There is an immutable law of marketing: Having lots of content is NOT the same as having the right content.
And yet, all too often, marketers launch campaigns built around existing content without properly evaluating whether those assets will actually support their campaign goals. The result is wasted budget, lost prospects and unmet goals.
So what’s the fix? A content audit.
In this article:
- How content quality drives campaign success
- How to do a content audit (with free template)
- What to do with your audit results
An audit isn’t quite the same thing as a content inventory. An inventory is usually a high-level index of all your content, spanning verticals and formats. It’s typically campaign-agnostic. The goal is to have a central list of all assets. The bigger your organization, the more critical this becomes.
A content audit, on the other hand, is much more focused and tactical. An audit focuses on a subset of your content library based on your campaign’s target verticals or solutions, and evaluates those assets against consistent criteria. The goal is to get a clear picture of the quality and campaign fit of your content, to determine what content will drive campaign success.
Why should I audit my content before planning a campaign?
Make no mistake, buyers want quality. An overwhelming 77% of top-performing B2B marketers attribute their success to producing high-quality content. Google has codified how it evaluates content, specifically favoring information that’s helpful and people-first. AI search also prioritizes content quality, as well as content depth.
In B2B decision-making processes that typically involve multiple stakeholders and months of consideration, user experience extends far beyond a single interaction. Each asset represents a touchpoint in what needs to be a coherent journey. That journey should make it as easy as possible for the audience to get the info they need and progress through your campaign.
A content audit is the bridge between your assets and your campaign goals.
You’ll know your content is a good fit and is high quality by these three hallmarks:
- It centers discoverability and navigation.
High-quality content includes logical internal linking structures that guide readers to related information. Aim to connect different assets across concepts and related topics, creating a seamless user path. Remember, the goal of every asset is to prompt an action—make it as easy as possible for your audience to take that action. - It delivers value efficiently.
Quality content presents information efficiently—providing substance without unnecessary padding. It frontloads key insights and structures information hierarchically so readers can get the information they need quickly. - It focuses on your target audience.
Poor-quality content often leaves readers with more questions than answers. High-quality content is built around what the audience wants and needs to know to solve their challenge—and sets them up to continue their buying journey.
How to start your content audit: Basic attributes.
Getting started with your first content audit can feel overwhelming, especially if you have lots of assets. The key is to just take it one step at a time. This is the order of operations we typically follow—it helps to use a repeatable process.
Step 1: Gather your content.
Start by gathering up relevant resources from Digital Demand, Product, Brand and any other teams that produce marketing content. Keep in mind: Make sure to collect asset types besides the usual go-tos like blogs and ebooks. This could include webinars, podcasts, research reports and web pages.
Step 2: Prepare your audit doc.
There’s a lot to keep straight when you do a content audit. It’s important to make sure you are documenting your results. Use a dedicated audit sheet, ideally using consistent fields across audits.
If you don’t have one, you can use this free content audit template, which comes from our Content Strategy Toolkit, a framework for connecting content to campaigns and 6 templates for getting it done. Keep in mind: You’ll likely want to adjust the fields for your use case. For instance, you might want to add a column for “vertical” or “product line.”
Step 3: Enter content attributes into the audit doc.
Start by identifying basic attributes of your content, like format, target audience and previous performance. This is also the time to note which journey stage the asset is appropriate for. Keep in mind: Documenting these aspects of your content might feel cursory, but doing so will actually give you a robust look at your content coverage—and gaps.
Now that you’ve got the basics recorded, it’s time to really dig in. These next prompts are what will help you ensure your content isn’t just high quality but also a good fit for your campaign’s audience and goals.
How to complete your audit: Evaluating fit.
Interrogate your content with these three advanced questions to focus on to get the most out of your audit.
What questions does this asset answer?
For each asset, identify the specific questions it addresses. Remember, your audience doesn’t care about your messaging, they care about answering their questions. Understanding the questions your audience has and ensuring you have content that answers them is the foundation of a successful audience-centric strategy. Documenting these questions and answers will also help you identify gaps in your content—areas that aren’t covered anywhere. (Check out our free content journey mapping template to help with that!)
You probably don’t want to document literally every question each asset answers—that can get unwieldy in a hurry. Instead, try to pull out the key information that frames the content. And keep in mind that after you identify the questions the content answers, you’ll also want to determine if these questions—i.e. this piece of content—are relevant to the audience for this campaign.
PROTIP: Try incorporating AI tools into your workflow for this step (we love NotebookLM). As always, AI isn’t a replacement for a human. But the right tool can help you assess content at scale, even though you’ll still need to validate the results. One huge benefit of AI, though, is it will give you a sense of the effectiveness of your content. You might believe a given asset answers certain questions, but if your AI tool doesn’t surface them, it probably means they’re not explicit or clear enough in the writing. And if AI isn’t picking it up, your audience likely won’t either.
What updates are needed?
As you review your content, keep an eye out for any aspects of your content that need updating. Look for things like:
- Outdated info. Citing a report from 2022? See if there is a newer stat you can use.
- Outdated references. Is there a section about adjusting to working remotely? It might be time to take it out.
- Misaligned messaging. Does your framing speak to the hotel industry, but you’re trying to reach multifamily housing? The content still works, but you may need to adjust your language, imagery or both.
- Wonky structure. Are your headings consistent? Does the structure of your content help or hinder the reader’s progress?
- Weak call to action. Is there a clear, plausible next step? Remember, the mission of any content is to help the audience take a specific action. Now’s the time to make sure your CTAs are doing their job.
- Dead ends. Are you offering the audience links to related content? Even if—especially if—someone isn’t ready to click the CTA, you want to make sure you’re giving them a few ways to stay engaged with further exploration.
Document specific changes required for each asset—be concrete about what needs to change and why. This is the difference between a static inventory and a specific, goal-oriented strategy.
PROTIP: It’s important to distinguish between two types of updates: Global and local. That is, you may be updating an asset for all use cases. But just as often you’ll need to make campaign-specific updates (think industry data or case studies). Noting which kind of updates you’re making will help you keep your inventory clutter-free in the future.
What derivative assets are possible?
Quality content can—and should!— spawn multiple derivative assets tailored to different channels and audience segments. Brainstorm potential derivatives that could extend the reach and impact of your messaging, particularly where you have gaps. Consider different formats, levels of detail and delivery channels. This is a little more work on the front end, but you’ll make it up later when you’re able to spin up new assets without starting from scratch.
This can take many forms:
- Convert a research report into a webinar script
- Extract key statistics in a blog for social media graphics
- Compile a blog series into an ebook (or vice versa).
- Turn webinars into snackable video clips
PROTIP: Don’t just make derivative content because you can. Think about specific, purpose-driven use cases where derivative assets could meaningfully help you extend the reach of your content.
How to take action with your content audit results.
Based on your evaluation, each piece of existing content will yield one of five determinations:
Use.
This content is a good fit for this campaign as-is. This process validates and documents that decision.
Remove.
Some content simply doesn’t belong in your campaign. This can be pieces that use outdated positioning or messaging, assets that don’t address relevant questions or topics, or content that’s just not high quality. We’ve all looked at a piece of content that just isn’t very good—now’s the time to pull it from the rotation. Does that mean you blast it off the face of the earth? Not necessarily. If it’s truly poor quality, maybe it is time for retirement. But if it doesn’t address relevant topics, it might just not be a good fit for this campaign.
Refresh.
Often, content has a strong foundation but requires refreshing. This can include any of the actions in the “Updates Needed” section above.
Repurpose.
Sometimes, the kernel of the content is solid, but the asset needs to be reworked for a specific target audience. That might include different supporting stats, testimonials from people in the target industry or even shifting the focus and flow of the piece. You may find that in making those updates that the format of the asset changes, as well.
Reformat.
Sometimes, your content just doesn’t work in its current incarnation. It could be the wrong format for the target audience or focus on too broad a topic. See if there’s a way to modify what you already have to serve the needs of your audience and campaign, as in the “Derivative assets” section above.
The Iron Horse insight.
The most successful B2B marketers don’t treat content audits as one-time projects. They integrate this quality-focused evaluation into their ongoing content strategy. Every campaign is an opportunity to reassess and refine your content assets. The audit process transforms your content inventory from a static archive into a dynamic toolbox for campaign execution. Instead of a list, validating the campaign-readiness of assets as well as identifying gaps in your coverage. And even though an audit is conducted in the context of a specific goal or campaign, the results can extend further. You may discover that a widely-used asset could benefit from an update, even if it’s not a good fit for your current campaign.
