# Content audit: [Site name], [Month Year]

Prepared by [Name] on [date]. Search Console data: last 28 days ([dates]) compared with the 28 days before ([dates]), plus clicks for the last 90 days.

Free template from SerpDad (https://serpdad.com/templates/content-audit/). Delete the guidance lines in brackets when you fill it in.

---

## The five buckets

[Every page with Search Console data in the last 90 days goes into one bucket. Check the rules in the order below: a page goes into the first bucket whose rule it meets.]

| Check order | Bucket | Rule | Next step |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Prune | No clicks in 90 days | Merge into the page that owns the topic, and redirect |
| 2 | Decay | Clicks down more than 25%, from at least 100 clicks in the previous 28 days | Refresh: compare the old top 10 with today's first |
| 3 | Quick win | Average position 4 to 10, with impressions rising | Optimize the page |
| 4 | Striking distance | Average position 11 to 20 | Optimize the page |
| 5 | Rework | At least 100 impressions, with fewer than 0.5% of them clicked | Rework the title, snippet and opening |
| | Monitor or keep | None of the above | No work this month |

[Work the buckets from quick win to prune: quick wins are closest to paying off, prune decisions can wait a week.]

## Summary

| Bucket | Pages | Owner | Due |
|---|---|---|---|
| Quick win | | | |
| Striking distance | | | |
| Rework | | | |
| Decay | | | |
| Prune | | | |
| Monitor or keep | | | |

## The audit

[One row per page. Copy the numbers from Search Console, Performance, Pages.]

| Page (URL) | Clicks, last 28 days | Clicks, previous 28 days | Impressions, last 28 days | Impressions, previous 28 days | Average position | Clicks, last 90 days | Bucket | Next step | Owner | Due |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| [URL] | | | | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | | | | | |

## Notes per bucket

### Quick win
[For each page: which keyword it sits at positions 4 to 10 for, and the one change you will make first.]

### Striking distance
[For each page: what the pages above it cover that it does not.]

### Rework
[For each page: the current title and snippet, and the new ones. Low clicks on many impressions often means the snippet does not match what the searcher wants.]

### Decay
[For each page: what changed in the top 10 since the drop. A new AI Overview, a format change, a new competitor or an intent shift. Check whether the dip matches the same weeks last year before you call it decay.]

### Prune
[For each page: the page that owns its topic, what to move across, and the redirect. Delete only pages with nothing worth keeping and no links pointing to them.]

---

## Filled example (fictional)

A software blog. The URLs and numbers are illustrative.

| Page | Clicks, 28 days | Previous 28 days | Impressions | Previous impressions | Avg position | Bucket | Next step |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| /blog/onboarding-checklist/ | 410 | 395 | 18,200 | 15,100 | 6.8 | Quick win | Optimize |
| /blog/churn-rate-formula/ | 120 | 130 | 9,400 | 9,100 | 14.2 | Striking distance | Optimize |
| /blog/customer-health-score/ | 22 | 25 | 6,800 | 7,100 | 8.9 | Rework | Rework the title and snippet |
| /blog/nps-survey-questions/ | 140 | 260 | 11,300 | 12,000 | 9.6 | Decay | Refresh |
| /blog/2019-product-update/ | 0 | 0 | 40 | 55 | 38.0 | Prune | Merge and redirect |
| /pricing-faq/ | 95 | 98 | 2,100 | 2,050 | 3.1 | Monitor or keep | None |