SEO Audit for Blog Content: Find and Fix Underperforming Posts

TL;DR

Most blogs have posts that get zero traffic, rank for the wrong keywords, or target terms they cannot compete for. A content-specific SEO audit identifies these underperformers and sorts them into three buckets: update, consolidate, or remove. This guide walks through the process from analysis to action.

Why Blog Content Needs Its Own Audit

Explain the difference between a technical SEO audit and a content SEO audit. Technical audits find infrastructure problems. Content audits find strategic problems with what you have published and how it performs.

Step 1: Export and Categorize All Blog Posts

How to pull a complete list of blog posts with key metrics: organic traffic, rankings, backlinks, and publish date. Cover how to get this data from Google Search Console and analytics.

Step 2: Identify the Four Types of Underperformers

Zero-Traffic Posts

Posts that get no organic traffic at all. Cover the three reasons why: not indexed, targeting impossible keywords, or poor content quality.

Declining-Traffic Posts

Posts that once performed but are losing traffic. Cover content decay, SERP changes, and competitive displacement as root causes.

Wrong-Keyword Posts

Posts that rank for keywords unrelated to the target. Cover how to identify these using Search Console queries report and what to do about them.

Cannibalizing Posts

Multiple posts competing for the same keyword. Cover how to detect cannibalization and resolve it through consolidation. Link to the keyword research complete guide for proper keyword assignment.

Step 3: Decide the Action for Each Post

Update

When to invest in refreshing a post. Cover the criteria for choosing update over other options. Link to updating old blog posts for the refresh process.

Consolidate

When to merge two or more weak posts into one strong one. Cover the 301 redirect process and how to combine content effectively.

Remove or No-Index

When to cut your losses and remove a post from your blog. Cover when removal improves overall site quality signals.

Step 4: Re-Optimize Updated Posts

How to apply the content optimization checklist to every post you choose to update. Cover keyword re-targeting using fresh research from tools like Delulu9 to verify your new keywords have demand across Google, Bing, and Reddit.

Step 5: Monitor Results

How to track the impact of your content audit over 30, 60, and 90 days. Cover which metrics to watch and what indicates success.

Content Audit and AI Search Visibility

Why underperforming content can also hurt your AI search presence. Outdated or thin content that AI engines encounter makes your brand look less authoritative. Link to how LLMs recommend software for understanding how AI evaluates content quality.

How Often to Audit Blog Content

Recommended cadence for content audits based on blog size. Cover quarterly lightweight reviews and biannual deep audits. Link to SEO audit schedule guide for integrating content audits into your overall audit plan.

How many blog posts should I expect to find underperforming?

On most blogs, 50-70% of posts generate almost no organic traffic. This is normal. The goal of a content audit is to identify which of those posts are worth saving and which should be consolidated or removed.

Will removing blog posts hurt my SEO?

Removing low-quality, zero-traffic posts can actually improve your SEO by strengthening your site’s overall quality signals. Google evaluates site-level quality, so cutting dead weight can lift your entire site. Always 301 redirect removed URLs to relevant alternatives when possible.

How do I know if two posts are cannibalizing each other?

Check if two or more of your URLs appear in Search Console for the same queries, especially if their rankings fluctuate. If Google keeps swapping which page it shows for a keyword, that is keyword cannibalization. Consolidate the posts into one definitive piece.