We’re going through a major update of our own website here at JCK and it has forced us to re-read the content on our website and take a really good look at what elements are missing online and where our content is being placed. When was the last time you did the same thing? Here are some tips to help you audit what you’ve got.
If you are embracing the online world, you will be adding content on a regular basis, you do need to keep on top of what you have got so that you can re-use it at a later date. Conversely you’ll also know what holes are missing that you need to fill. By knowing what you have you can easily determine what you need.
So you’ll need to start putting together a content inventory, whilst this may be a bit of a task at the outset (especially for large sites) you do need to record everything you find (yes by going through your entire website) and recording it – a simple spreadsheet will do.
So whilst the original piece of work is a project, actually once you have got it in shape that this will become an ongoing process that you can simply add to.
So here are the columns that you need as a starting point for your spreadsheet
- Page Name (Title) – Quite obvious and probably needs no explanation
- Page URL – This is the url you’ll find at the top, so for example this one is http://www.jckmarketing.co.uk/update-website/
- Content items you find on the page – yes all of them – writing / videos / pictures / downloads / calls to action
- Categories – This is especially important for your blogs, group them together (you might be able to turn them into something else)
- Action Required – Write against each content piece if it needs re-working, do you need to add more call to actions.
Once you’ve done this on your own website, do then go to other media platforms that you use, for example slideshare, and do the same process.
Once you have completed this exercise you will have a very clear idea of
- What content items no longer work for your business
- What content items you are missing
- What content items need an update
- What content items you can re-purpose for new initiatives.
You’ll be amazed at what this exercise reveals about how you are showcasing your business, go on make a start!