# How to do a content audit for a SaaS site

How to do a content audit on a SaaS site: list every page, pull Search Console and GA4 data, then keep, update, merge, redirect or remove each one.

Canonical: https://ignura.com/blog/how-to-do-a-content-audit
Last updated: 2026-10-29
Author: Jawad Jalal

To do a content audit, list every page on your site, add its search and sign-up data, and decide one action for each: keep, update, merge, redirect or remove. For a SaaS site, the question for every page is whether it answers one search a buyer makes better than anything else you have published.

A content audit is the page by page half of a [SaaS SEO audit](https://ignura.com/blog/saas-seo-audit-checklist). It assumes Google can already index the pages. If you are not sure, run the [technical SEO audit](https://ignura.com/blog/technical-seo-audit-for-startups) first.

## In short

- Export every indexable URL into one sheet: blog posts, docs, landing, comparison and use case pages.
- Add clicks, impressions and top queries from Search Console, and sign-ups or demos from GA4.
- Mark which buyer search each page answers. Two pages on one search is a merge candidate.
- Give every page one action: keep, update, merge, redirect or remove.
- Redirect removed pages that have links or traffic to the closest page, and fix internal links.
- Don't delete pages to look fresh. Google says it won't help.

## When to run a content audit

- Search traffic dropped and you need to know which pages lost it. Google's own advice is to "consider an audit of the drops you may have experienced" and ask "What pages were most impacted and for what types of searches?" ([Google](https://developers.google.com/search/docs/fundamentals/creating-helpful-content)).
- The product or positioning changed and old posts describe a product you no longer sell.
- The blog grew fast and nobody knows which posts overlap.
- Before you plan new content, so you update what you have instead of writing a duplicate.

## Step 1: build the inventory

Put every indexable URL in a spreadsheet. Sources, in order of ease:

- Your sitemap.xml, which should list every canonical page.
- Your CMS or content folder, for pages missing from the sitemap.
- The Pages tab of the Performance report in Search Console, for URLs Google shows that you forgot about.

For each URL, add the page type (blog, docs, landing, comparison, use case, integration, changelog), the publish date and the last real update. Check that each one is indexable before you judge its content. Our [free indexability checker](https://ignura.com/tools/indexability-checker) shows status, noindex, robots.txt, canonical and sitemap presence for one URL, and URL Inspection in Search Console shows whether Google has it.

## Step 2: add the data

From Search Console's Performance report, for each page: clicks, impressions and the top queries. The report shows "which queries are bringing traffic to your site" and which pages have the highest and lowest click-through rate ([Google](https://support.google.com/webmasters/answer/7576553)). Use a long date range, so seasonal pages are not judged on a quiet month.

From GA4: sessions from organic search, and the sign-ups, trials or demo bookings that started on each page. A page with few visits that brings demos is worth more than a busy page that brings none.

Also note internal links into each page and any links from other sites you know about. A page that other sites link to needs a redirect if it goes.

## Step 3: map each page to one search

Next to each page, write the one buyer search it answers, such as a problem, a use case, a comparison or "how to" query. Our guide to [SaaS keyword research](https://ignura.com/blog/saas-keyword-research) covers finding them with free tools.

Then sort by search. Two pages on the same search are competing with each other. To check, filter the Performance report by that query and open the Pages tab. If two of your URLs both get impressions for it, they are splitting it, and usually one should absorb the other.

Pages with no clear search are not wrong by default. Changelogs, company news and customer pages can earn their place without Search. Mark them and move on.

## Step 4: choose an action for each page

Score each page against Google's own questions. Does it "provide original information, reporting, research, or analysis"? Will someone "leave feeling they've learned enough about a topic to help achieve their goal"? Does it leave readers "feeling like they need to search again to get better information from other sources"? ([Google](https://developers.google.com/search/docs/fundamentals/creating-helpful-content)).

| Action | When | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| Keep | It answers its search well, gets clicks or sign-ups, and the facts are current | Nothing, beyond checking links |
| Update | Right search, but outdated facts, weak answer or a title that doesn't match the queries | Rewrite the parts that are wrong and update the date only for a real change |
| Merge | Two or more pages answer the same search | Combine the best of each into the stronger URL, then redirect the others to it |
| Redirect | The page is outdated or off topic, but has links or traffic | Permanent redirect to the closest relevant page |
| Remove | No traffic, no links, no sign-ups and no place in your plan | Return 404 or 410 and remove internal links to it |

Two rules from Google's guidance. Don't change dates to look fresh: it lists "changing the date of pages to make them seem fresh when the content has not substantially changed" as a warning sign. And don't delete in bulk for its own sake: Google asks whether you are "removing a lot of older content primarily because you believe it will help your search rankings overall", and answers "No, it won't" ([Google](https://developers.google.com/search/docs/fundamentals/creating-helpful-content)).

## Step 5: make the changes

**Updates.** Start with pages that get impressions but few clicks. Put the answer in the first two lines, use the buyer's words in the title and H1, and check the title and description with our [meta tag checker](https://ignura.com/tools/meta-tag-checker). Add an FAQ only for questions buyers actually ask.

**Merges.** Keep the URL with more links and clicks. Move over anything the other page said that the kept page did not, redirect the old URL, and change internal links to point at the kept one.

**Redirects and removals.** Use one hop, to the closest relevant page, not the homepage. Update internal links and the sitemap so nothing points at the old URL. Then run the old and new URLs through the [indexability checker](https://ignura.com/tools/indexability-checker) to confirm the redirect and the new page's status.

**Internal links.** Google says "Every page you care about should have a link from at least one other page on your site" ([Google](https://developers.google.com/search/docs/crawling-indexing/links-crawlable)). After merges, link the kept pages from related posts and your navigation with anchor text that names the page.

## Step 6: check AI answers too

AI answers draw on the same pages. For Google's AI Overviews, a page must be indexed and eligible for a snippet ([Google](https://developers.google.com/search/docs/appearance/ai-features)). Pages that answer the question in the first two lines, with facts that stand on their own, are easier for any AI answer to use.

Add a column for whether each key page is cited when you ask ChatGPT, Perplexity or Google's AI Mode the buyer question it answers. See [how to track AI visibility](https://ignura.com/blog/how-to-track-ai-visibility) and [how to get cited in AI answers](https://ignura.com/blog/how-to-get-cited-in-ai-answers).

## Step 7: measure and repeat

Note the date of each change in the sheet. Compare clicks, impressions and sign-ups for changed pages against the baseline after Google has recrawled them. Google says title link changes, for example, can take "a few days to a few weeks" to show because the page has to be recrawled and reprocessed ([Google](https://developers.google.com/search/docs/appearance/title-link)).

Run a full content audit once or twice a year, and a short one after any product or positioning change. Use the sheet to plan new posts too: a search with no page next to it is a gap, and our [content marketing guide for B2B startups](https://ignura.com/blog/content-marketing-for-b2b-startups) covers what to write first.

## FAQ

### What is a content audit?

A page by page review of the content on your site, using search and conversion data, that ends with one action for each page: keep, update, merge, redirect or remove.

### What is the difference between a content audit and an SEO audit?

A technical SEO audit checks whether search engines can crawl and index your pages. A content audit checks whether those pages are worth having. A full [SaaS SEO audit](https://ignura.com/blog/saas-seo-audit-checklist) includes both.

### Should I delete old blog posts?

Only if they have no traffic, no links, no sign-ups and no place in your plan. Redirect posts that have links or traffic to the closest relevant page. Google says removing a lot of old content just to seem fresh won't help rankings.

### What tools do I need for a content audit?

A spreadsheet, Google Search Console and GA4 cover most of it. Our free indexability and meta tag checkers help with single pages. A crawler saves time on large sites.

### How do I find pages competing for the same search?

Filter the Search Console Performance report by the query and open the Pages tab. If more than one of your URLs gets impressions for it, they are competing, and you usually merge them into the stronger one.

## Want the audit done for you?

Ignura automates SEO and GEO, and you approve what goes out. Content audits, rewrites and new pages are part of our [content](https://ignura.com/content) work, and the [pricing page](https://ignura.com/pricing) shows how we price it.

[Book your free Growth Check](https://ignura.com/book?utm_source=site&utm_medium=blog&utm_content=how-to-do-a-content-audit)

Book a 15-minute call about your website: https://ignura.com/book