Content Auditing: How, Why and When

The Snake Charmer’s Guide to Audits

Ahava Leibtag President

Aha Media Group

AHAVA LEIBTAG

• President, Aha Media Group

• Author of this book

• Loves to throw things away

@ahaval #LavaCon2014

@ahavaL #LavaCon2014


Thank you

• Amanda Costello• Ben Dillon• Talia Eisen• Paula Land• Rachel Lovinger• Dana Marlowe• Misty Weaver







#KEEPALLTHETHINGS


#KEEPALLTHETHINGS


?

#ADDNEWTHINGS


?

TODAY

• Why do audits?• What type of audit?• How to audit


Why do Audits?


Better question:

Why do people avoid audits?


It’s buried. Or “lost”.


We’d rather not know.


It’s terrifying. (And who wants to get

blamed?)


The good ole “content rot” problem.


It’s a MASSIVE time suck.


Why bother?


It’s black magic.


BUT….

You cannot manage what you cannot measure.



It takes time, resources and planning to create great content.


Better information means better decisions.

• Budget: What will it cost to change this content? What will it cost to maintain it?

• Staffing: How many people do we need? How much time will they need?

• Tools & Technology: What types of tools do we need to manage all this content? Should we investigate other forms?


What Type of Audit?


What business problem are you hoping to solve?


What are you trying to quantify?

• Content formats• Brand messaging• Voice and tone• Out of date• Subjects/Topics• Content channels• Content on your property or off


Who needs this information?

Internal• Better content

management• Procuring a new CMS• Deciding who is

responsible• Rewriting• Redesigning• Decisions on budget

External• Competitive• Messaging• Brand assets• Non performing• Rewriting• Redesigning• Better targeting


Content Audits


Scaling a Content Audit


Content Inventory


Content Inventory

Pros• Quantify: Will tell you

what you have and how much you have

• Will let you communicate the breadth and the depth of the site

Cons• Don’t necessarily see

the relationships• Unless you go through

line by line and look at notes it doesn’t communicate much beyond the size and volume


Multi-dimensional Content Audit


Multi-d Content Audits

Pros• Visual presentation of

the content• See how the content

interlinks• See the analytics

overlaid on the pages

Cons• Isn’t useful when there

is a huge amount of content to audit

• Only works with websites and pages

• Doesn’t show you any quality of the content


Content Assessment


AKA The Qualitative Audit

Content Assessment


Competitive Landscape Analysis


Competitive Landscape Analysis

Pros• Can look at what

competitors are doing• Get new ideas• Get a sense of where

you are in the marketplace with your content

Cons• Doesn’t give you a

sense of your own content

• Can confuse the issue as executives may misunderstand the use of the information


Multichannel Audit




Multichannel Audit


Multichannel Audits

Pros• Shows you the state of

your content across the ecosystem

• Allows you to determine who is using your content internally and who is using it externally

Cons• Takes a lot of time• Might confuse the

issue• May be hard to

compare channels


Gap Analysis



Focus Programs

• Cancer and Blood Disorders Center• Craniofacial Center• Gastroenterology and Hepatology• Heart Center• Neonatology• Neurosurgery• Orthopedics and Sports Medicine• Pediatric Surgery (includes Reconstructive Pelvic Medicine)• Psychiatry & Behavioral Medicine and Autism Center• Transplant Center


Gathering the Info for a Gap Analysis


Gap Analysis



How to Audit


Step-by-Step


Plan

1. What type of audit are we doing?•Business goals•Audience needs•Institutional knowledge

2. Who is doing it?•Staff•Automated

3. How will we present it?•Which format makes the most sense for what we’re trying to prove?


Inventory


www.content-insight.com

Audit

Are we going more in-depth?•Quantity: How much is there?•Quality: How good is it?•Effectiveness: Is it performing well?•Perception: Do people like it?


Quantity

How much do we do we:– Really have?– Need to have?– Want to have?

How much can we manage?


Quality

Are we:•Communicating clearly?•Appropriate for our brand and goals?•Relevant for our customers?•Up-to-date?•Compliant?•Proud?





Effectiveness

Pick metrics that work for you:•Conversions•Better quality conversations around products•Social shares


Perception


Round 1: User Testing

How much weight do you need to lose to lower your risk of diabetes? 17%




Round 2: User Testing

How much weight do you need to lose to lower your risk of diabetes? 63%


Diabetes Pages: Before and After


Decide


Using Personas


Johns Hopkins IA


Roll


Make archiving a part of your workflow.

#KEEPALLTHETHINGS


?

#Knowwhereallthethingsare


Questions?

Ahava LeibtagAha Media Group, [email protected]

A @ahavaL @ ahavaleibtag

THANK YOU!@ahaval #LavaCon2014

mailto:[email protected]

http://www.facebook.com/karencorrigan

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Content Auditing: How, Why and When