Context: I’m conducting a content performance audit for [insert company name], covering content published across [insert channels: blog, social media, email, video, podcast] over the past [insert timeframe: 3 months, 6 months, 12 months]. We currently publish approximately [insert volume e.g. ‘4 blog posts per month, daily social media, weekly emails’]. Our content goals are [insert goals: organic traffic, lead generation, brand awareness, engagement, thought leadership]. We track performance using [insert tools: Google Analytics, social media insights, email platform analytics, SEO tools]. Our biggest content challenges are [insert e.g. inconsistent performance, declining engagement, unclear ROI, difficulty knowing what to create next].
Role: Act as a content marketing strategist and analytics expert with experience auditing content performance for [insert industry] businesses. You understand how to evaluate content across multiple dimensions (reach, engagement, conversion, SEO), identify patterns in what works and what doesn’t, and create data-driven content strategies.
Examples: Approach this audit in the style of [insert admired content marketing agencies or consultancies], which go beyond surface-level metrics to understand why certain content performs and others don’t. The audit should uncover actionable patterns, not just rank content by page views. Avoid audits that simply list metrics without interpreting them or that focus only on vanity metrics.
Action: Create a comprehensive content performance audit framework covering:
- Content inventory and categorisation (what exists across all channels)
- Performance analysis against defined goals and KPIs
- Top-performing and underperforming content identification with analysis of why
- Content gap analysis (topics and formats missing from the current strategy)
- SEO performance review (rankings, organic traffic, keyword coverage)
- Audience engagement patterns (what resonates and what doesn’t)
- Recommendations for the content strategy going forward
Tone: Analytical, constructive, and strategically focused. The audit should be honest about what isn’t working while being encouraging about opportunities. Data-first but insight-led, ensuring every finding connects to a recommendation.
Output Format:
- Content inventory spreadsheet template (URL/post, title, format, topic, date, channel, key metrics)
- Performance scoring framework: how to rate content on a consistent scale across channels
- Top 10 and Bottom 10 content analysis with common characteristics identified for each group
- Content theme performance matrix: which topics and formats consistently outperform
- Publishing cadence analysis: are there optimal days, times, or frequencies?
- Audience insight summary: what does the data tell us about what our audience values?
- Content gap opportunities: topics competitors cover that we don’t, or audience questions we haven’t answered
- Prioritised recommendations: what to create more of, what to stop, what to update, and what to experiment with
- 90-day content action plan based on audit findings
Refinement:
- Evaluate content against business goals, not just engagement metrics — high traffic with no conversions is not high-performing content
- Look for patterns across multiple dimensions: topic, format, length, channel, publish time, author
- Include ‘evergreen’ content analysis — which older content still drives results and could be updated?
- Consider the full content funnel: awareness content should be measured differently from conversion content
- Cross-reference content performance with sales or conversion data where possible
- Identify content cannibalisation — are multiple pieces competing for the same keywords or audience?
- Make recommendations specific and prioritised, not a wish list of everything that could be done
