A Guide to Content Audits for Your Law Website

Photo byMichael Brandt

A content audit involves systematically reviewing and analyzing all the content on your law website to determine its accuracy, relevance, and performance. It's a crucial process that helps ensure your website's content aligns with your firm's goals, satisfies user intent, and meets the standards of search engines. Here's a step-by-step guide on conducting a content audit for your Los Angeles law website:

1. Define Your Goals

Before starting the audit, clarify why you're doing it. Common goals include:

• identifying outdated or irrelevant content
• ensuring compliance with legal standards
• improving search engine optimization (SEO)
• enhancing user experience

2. Inventory Existing Content

Create a spreadsheet to list all the content on your site. Key columns might include:

• URL
• content type (e.g., blog post, service page, attorney profile)
• publication or last updated date
• author or responsible attorney

Tools like Screaming Frog or SEMrush can help you crawl and list all your site's URLs.

3. Categorize the Content

Group content into categories, such as:

• practice areas
• client testimonials
• legal guides or resources
• firm news or updates

4. Assess Content Performance

Integrate analytics tools like Google Analytics to gauge content performance. Metrics to consider include:

• page views
• time on page
• bounce rate
• conversion rate (if there's a specific call-to-action)

5. Evaluate SEO Metrics

For each piece of content, review:

• organic search traffic
• keyword rankings
• backlinks
• on-page SEO elements (title tags, meta descriptions, header tags)

Tools like Moz, Ahrefs, or SEMrush can be instrumental here.

6. Review Content Quality

Examine each piece of content for:

• Accuracy: Ensure legal advice, regulations, or statistics are up-to-date.
• Relevance: Does the content align with the needs and interests of your target audience?
• Clarity: Is the content free of jargon, well-organized, and easily understandable?
• Uniqueness: Avoid duplicate content, which can harm SEO.

7. Check User Engagement

Evaluate how users interact with your content. High comments, shares, or feedback indicate valuable and engaging content.

8. Ensure Mobile Responsiveness

With many users accessing content via mobile, ensure each page is mobile-friendly. Google's Mobile-Friendly Test can be a helpful tool.

9. Review Calls-to-Action (CTAs)

Ensure that every content has a clear CTA, guiding visitors to the next step, whether reading another article, filling out a contact form, or calling your firm.

10. Identify Content Gaps

While reviewing, you might identify topics or areas that aren't covered but are crucial for your audience. Note these gaps for future content creation.

11. Determine Action Items

After the assessment, categorize content into:

• Keep: Content that's accurate, relevant, and performing well.
• Update/Revise: Content that's outdated, unclear, or not entirely aligned with user needs.
• Merge: If you have multiple pieces on the same topic, consider consolidating them.
• Delete: Irrelevant content that could harm your site's SEO or credibility.

12. Document & Plan

Record your findings and develop a content strategy plan based on the audit. This plan should include updating existing content, creating new content to fill gaps, and setting a timeline for regular future audits.

13. Implement Changes

Execute the changes based on your action items. This might involve editing pages, creating new content, or working with a web developer or SEO specialist for more technical adjustments.

14. Regularly Schedule Audits

Digital landscapes, legal regulations, and client needs change. Regularly schedule content audits—at least annually—to ensure your law website remains relevant, accurate, and effective.

Conclusion

In conclusion, a content audit for your law website is a meticulous but necessary process to ensure your digital presence aligns with your firm's goals and the needs of your audience. Regularly assessing and refining your content can bolster your credibility, enhance user experience, and improve your online visibility.