How to scale content audits to map your ecosystem. Methods for quantitative, qualitative, and competitive analysis. This is intended as an introduction and work of inspiration, if you have questions about details involved in research please contact me via Twitter at @meaningmeasure. Let's get a lot of people to help provide answers that benefit all of us :)

1. Scaling the
Content Audit:
Methods for Exploring Your
Content Ecosystem
Misty Weaver | #ConfabMN
© JS Bracher

2. Misty Weaver
© JS Bracher

3. Misty DAWN Weaver
© JS racher© JS Bracher
@content_insight | @meaningmeasure
#ConfabMN #ConAudit #Chunkthatblob

4. Content audits are a tool and a process for making
informed decisions in strategy and design
http://www.flickr.com/groups/explainia/
https://www.flickr.com/photos/murdocke/
Murray Thompson

5. Your range
Methods for Exploring
M. Lounsbery

6. Ecosystem
Content Is Alive
Eckhard Jakob

7. Content
Audiences
InfluencersCompetition
Business
Content Ecosystem

8. What’s Your Context?
© JS Bracher

9. 3 Dimensions of Scale
drbob http://bit.ly/SzEoeT

10. we MEASURE
Ronnieb http://bit.ly/1irO8g4

11. we SIZE
Jeltovski http://bit.ly/1j37rMs

12. we CONQUER
© JS Bracher

13. So…
Why aren’t we doing a
content audit?

14. Because

16. why ARE we doing a content audit?

18. Match scale with context
Have a destination orientation

19. Before you start
Why before what.
What before how.
-@abby_the_IA

20. What you need to know
• How much time do you have?
• How much money?
• How many people?
• Can those people stare at spreadsheets
for days?

21. Pain

22. Really, before you start
http://www.morguefile.com/creative/godidwlr

23. 1. Quantitative Inventory

24. Content without an inventory
is like a
library without a catalog

25. Content inventory: map your assets

26. Know where you are
and see where you’re going
• Refresh
• Redesign
• Migration
• Care and
Feeding
• Find quick fixes
• Orphans
• Duplicates
• URL structures
• Basic Hierarchy
• Missing data

27. Scale it
http://www.morguefile.com/creative/jeltovski

28. Robots are our friends
http://content-insight.com/

29. Can an intern do it?

30. Can an intern do it?What does intern mean to you?

31. Level up with a technical audit
Mightyohm http://bit.ly/1oqhQau

32. Audits help you improve
what you have and how you will
improve everything to come

33. Content models, page tables, templates,
checklist and editorial calendars

34. Scale it
Earl53 http://bit.ly/1imcigj

35. Can an intern do it?
Be very clear about what you want
to collect and catalog and WHY

36. Social
http://bit.ly/1jA19J8

37. Social Audits: From dead to connect

38. Create pathways, build relationships
© JS Bracher

39. Scale it
Jeltovski http://bit.ly/1j37rMs

40. Can an intern do it?
Make sure they understand the platforms,
evaluative needs, and outcomes.

41. You are not alone
Competitive &
Comparative
Audits
FidlerJan http://bit.ly/1oqkD3g

42. When do you need
a competitive audit?

43. Mind the Gap
• Benchmarks
• Differentiators
• Audience Insights
• Potential Partners

44. Scale it

45. Can an intern do it?

46. 3. Qualitative Audit
http://bit.ly/Rr4yiH

47. Define quality
• Business Goals
• Audience Needs and Tasks
• Systems and Constraints

48. You CAN do too much
• calls to action,
• links, duplicate content,
• headings, subheadings, titles, captions, consistent use of terms,
• publish date, author,
• event date, location, price, sequence or series, speaker or teacher,
• image metadata,
• use of Keywords, jargon, overall readability,
• scroll length, break points, load time
• accessibility, seo, shareability
• Can a person complete a task based on content provided?
• Is the content, function accurate?

49. We all have journeys
© JS Bracher

50. We all have tasks
Amanda L. Goodman @godaisies

51. It is so scalable
© JS Bracher

52. Can an intern do it?
Then so can you!

53. Call it an audit

54. THAN DO A
CONTENT AUDIT
http://bit.ly/1e84opR
Time for a reframe

55. http://bit.ly/1i5bz3i

56. Your mountain is waiting

57. Thank you, I’ve been
@meaningmeasure

58. Ready to Audit Resources
• Sample Course Syllabus http://www.meaningandmeasure.com/content-
strategy-syllabus/#reads
• Kevin P Nichols Inventory and Audit template
http://www.kevinpnichols.com/2012/10/kevin_p_nichols_1.html
• How to Conduct a Content Audit by Donna Maurer
http://uxmastery.com/how-to-conduct-a-content-audit/
• Content Knowledge is Power by Sara Wachter-Boettcher
http://www.smashingmagazine.com/2013/04/29/content-knowledge-is-
power/
• Content Insight: The Qualitative Audit
http://content-insight.com/resources/content-inventory-and-audit-
articles/qualitative-content-audit/
• Building the Mother of All Content Inventories by Sue Davis
http://blogs.ec.europa.eu/waltzing_matilda/building-the-mother-of-all-
content-inventories/