in evaluating content effectiveness. Common content goals include:

• Increasing organic visibility

• Enhancing user experience

• Supporting sales or lead generation

• Building topical authority

Tip: Align each content piece with a business goal to assess its relevance.

2. Collect and Organize Your Content Data

Use a content audit checklist to gather a complete inventory of all existing content. Include:

• URLs

• Page titles

• Word count

• Last updated date

• Target keywords

• Traffic (via Google Analytics)

• Engagement metrics (bounce rate, time on page)

• Backlinks (via Ahrefs or Semrush)

• Conversion data (if applicable)

📊 Tools to Use:

• Google Sheets or Airtable for inventory tracking

• Google Analytics + Search Console

• Screaming Frog SEO Spider

3. Evaluate Content Performance Metrics

Now that you’ve collected the data, it’s time to assess content performance. Look at key content performance metrics such as:

• Organic traffic trends

• Keyword rankings

• Time on page

• Bounce rate

• Click-through rate (CTR)

• Backlink profile

Flag content that is underperforming, i.e. pages that have low traffic, high bounce rates, or declining keyword visibility.

📌 Pro Tip: Combine performance metrics with user signals (scroll depth, session duration) for richer insights.

4. Identify Content Gaps and Overlaps

Use content gap analysis to uncover opportunities your competitors are capitalizing on that you’re missing. This includes:

• Topics your competitors cover that you don’t

• Keywords your competitors rank for that you don't

• Missing stages of the buyer journey (awareness, consideration, decision)

Also, detect duplicate or overlapping content that may cause keyword cannibalization.

📊 Tools to Try:

• Ahrefs Content Gap Tool

• Semrush Keyword Gap

• Manual SERP reviews

5. Categorize Pages: Keep, Update, Remove, or Merge

Once you’ve analyzed your content, take action. Categorize each piece using the content pruning model:

• Keep: High-performing, evergreen content

• Update: Content with potential but needs optimization

• Remove: Outdated, irrelevant content

• Merge: Multiple posts covering the same topic

This step ensures your site remains clean, relevant, and aligned with SEO best practices.

Final Thoughts

A structured content analysis process helps you improve underperforming content, uncover content improvement opportunities, and strategically grow your content strategy. Whether you're managing a blog, a service site, or an eCommerce platform, these five steps will guide you toward a more effective, data-driven content strategy.