What is a content audit? (And when you actually need one)

A content audit sounds simple — “review what we’ve published and see what’s working.”
But in B2B, finance, SaaS, tech and regulated environments, a content audit isn’t a list exercise. It’s a strategic diagnosis.

A good audit doesn’t just tell you what you have, it tells you:

• why the content isn’t doing what it should
• where the messaging is breaking
• how your content contradicts itself
• where you’re taking unnecessary risk
• what’s outdated or wrong
• what AI can’t interpret (and therefore won’t surface)
• how your content ecosystem actually functions as a whole

If you feel like your website or blog is “fine” but not performing, a content audit is often the first step toward fixing that.

A content audit is a strategic review of your website or blog to assess clarity, accuracy, consistency, usefulness, performance and risk — so you know what to fix, update or remove.

Why content audits matter in B2B

B2B content fails for different reasons than consumer content.

You’re not selling shoes. You’re selling expertise, credibility, clarity, trust, solutions to complex problems, and often something regulated or technical.

B2B websites fall apart because:

• messaging is vague
• claims contradict each other
• content was written under old positioning
• outdated product info is still live
• no one knows which page is “the source of truth”
• content is accurate but unreadable
• teams rely on volume instead of clarity
• approvals have turned everything into corporate sludge
• the content is technically correct but strategically useless

In these cases, publishing more content won’t fix anything. You need to understand the system first.

If you want to see the content issues most teams face, 11 Common Content Issues (future article) will break them down.

What a content audit actually includes

A good content audit doesn’t dump your pages into a spreadsheet and colour-code them. It uses a structured, strategic framework.

Here’s the methodology I use with B2B companies — the AX Content Audit Framework:

1. Clarity

Is the message clear, human, specific and differentiated?

2. Accuracy

Are the details correct?
Are claims outdated?
Does the content reflect how the product or service actually works today?

(Critical for financial services, insurance, lending, super and regulated teams.)

3. Consistency

Do pages contradict each other?
Are definitions aligned?
Does the tone shift depending on who wrote it?

4. Utility

Does the content actually help a buyer understand, evaluate or move forward?
Is it adding value — or just filling space?

5. Performance

Traffic, rankings, CTR, engagement, conversions — but assessed strategically, not shallowly.

6. Risk

Does any content expose the business to legal, compliance or reputational risk?

(You’d be shocked how often this appears.)

7. Opportunity

Where can we create deeper authority?
Which topics should be expanded?
Where are the gaps in your ecosystem?

This is the difference between a “content audit” and a content diagnosis.

The 3 types of content audits (and when you need each)

Most B2B companies benefit from a blend of these.

1. Performance Audit

Looks at: rankings, clicks, search intent, topic gaps, content decay.
Useful when: traffic is flat or declining.

2. Quality Audit

Looks at: clarity, messaging alignment, tone, POV, accuracy, contradictions.
Useful when: content feels “fine” but isn’t converting or building trust.

3. Conversion Audit

Looks at: structure, flow, CTAs, UX, internal linking, buyer journey alignment.
Useful when: people visit pages but don’t take action.

A full audit covers all three.

Signs you need a content audit

If any of these feel familiar, it’s time:

• Your website feels “outdated” but you can’t articulate why.
• Your content contradicts itself across pages.
• You’re embarrassed to show your site to investors, the board or candidates.
• Bounce rates are high and engagement is low.
• You’re rewriting the same ideas in five different places.
• Your team says “We have that somewhere… I think?”
• Your messaging has changed but your content hasn’t.
• You’ve done multiple rebrands and the content never caught up.
• You’re in finance or regulated industries and outdated content = risk.
• You have plenty of content, but no traction.
• You’re planning a new website and need to know what to keep vs kill.

This is especially true if you’ve accumulated years of content created by multiple writers, teams or agencies.

How long a content audit takes

A proper audit for a B2B website usually takes:

• 1–2 weeks for small sites
• 2–4 weeks for medium sites (most common)
• 4–6+ weeks for enterprise, multi-product, regulated or complex sites

The timeline depends on:

• number of pages
• whether the content is regulated
• how outdated the site is
• how many contradictions appear
• how complex the product is
• how much internal alignment is needed

Most of the work is not writing. It’s analysing, validating, mapping the ecosystem and diagnosing the issues.

What you get at the end

A strong content audit delivers:

A clear map of what stays, what goes, and what gets rewritten

No guesswork.

A prioritised plan

You’ll know what to fix first — and why.

A messaging clarity summary

What’s working, what’s vague and where the story breaks.

Risk identification

Where outdated, incorrect or contradictory content could cause issues.

A content ecosystem overview

How your pages relate to each other, where the gaps are and what’s holding performance back.

Optimisation recommendations

Specific, non-generic actions — not a list of “add keywords.”

Your next 3–6 months of content direction

Because once the system is clear, the strategy writes itself.

If you want to see how audits translate into improvements, Blog Audit: Improve Rankings, Readability & Conversion (future article) goes deeper.

When NOT to run a content audit

A content audit won’t help if:

• you have no content at all (you need a different starting point)
• your business model is changing dramatically
• you’re about to rebrand and the brand work isn’t done
• your messaging hasn’t been defined yet
• stakeholders aren’t aligned on who the customer even is

In these cases, you need clarity before auditing.

If you’re starting from zero, How to Build a Content Engine from Scratch is the better starting point.

How AX Content runs content audits

My audits are designed for teams in:

• financial services
• fintech
• SaaS
• B2B tech
• professional services
• regulated environments
• approval-heavy organisations

Which means they’re built with accuracy, clarity and risk in mind.

Every audit uses the AX Content Audit Framework:

• Clarity — does this actually make sense?
• Accuracy — is it correct and up to date?
• Consistency — does it contradict anything else?
• Utility — is this helpful for a buyer?
• Performance — is it doing its job?
• Risk — could any of this content cause problems?
• Opportunity — where can we improve, deepen or expand?
• You get a strategic diagnosis, not a spreadsheet.

If your content feels inconsistent, unclear or underperforming

A content audit is the fastest way to:

• fix outdated or incorrect information
• improve clarity
• align your messaging
• clean up old content
• strengthen search + AI visibility
• increase conversions
• rebuild trust
• set a clear content direction

If your website or blog feels like it has “good content that still isn’t doing its job,” you’re exactly who this service is built for.

Book The Website Audit or The Blog Audit(Or tell me what’s going wrong and I’ll point you to the right option.)