How Content Audits Revitalize the HubSpot Blog

In the ever-evolving world of digital content, conducting a thorough content audit can be a game-changer for any established blog. In 2023, our team embarked on an extensive content audit for the HubSpot Blog, aiming to rejuvenate its content and help it “age backwards.” The process we undertook was expansive, involving an evaluation of thousands of posts, to ensure our content remains fresh, relevant, and meets the needs of our audience.

Our content audit process was divided into three main phases:

• Phase 1: Focused on our oldest content for relevancy and value.
• Phase 2: Analyzed low-performing articles to identify optimization opportunities.
• Phase 3: Evaluated the effectiveness of our topic clusters.

Overall, this audit covered more than 10,000 blog post URLs and upwards of 450 topic clusters, making it a comprehensive overhaul of our blog content strategy.

Let’s delve into the pivotal first phase of our content audit journey, where we took a strategic approach to re-evaluate our most dated posts.

Understanding the Motivation Behind Our Audit

The need for a detailed content audit emerged in early 2023. Our team was then known as the Historical Optimization team, working at the crossroads between HubSpot’s SEO and Blog teams. Our primary duty was to revise and enhance existing blog posts, searching for new growth avenues. The HubSpot Blog was home to 13,822 pages as of February 2023 when we began our audit, earning recognition as possibly the largest corporate blog in a recent SEO case study by Ahrefs.

Managing a blog of this magnitude offers its unique challenges. The wealth of archived content often limits the scope for new ideas and topics. Consequently, we decided it was essential to audit our collection, hunting for areas ripe for optimization. Our hypothesis suggested that we could discover “greenspace” and “quasi-greenspace” — areas where previous content creation efforts were not fully harnessed.

Moreover, with Google’s March 2023 Core Update emphasizing content freshness and usefulness, the necessity for a comprehensive audit became even more apparent. Consequently, we dove into reevaluating 4,000 of our oldest URLs as they were neither fresh nor particularly useful to our audience.

Our Approach to Auditing Oldest Content

1. Clarifying Our Objectives

First, setting clear goals was essential. While numerous factors could influence the objectives of a content audit — from improving SEO to refining user engagement — our primary goal was identifying opportunities for updating stale content and discovering truly engaging topics hidden in overlooked posts.

2. Compiling Our Content Catalog

Once our objectives were crystal clear, assembling our content inventory was the next critical step. Using HubSpot’s Content Hub, gathering the oldest 4,000 posts into a manageable format became a priority.

3. Extracting Crucial Data

With our content list in hand, we focused on gathering key performance metrics. Using tools like Google Search Console and Ahrefs’ Batch Analysis, we compiled data such as organic traffic from the last calendar year, backlinks, and relevant keywords.

4. Thorough Content Evaluation

Evaluating each piece of content was an intricate process. By categorizing articles based on type, freshness, and organic potential, we systematically identified content requiring updates and possible pruning candidates.

Unveiling Key Insights

Our audit revealed enlightening insights into our content landscape. From the 4,000 scrutinized URLs, about 952 were earmarked for content optimization or recycling. Conversely, over 2,800 URLs were advised to be pruned due to a lack of relevance or the risk of keyword cannibalization.

Implementation of Content Action Plans

Optimizing Content with Potential

We prioritized content with significant organic traffic potential, coordinating with stakeholders to decide on strategic updates. The initiative led to substantial improvements in monthly traffic, demonstrating the power of carefully planned content updates.

Pruning Underperforming Content

For content deemed unsalvageable, we adopted systematic pruning strategies, ensuring minimal impact on our existing backlinks and redirecting relevant content appropriately.

Positive Outcomes from Pruning

Despite challenges along the way, including adapting to algorithm updates, our efforts resulted in remarkable improvements in the average “age” of our content, significantly boosting overall freshness.

Looking Forward

While this audit only forms one part of our larger content strategy, it highlights the dynamic nature of digital content management. As we continue optimizing our blog, we remain committed to ensuring our content stays both informative and engaging. Indeed, content audits remain a continuous endeavor, especially for substantial content libraries like ours.

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