Signs it is time to revisit content audits

It comes up on almost every project, usually later than it should. A few signals that content audits is due some attention.

Writing for the web is largely an editing job: the first draft is always longer than it needs to be. Write the reasoning down alongside the decision, because the reasoning is what changes first.

The signals

• Nobody can say when it was last reviewed
• The answer depends on who you ask
• Most sites have pages nobody has read in years
• Consolidate, update, or remove

The practical version

Thin content drags down the pages around it. The cost of getting this wrong is rarely visible on the day it happens. Check it against what you would want a competitor's site to get wrong.

What this looks like day to day

Content is the part of a project most likely to be underestimated and most likely to delay a launch. Three things worth confirming about content audits before you move on:

• Someone can say what the current setup is without going to look
• Most sites have pages nobody has read in years — and you know whether that is true here
• There is a way to tell whether the last change to this helped

Pick the one that would hurt most if it failed, and start there.