--- name: rampstackco/seo-content-audit source: https://app.decimal.ai/s/rampstackco-seo-content-audit@2/SKILL.md source_sha256: 2969133bdcc0 --- # Content Audit Inventory existing content, score it, and decide for each piece: keep, update, merge, redirect, or delete. Stack-agnostic. Works on blogs, marketing sites, knowledge bases, and product content. --- ## When to use - Inheriting a content library you did not create - Diagnosing site-wide traffic decline - Resolving cannibalization (two pages competing for the same query) - Pre-migration cleanup - Annual or semi-annual content health check - Pruning before a redesign or replatform ## When NOT to use - Optimizing a single page (use `seo-onpage`) - Planning new content (use `seo-keyword`) - Comparing your content to competitors (use `seo-competitor`) - Site-level technical issues (use `seo-technical`) --- ## Required inputs - The site URL and access to crawl it (or a complete URL list) - Search console access (or a 12-month export) - Analytics access (sessions, conversions, engagement) - A backlink tool (to identify pages with referring domains worth preserving) --- ## The framework: 5 actions For every content piece, the audit produces one of five decisions. ### 1. Keep The page performs well, has clear intent, and needs no changes. **Signals:** - Top 10 ranking for its primary query - Consistent traffic with no decay - Healthy engagement (above-site-average time on page or interaction rate) - Up-to-date information ### 2. Update The page has potential but is underperforming due to fixable issues. **Signals:** - Page 2 ranking for high-value queries (rank 11 to 30) - Traffic decay over the last 6 to 12 months - Information gone stale - Title or meta need rewriting for CTR - Thin content that could expand to match competitor depth - Missing schema or other technical hygiene ### 3. Merge Two or more pages target overlapping queries and should consolidate. **Signals:** - Cannibalization (multiple pages ranking for the same query, none ranking well) - Significant content overlap between pages - Combined, they would outperform either alone - Both have backlinks worth preserving ### 4. Redirect The page has no future but has assets (links, equity) worth preserving. **Signals:** - No traffic, no rankings - Holds backlinks (especially editorial ones) - A relevant target page exists that would benefit from the equity - Topic is still relevant but this specific page is not ### 5. Delete (and let return 404 or 410) The page has no future and no assets worth preserving. **Signals:** - No traffic, no rankings, no backlinks - Content is outdated and not worth updating - Topic is no longer relevant - Even thin or spam content from a previous era Note: In most cases, return 410 (gone) for intentionally deleted content. 410 is processed faster than 404 and signals the deletion was deliberate. --- ## Scoring inputs Pull these for every URL before deciding: | Metric | Source | Threshold for "low" | |---|---|---| | Sessions (last 90 days) | Analytics | <10/month | | Organic traffic (last 90 days) | Search console or analytics | <5/month | | Average position for top query | Search console | >30 | | Impressions (last 90 days) | Search console | <100/month | | Click-through rate | Search console | <1% (when impressions exist) | | Referring domains | Backlink tool | 0 | | Engagement (avg time on page) | Analytics | <30 seconds | | Last meaningful update | Manual / git | >24 months | | Word count | Crawler | <300 (for articles) | | Internal links in | Crawler | 0 | A page can survive low scores on a few metrics. A page that fails on most is a delete or redirect candidate. --- ## Decision matrix A simplified decision tree: ``` Has traffic? ─── Yes ──── Recent decay? ─── Yes ── UPDATE │ │ │ └── No ─── KEEP │ └── No ──── Has backlinks? ─── Yes ── Has relevant target? ─── Yes ── REDIRECT │ │ │ └── No ─── UPDATE (rebuild) │ └── No ──── Cannibalizing another page? ─── Yes ── MERGE │ └── No ─── DELETE (410) ``` For overlapping pages, "merge" usually wins over "delete" because it preserves both link equity and any topical authority. --- ## Workflow 1. **Inventory.** Pull a complete URL list from the crawl, sitemap, and search console (some indexed pages may not be in the sitemap). 2. **Pull the metrics.** Sessions, organic, search console rank/CTR, backlinks, last-modified date, word count. 3. **Score each URL.** Use the framework. Mark a decision: Keep / Update / Merge / Redirect / Delete. 4. **Identify cannibalization clusters.** Group URLs targeting the same query. Decide which becomes the canonical, what to merge, what to redirect. 5. **Sequence the work.** Do redirects and deletes in batches. Plan updates by priority (highest-traffic-recovery potential first). 6. **Implement.** With change tracking. Re-crawl after each batch to confirm no broken redirect chains. 7. **Measure.** Track aggregate organic traffic 30, 60, 90 days post-audit. --- ## Failure patterns - **Deleting pages with backlinks.** Always check referring domains before deleting. A redirect preserves equity at near-zero cost. - **Updating pages that should be merged.** Two thin pages updated to medium pages still cannibalize. Merge first. - **Merging without preserving the better URL.** Pick the merge target by which URL has stronger signals (older URL, more backlinks, better URL slug, currently better ranking), not which one has more content. - **Mass-deleting low-traffic pages.** Some have value: fresh pages still ramping, niche pages serving a specific audience, evergreen pages with seasonal traffic. Do not bulk-delete by sessions alone. - **Over-aggressive pruning of "old" content.** Date alone is not a delete signal. Topic relevance and intent quality are. - **No post-audit measurement.** Without measurement, you cannot tell if the audit worked. --- ## Output format Default output: a spreadsheet with one row per URL, plus a summary markdown report. **Spreadsheet columns:** - URL - Page type (article, product, category, etc.) - Sessions (90d), organic clicks (90d), impressions (90d), avg position - Referring domains - Word count - Last modified - Decision (keep / update / merge / redirect / delete) - Merge target / redirect target (if applicable) - Priority (1-5) - Notes **Summary report:** 1. Inventory totals (URLs by decision) 2. Cannibalization clusters identified 3. Top 20 update priorities 4. Redirect map (CSV) 5. Delete list 6. Implementation roadmap (sequenced by priority) 7. Measurement plan --- ## If required data is unavailable This skill's output depends on data, measurements, or tool results it cannot generate on its own. When a required input, tool, or data source is unavailable or unverifiable, the sanctioned output is the deliverable with the gap stated: what was needed, what was actually obtained or verified, and which parts of the output are affected. Fabricating, estimating, or interpolating a required number to complete the deliverable is never sanctioned. A stated gap is a complete answer. --- ## Reference files - [`references/audit-template.md`](references/audit-template.md) - Spreadsheet column definitions and report template. - [`references/cannibalization-resolution.md`](references/cannibalization-resolution.md) - Detailed methodology for resolving cannibalization clusters.