Whenever a website’s traffic starts to plateau or your AI search visibility score becomes stagnant, everyone is quick to jump to one conclusion – “we don’t have enough content.” 

But having run content audits for startups for over 13 years, the real problem actually is – “the content system is fragmented.” 

And in an AI-first world, while consistency builds authority, fragmentation is what kills trust. 

That’s why I run the content audits a little differently. 

Things I include in content audits that give you a competitive edge 

Here are some of the non-obvious things I include in content audits for teams to get real actionables: 

1. Cross-team content duplication (not just page-level duplication)

Companies often have different teams handling different verticals in marketing and sales. But the unfortunate part that continues even today is that they don’t speak to each other! 

This is why different teams often end up creating overlapping narratives in the content. This fragments authority and confuses both search engines and AI systems. 

That’s why the very first thing I do is ask for a rundown or dump of all the possible content assets created by all teams engaged. Then I check for content duplication; not just page-level duplication. 

2. Messaging drift across the site

Another common problem I see is the product being described in many different ways. Everyone goes through a few iterations before they find what works best for them. 

But (insert a big BUT) if your product, positioning, or category is described differently across pages, you’re actually weakening trust and clarity at a system level. 

And what both traditional as well as LLMs need, is a consistent message. That’s why I include a messaging drift in my content audit. 

3. Indexed zombie pages 

Another thing that often goes unnoticed are the zombie pages on your website. These are pages that are indexed on the search engine but add low to no value to your website (or even your business). 

Now these are typically old campaign pages, thin content and legacy URLs that quietly dilute authority and even eat into the crawl budget assigned to your website. Very common in companies that have seen frequent changes in their marketing team! 

4. Internal competition between product and content pages

When you’re scaling content production, creating internal competition is very common. You’re creating blogs, videos, product pages, industry pages, so on and so forth. 

But when multiple pages target the same intent, you’re actually splitting authority and confusing which page should rank or get cited. Actually, even convert.

My content audits will always include this. The recommendation usually includes merging competing content to create one that is packed with value and caters to the objective you have for that intent. 

5. Weak or inconsistent taxonomy and URL structure 

When your content is not grouped logically, it becomes difficult for both search engines and AI systems to understand how the different topics you cover connect. 

So even if you have strong individual pages, but they sit in disconnected folders with inconsistent URL paths or unclear categories, they fail to reinforce each other. You may not notice it now, but this weakens your ability to signal depth in any one area. 

LLMs understand topic relationships and hierarchies, not just individual pages. That’s why a clean taxonomy and structured URL system is important. It helps build clear topic ownership and makes your site easier to interpret. 

6. Orphan content at scale 

When you’re running a marketing strategy at enterprise scale, it’s common to have large volumes of content that are not internally linked from anywhere meaningful. Now these pages could be indexed, but they are disconnected from your broader content system and without internal links, they are hard to discover or prioritize. 

It’s important to integrate these pages into a clear topical structure. Internal link from where they support and strengthen pillar pages instead of letting them exist in isolation. We all like having friends, right?  

7. Content that exists only for SEO (not for buyers) 

When you’re running a full-scale search and content strategy, the focus is almost always on creating ‘more content to rank’. Not to help. And that’s why we see a lot of generic what and why content with surface-level explanations on the internet even today. Worse still, I have spotted some keyword-driven content pieces that don’t support decision-making in any way. 

Both traditional search and LLMs now prioritize content that demonstrates usefulness, depth and real understanding. In my content audits, I often recommend evolving this content from being just informational to decision-enabling. That requires teams to incorporate real use cases, trade-offs, and insights that help buyers. 

8. Lack of clear ownership and refresh cycles 

In many organizations, the focus is only on content creation. But once it is published, no one ever bothers to go back and check on its performance. So it sits there untouched until its performance drops significantly because now it doesn’t match the current keyword-intent or have the most up-to-date information about the topic. 

This leads to content decay that brings down the authority of your website. Content audits should always highlight the decay, the opportunities lying in updating/ refreshing them and which ones to prioritize. 

9. Misalignment between content and sales reality 

One of the most overlooked gaps in content strategy is the disconnect between what content says and what sales conversations reveal. Content often presents an idealized or simplified version of the product, while actual buyer conversations involve objections, nuances, and edge cases.

When content doesn’t reflect these realities, it feels incomplete or disconnected. Users may find the information helpful, but not sufficient to make a decision. And it’s something I like to highlight in content audits after evaluating the sales assets I get hold of at the start. 

Why? Because aligning content with sales insights like common objections, real use cases, and decision criteria, makes it significantly more effective. It also increases the likelihood of being trusted and referenced, both by users and AI systems.

10. Regional and Localization Inconsistencies

Global organizations often create multiple versions of similar content across regions. These may differ slightly in language, examples, or structure, but often overlap significantly in intent.

Without proper coordination, this leads to duplication, inconsistent messaging, and confusion about which version is authoritative. Search engines may struggle with canonicalization, while AI systems may interpret these inconsistencies as a lack of clarity.

A strong localization strategy goes beyond translation. It ensures that each version of content is intentional, differentiated, and aligned, while still reinforcing overall authority at a global level. That’s why it becomes a separate part of the content audit. 

11. Weak Off-Site Signal Alignment (Website vs Social vs External Mentions)

Your website is no longer the only place where your authority is evaluated. AI systems pull signals from multiple sources – social media, external publications, community discussions, and more.

If your messaging differs across these channels, it creates fragmentation. For example, your website may position you one way, while your social content emphasizes something else entirely.

This is another aspect I highlight in content audits. Because if search and LLMs are going to consolidate information, you want to give it consistent messages. 

12. Over-Reliance on Volume-Based KPIs

Many teams still measure success based on output – number of blogs published, keywords targeted, or traffic generated. While these metrics are easy to track, they don’t reflect whether you’re actually building authority.

This often leads to more content being produced without improving overall performance. In fact, it can dilute authority if the additional content is low-quality or misaligned. And that’s why a part of my content audit is to understand the goals the team was/ is targeting. 

Shifting focus to metrics like topic ownership, content performance over time, and visibility in AI-driven experiences leads to more meaningful growth. It encourages better decisions, not just more activity.

13. No Clear Topic Ownership Strategy

Enterprise websites often cover a wide range of topics, but don’t clearly dominate any of them. This creates breadth without depth visibility without authority.

AI systems, in particular, favor sources that demonstrate clear expertise in specific areas. If your content is spread too thin, it becomes harder to associate your brand with any one domain. That’s why content audits should include a % of coverages around each of your pillars and clusters, tying them with the different stages of the funnel. 

Defining and reinforcing a small set of core topics allows your content to compound more effectively. Instead of trying to cover everything, you build credibility by going deep where it matters most. 

Conclusion 

Content audits shouldn’t just be an activity to check off from your marketing list. It shouldn’t be something you run on a tool once, make an excel sheet out of and don’t work on because it is a lot of effort. 

I do agree that you can do more with the same resources you would have to put in to fix the past. But without the right foundation, you’re only adding more fuel to the fire and before you know it, that’s going to bring down the whole house! 

Not sure why your content isn’t getting you the right business outcomes? Get in touch with me for a content audit.