Content Audit Template
You can't improve what you haven't measured. This audit walks your entire catalog piece by piece, scoring performance and tagging a clear next action, so your archive becomes an asset instead of clutter.
Content PlanningPDF + CSV5 sectionsfree, no paywall
What you get
- A full inventory sheet for every piece across all your platforms
- Performance and relevance scoring to separate winners from dead weight
- A keep / update / repurpose / retire decision for each piece
- Editable CSV for Google Sheets or Excel, plus a branded print-ready PDF
How to use this template
- 1. Inventory everything. List every published piece with its URL, format, and publish date so nothing in the catalog is missed.
- 2. Pull the numbers. Add each piece's key metric (views, watch time, or conversions) so decisions rest on data, not gut.
- 3. Score relevance. Rate how well each piece still fits your current pillars and audience, separate from raw performance.
- 4. Assign a verdict. Give every row one action: keep, update, repurpose, or retire, then queue the updates and repurposes.
Still choosing the tool you will run this in? Compare two side by side, or read how each profile is built in our review methodology.
What's inside
3 of 5 sections shown; the remaining 2 come with the free download.
What is a content audit?
A content audit is a pass through everything you have published, logging each piece with its numbers, how well it still fits what you cover, and one verdict: keep, update, repurpose or retire. The output is a decision per piece, not a report nobody reads.
Most creators need one after a year or two, usually when the back catalogue no longer matches the channel. Audits surface the piece quietly bringing in a third of your signups and the twenty reviews of discontinued products sending the wrong signal to anybody who scrolls back.
Content inventory & audit
One row per published piece. Score honestly, then assign a single clear next action.
| Piece / URL | Platform | Published | Key metric | Relevance (1-5) | Verdict |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| How I plan a month in 2 hours | YouTube | 2025-09-01 | 42k views | 5 | Repurpose |
| Old camera review (discontinued) | YouTube | 2024-02-10 | 3k views | 1 | Retire |
How to run an audit without burning out
Audit in batches of 20 to 30 pieces rather than tackling the whole catalog at once. A focused hour beats an abandoned all-day attempt, and you can finish a typical creator catalog over a few sessions.
Be ruthless with the retire column. Unpublishing or archiving weak, outdated content can lift the perceived quality of your whole channel and stop sending the wrong signal to new visitors.
2 more sections and the PDF + CSV are behind the free download.
Tools that help with this
The template does the thinking; these are the products creators run it in. The full software directory has the rest.
Surfer AI
Surfer AI is an AI writing and SEO optimization platform that combines a real-time Content Editor with AI article generation.
$59/mo
Frase
Frase is an AI content optimization platform that combines SERP research, content briefs, AI writing, and SEO scoring to help articles rank.
$49/mo
TubeBuddy
TubeBuddy is a YouTube-certified browser extension and channel management toolkit that plugs directly into YouTube Studio.
$0/mo
Iconosquare
Iconosquare is a social media analytics platform with performance tracking, scheduled reports, hashtag analysis, and competitive benchmarking.
$0/mo
Categories to browse: Creator Analytics.
Frequently asked questions
What is a content audit?
It is an inventory of everything you have published, scored on performance and on how well each piece still fits what you cover now. Every row ends with one verdict: keep, update, repurpose or retire.
How often should I audit my content?
Once or twice a year for most creators. An annual audit is enough to catch outdated pieces and surface repurposing opportunities without becoming a chore that pulls you away from creating.
Should I delete underperforming content?
Not automatically. First decide whether a weak piece can be updated or repurposed. Retire it only if it's outdated, off-brand, or actively misleading. Otherwise an archive or refresh is usually the better call.
Does unlisting or deleting old videos hurt my channel?
Removing a handful of weak, outdated videos is unlikely to cost you much, since they were already getting almost no traffic. Unlisting is the safer first step, because it hides the piece from browsing while leaving any links you have shared intact.