A content audit lists every URL on your site and assigns each one a decision: keep, update, merge or delete. The goal is a site where every page has a job, nothing contradicts anything else, and removed pages are handled so visitors and search engines land somewhere sensible. Done once a year, it also makes later work, such as a redesign, much safer.
Step 1: Build the inventory
Collect every URL from your sitemap, CMS, analytics and Search Console. Google’s own site move guidance suggests building lists of URLs from sources such as sitemaps, server logs, analytics, Search Console links and your CMS, and including images and other files, not just pages (Google Search Central). For an audit you can start with pages and add other assets later.
For each URL, record:
- Title and topic
- Purpose, for example attract, inform or convert
- Date last meaningfully updated
- Traffic, enquiries or other outcomes you track
- Inbound links and internal links
- Accuracy, such as outdated prices, staff or advice
Step 2: Judge each page
Use the same questions every time:
- Is it accurate and still relevant?
- Does it serve a real audience need?
- Does it overlap with another page?
- Does it contribute to a goal, such as enquiries, links or authority?
- Would improving it be worth the effort?
Google’s guidance on helpful content asks whether a page offers substantial, complete treatment and insight beyond the obvious, and warns against changing dates to look fresh when nothing substantial changed (Google Search Central). Use those questions as your quality bar. Metrics help, but low traffic alone does not mean a page is bad: a niche page may still convert.
Step 3: Decide, using this framework
| Decision | When it applies | Action |
|---|---|---|
| Keep | Accurate, useful, performing or strategically needed | Leave, schedule a future review |
| Update | Right topic, outdated or thin | Improve content for real, then update the date |
| Merge | Several weak pages cover one topic | Combine into one strong page and redirect the others |
| Delete | Obsolete, off-strategy, no replacement | Remove, and return an appropriate status code |
Do not delete a page only because it is old. Delete it because it no longer serves anyone.
Step 4: Handle redirects and removals correctly
How you retire a URL matters more than the decision itself.
Redirects for merged or replaced pages
- Use permanent server-side redirects, 301 or 308, where possible.
- Send each old URL straight to its closest equivalent. Avoid chains.
- Do not send many unrelated old URLs to the home page, which can confuse users and be treated as a soft 404. Redirecting several old pages to one new consolidated page is fine.
- Keep a mapping of old to new URLs, and update your internal links, canonicals and sitemaps.
- Keep redirects for as long as possible, generally at least a year, according to Google’s guidance (Google Search Central).
Deleted pages with no replacement
If there is no relevant destination, let the URL return a 404 or 410. Google’s documentation says a previously indexed URL returning either code is removed from the index, and that both are treated like other 4xx errors (Google Search Central). A soft 404 is a page that returns a success code but looks like an error, so avoid “not found” pages that return 200.
Step 5: Fix what remains
After the pruning decisions:
- Update internal links so they point to current URLs rather than relying on redirects. This is also recommended in Google’s guidance.
- Refresh titles and descriptions so each page has a unique, descriptive title.
- Remove pages from your sitemap if they no longer exist.
- Re-check in Search Console for new errors after the changes.
Where updates are needed, schedule them into your content calendar as real production work.
Practical tips
- Start with the pages that matter most. A full audit of a large site can be done in stages.
- Record decisions and reasons. Future you will want to know why a page vanished.
- Do not prune and redesign at the same time without a plan. Changes stack up and make problems hard to trace.
- Review ownership. Each page should have a named owner and a review date.
Where Radiance Impact fits
Radiance Impact’s Growth and Marketing division covers search visibility and strategy, and its technology team handles site rebuilds and redirects. See our Growth and Marketing page or contact us to discuss an audit. Our broader digital marketing strategy guide shows where content maintenance fits.
Sources
- Site moves with URL changes, Google Search Central
- HTTP status codes, network and DNS errors, Google Search Central
- Creating helpful, reliable, people-first content, Google Search Central
