Website Content Audits vs. Technical SEO Audits: What’s the Difference?

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PrioNow

A website content audit reviews your content’s quality and relevance, while a technical SEO audit focuses on the website’s foundation and elements like site speed and indexing. Both aim to improve your site’s performance and are complementary, but they focus on different areas.

The difference between website content audits and technical SEO audits

What is a Website Content Audit?

A website content audit involves reviewing all the content on your site to assess how well it’s performing. The main goal is to ensure your content is helping you achieve your SEO objectives. During a content audit, we look for issues like outdated pages, content decay, keyword cannibalization, new opportunities, and underperforming content.

Here’s what we evaluate in a content audit:

  • Content Quality: Is your content relevant, accurate, and helpful to your audience?
  • Keyword Optimization: Are you using the right keywords, and are they effectively distributed across your pages?
  • Content Performance: Which pages are driving traffic, and which ones need improvement?
  • User Experience: Is your content easy for visitors to read and navigate?

When should you perform a content audit?

  • Regularly: To keep your content fresh and relevant.
  • After major changes in SEO trends or search engine updates.
  • When planning a significant website update.

What is a Technical SEO Audit?

A technical SEO audit focuses on the behind-the-scenes elements that ensure your website functions smoothly. The goal is to make sure everything works correctly so search engines can easily crawl, index, and understand your site.

Here’s what we check in a technical SEO audit:

  • Site Speed: Do your pages load quickly, or are there issues slowing them down?
Results mobile site speed
  • Mobile-Friendliness: Is your site easy to use on mobile devices?
  • Indexing and Crawling: Can search engines easily find and understand your pages?
  • Site Structure and Navigation: Is your site organized in a way that makes sense to both users and search engines?
  • Security: Is your website secure, with HTTPS and protection against threats?
URLs https status

When should you perform a technical audit?

  • Before launching a new site or redesigning your current one.
  • If you notice a sudden drop in traffic or rankings.
  • Regularly, to stay on top of best practices.
Sudden traffic drop identification

How Content and Technical Audits Work Together

Both audits are important because they address different aspects of your website:

  • Content Meets Tech: Great content is essential, but it won’t reach its full potential if search engines can’t access it. Similarly, even with perfect technical SEO, you won’t attract traffic if your content doesn’t offer value to your audience. Both need to work together for success.
  • User Experience: Both audits improve user experience. A technical audit ensures your site is fast and mobile-friendly, while a content audit ensures visitors find helpful, engaging content.
  • SEO Success: Together, these audits create a solid SEO strategy. They ensure that both the technical side and the content side of your site are optimized, helping you rank better in search engines.

Practical Examples: Integrating Content and Technical Audits

  • For a brand-new website with new content: We start with a technical audit to ensure the site is crawlable and technically optimized. After the site has been live for a while, we then conduct a content audit to assess the quality and effectiveness of the content.
  • For an older website: We typically begin with a content audit. If we notice a decline in traffic or a sudden drop, we first check for any technical issues, like indexing problems. It’s crucial to address these technical issues before improving content, as even the best content won’t help if the page isn’t indexed.

Tools and Methods for Conducting Audits

Tools for Technical SEO Audits

  • Free Tools:
    • Google Search Console: Monitor indexing and search performance.
    • Google Analytics: Track user behavior and site metrics.
    • PageSpeed Insights: Analyze and optimize page load times.
    • Google Lighthouse: Get detailed reports on site performance, accessibility, and more.
  • Consider Paid Tools for More Comprehensive Audits:
    • Ahrefs: Offers in-depth analysis of backlinks, keyword rankings, and site health.
    • SEMrush: Provides a full suite of SEO tools, including competitor analysis and site audits.
    • Screaming Frog: Crawls websites to identify issues like broken links, duplicate content, and more.

Tools for Content SEO Audits

User Insights:

  • What We Heard: We’ve spoken with many experienced SEO content managers, and they all shared a common frustration: there just aren’t enough effective tools out there. They often use a mix of several tools, such as Google Search Console and Screaming Frog, and end up spending hours exporting data into spreadsheets for manual analysis.

Streamlining the Process:

  • The Problem: Manual analysis of data across multiple tools often leaves little time for developing a strategic content plan.
  • The Solution: Automate both data collection and analysis with PrioNow. It provides actionable insights, so you can focus on strategy rather than manual work. Remember, while PrioNow focuses on content audits, regular technical SEO audits are equally important to keep your site running smoothly.

Conclusion

Regular website content audits and technical SEO audits are key to keeping your site performing at its best. By keeping your content relevant and ensuring your site runs smoothly, you create a better experience for visitors and improve your search rankings. Together, these audits help you build a stronger, more effective website.