Estimated reading time: 2 minutes

I wanted a snack earlier today and found myself digging around the contents of the fridge. I hit the leftover jackpot with a dish of homemade mac and cheese – the perfect comfort food for this snowy day. But in my search, I discovered a few questionable items that, I can admit, needed the sniff test. You know you’ve done it – opened a container just enough to test it for that telltale too-ripe smell that lets you know it is officially past its expiration date.

Yeah, I know. Gross.

But it made me think about websites (honestly most things make me think about websites, but this is a really good parallel) and how so often content gets put on the shelf and left to expire.

That just shouldn’t be the case. As marketers, we understand the importance of never letting content “go bad.” Fresh, up-to-date content strengthens your brand and gets you noticed by customers and search engines, etc. We also understand that managing that content can be a daunting task, especially if it isn’t something you are overly familiar with (unlike those of us who spend our days comparing fridge clean up to content…).

This is where a content audit can help – and yes, it is exactly what it sounds like. Content auditing involves a thorough analysis of a site’s content to determine its strengths and weaknesses. It will help you identify poorly performing pages, possible inaccuracies, and what your visitors are most interested in. It will also allow you to revamp existing content – ensuring consistent, current brand messaging across your site.

Another major benefit to a content audit? It can identify content strategies that utilize keywords specific to your audience and take into account Google’s ever-changing algorithms. Working these keywords into your website copy boosts your organic ranking in search engine results, and means that your customers find you that much easier.

The benefits of having someone with experience perform your audit, is that you’ll get far more than just a spreadsheet listing all your web assets. You’ll get specific recommendations – a road map for what needs to be done to keep your web presence as relevant as possible. (This same process can be done for all of your marketing channels; if you want to be sure every aspect of your marketing supports each other.)

So as I sit here and finish my mac and cheese, I’ll leave you with this. If you haven’t given your web content the “sniff test” lately, it just might be time to do so. A content audit can easily be one of the best ways to guarantee the ongoing quality of your content. Because when it comes to leftovers and website copy, freshness matters.