An SEO content audit is a systematic evaluation of all indexable content on a website — combining traffic data, keyword rankings, and qualitative assessment — to classify every page as Keep, Update, Merge, or Remove, and produce a prioritised action plan for improving search performance.
Content Refresh ProgrammeFix What's Already There.
Most sites are sitting on years of content that's quietly dragging down their rankings. Decaying articles, cannibalised keywords, thin pages, outdated information — search engines penalise it all. The Content Refresh Programme audits your entire site, classifies every URL, and tells you exactly what to do with each one.
- Full site crawl — complete URL inventory
- GA4 and Search Console data analysis per URL
- Qualitative evaluation — intent, quality, E-E-A-T
- KUMR classification for every indexable page
- Keyword cannibalization identification and fix plan
- Content decay report — pages losing traffic over time
- Update briefs for every page classified as Update
- Merge and redirect instructions for consolidation
- Google Sheets audit workbook + Google Docs roadmap
- 60-min walkthrough call + recording — delivered in 7–10 days
Old content doesn't just stop performing. It actively suppresses the rest of your site.
Content decay is the gradual decline in organic traffic and rankings that affects pages as they become outdated, as competitors publish stronger content, or as search intent shifts. Low-quality and decaying pages dilute a site's authority — pruning and refreshing them helps search engines focus crawl budget and trust signals on high-value pages.
Keyword cannibalization occurs when multiple pages on the same site target the same keyword or search intent, causing them to compete against each other. Search engines struggle to determine which URL to rank, typically resulting in both pages ranking lower than a single, consolidated, authoritative page would.
Search engines reward relevance, usefulness, and authority. Content that fails these criteria — thin pages with no clear search intent, duplicate content across multiple URLs, outdated articles with declining traffic, blog posts cannibalising each other for the same keyword — can suppress site-wide performance even when your best content is strong.
The Content Refresh Programme combines quantitative metrics from Google Analytics 4 and Google Search Console with qualitative evaluation of content quality, search intent alignment, and E-E-A-T signals. The result is a complete picture of every page: what's working, what's declining, what's cannibalising, and what should be removed.
Refreshing existing content delivers faster ROI than publishing net new pages because you are recovering investment already made in content that was once ranking and can rank again. It is consistently the highest-ROI starting point for sites with 12+ months of published content.
Every URL gets one of four verdicts.
The KUMR framework gives every indexable page a defined role and a clear next step — no grey areas, no vague recommendations.
High-performing pages that are ranking well, driving organic traffic, and meeting user intent. No changes needed — documented as reference points for what good looks like on your site.
Pages with good fundamentals but declining performance due to outdated information, weak keyword usage, or structural problems. Each receives a detailed update brief covering exactly what to change and why.
Similar or cannibalising pages that should be consolidated into one authoritative piece. Merging eliminates keyword cannibalization, concentrates link equity, and produces a single stronger page in place of two weaker ones.
Irrelevant, outdated, or thin pages that are diluting site authority and wasting crawl budget. Each removal comes with a specific redirect instruction pointing to the most relevant remaining URL.
What an SEO content audit actually delivers
I walk through how I structure the crawl, how I pull and interpret GA4 and Search Console data, how the KUMR classification works in practice, and what the two sample deliverables — the decay dashboard and the refresh report — contain.
Most clients are surprised by how much of their existing content is quietly suppressing performance. The audit almost always surfaces bigger problems and bigger opportunities than anticipated.
Every page. Every verdict. Two deliverables.
A visual decay dashboard showing your content performance at a glance, and a written refresh report with a full page-by-page action plan your team can execute immediately.
Content Decay Dashboard
A visual overview of your content performance — traffic cliff charts per decaying page, sparklines showing ranking trajectories, a recovery projection table, and the full KUMR classification breakdown.
📊 View Sample DashboardPage Refresh Report
The written implementation document — full site crawl data, GA4 and Search Console performance per URL, KUMR classification with reasoning, detailed update briefs, merge plans with redirect specifications, and a prioritised implementation roadmap.
📄 Download Sample ReportI crawl your entire website using Screaming Frog to build a complete inventory of all indexable URLs — capturing title tags, meta descriptions, H1s, word counts, internal link counts, canonical tags, and any crawl issues. The foundation every other part of the audit builds on.
URL inventory · meta tags · crawl issuesOrganic traffic, sessions, engagement rates, and conversion data from Google Analytics 4. Clicks, impressions, average keyword position, and CTR from Google Search Console. Both mapped to every URL in the inventory so every decision is evidence-backed.
GA4 · Search Console · traffic data · rankingsPages with significant traffic or ranking declines over the past 6–12 months — flagged by cause: outdated content, weakened keyword relevance, competitor improvements, or search intent shift.
Content decay · traffic decline · ranking dropsEvery instance where multiple pages are targeting the same keyword or search intent — with a specific resolution for each: which page becomes the canonical, what content migrates, and how the losing page is handled.
Cannibalization · duplicate intent · consolidationEvery page classified as Update receives a detailed brief — what needs to change, which target keywords to focus on, what sections to refresh, structural improvements needed, and E-E-A-T signals to add. Specific enough for a writer to action without additional briefing calls.
Content briefs · update instructions · E-E-A-TAll KUMR classifications, update briefs, merge plans, and redirect instructions consolidated into a prioritised implementation roadmap — phased by impact and effort, with the highest-ROI actions sequenced first.
Prioritised roadmap · phased plan · responsibilitiesRecover the traffic your existing content should be driving.
From £497 — scales with site size. 20+ pages requiring action guaranteed or full refund.
Five steps from crawl to implementation roadmap.
Site crawl and inventory
I crawl your entire website to build a complete inventory of all indexable URLs. Every page is captured with technical data including title tags, meta descriptions, heading structure, word counts, internal link profiles, canonical tags, and any crawl errors.
Days 1–2Performance data pull
Using read-only access to your Google Analytics 4 and Google Search Console accounts, I pull organic traffic, engagement metrics, conversions, clicks, impressions, average keyword position, and CTR for every URL. Every page now has both technical attributes and organic performance data attached.
Days 2–4Qualitative evaluation
Every page is evaluated against search intent alignment, content quality, E-E-A-T signals, keyword usage, structured data, and AI search readiness. This is where quantitative data meets expert judgement — the qualitative layer is what separates a genuine audit from an automated report.
Days 4–8KUMR classification
Every URL receives one of four classifications: Keep, Update, Merge, or Remove and Redirect. Keyword cannibalization instances are identified at this stage and the resolution for each is specified in detail. Clear reasoning is documented for every decision.
Days 8–10Roadmap delivery and walkthrough
You receive the content decay dashboard and the written implementation roadmap. The 60-minute walkthrough call covers every section — classification rationale, highest-priority actions, update briefs, merge plans, and redirect instructions. Recording included.
Days 12–14Results from clients I work with across SEO and content
Results vary by site, sector, and execution quality after delivery.
What clients say.
"Graeme is a fantastic content strategy partner who has helped Originality continue to grow into one of the industry-leading AI detection software tools, with excellent exposure across Google, LLMs, and Socials."
"Graeme is a rare breed of content marketing consultant who truly understands content strategy, SEO, and how to successfully incorporate AI into a brilliant content marketing strategy."
What a content audit surfaces in practice.
The sites where existing content is the biggest opportunity.
The longer a site has been publishing, the more content decay accumulates. Sites with 50, 100, or 500+ articles almost always have a significant proportion of underperforming pages that are quietly draining crawl budget and diluting site authority — without anyone realising it.
If organic traffic has been flat or falling despite continued content production, a content audit typically reveals why. The most common culprits are content decay across older pages, keyword cannibalization, and index bloat from thin or duplicate content.
Google's Helpful Content Updates frequently target sites with large volumes of thin, low-quality, or intent-misaligned content. A systematic content audit and refresh programme is consistently the most effective recovery strategy following a quality-focused algorithm hit.
Before investing in new content production, it's worth auditing what you already have. Publishing more content on top of a weak foundation compounds the problems rather than solving them. An audit first ensures new content fills genuine gaps.
SaaS companies often have hundreds of blog posts published over years of growth — many of which are now outdated, no longer aligned with the product, or competing with each other for the same queries.
If your site has never had a systematic content audit, the audit will almost certainly surface more issues — and more opportunities — than expected. Getting ahead of it is always more cost-effective than recovering from it.
I've conducted content audits for sites ranging from new domains to brands with millions of monthly visits — and the same patterns appear every time.
I'm Graeme Whiles, a senior SEO and content strategy consultant. I've conducted content audits across SaaS, fintech, fitness, e-commerce, and professional services brands — including Originality.ai, Connecteam, 6sense, Peppr, and Practice Better. Content decay, keyword cannibalization, and index bloat are universal problems regardless of sector or domain authority.
Every audit is conducted manually — I review pages individually rather than relying on automated scoring. The KUMR classification for each URL reflects genuine analysis, not an algorithm's confidence score. Every update brief is written specifically for that page, not generated from a template.
Read my full audit methodology →This programme diagnoses and briefs. It doesn't rewrite your content for you.
The Content Refresh Programme classifies every page, produces detailed update briefs, and delivers a phased implementation roadmap. Executing the rewrites requires either your in-house writers or an ongoing content production engagement. If you want both the audit and the content executed, the Full-Stack SEO & AI Visibility Retainer covers both as a managed monthly workstream.
See the Full-Stack Retainer →Common questions about the programme.
Stop publishing on top of a problem. Fix what's already there.
From £497. 20+ actions guaranteed. Scales with site size. Split payment available.
Starter (up to 150 URLs) £497 · Standard (150–300) £697 · Growth (300–500) £897 · 500+ custom quote