SEO Content Audit
The complete SEO footprint analysis — content inventory, real SEO metrics, competitor comparison, gap matrices, and prioritized recommendations in one report.
Quick Start
Run an SEO content audit for [company]. Website: [url]. Competitors: [list].
Inputs
| Input | Required | Description |
|---|
| Company name | Yes | User provides |
| Company domain | Yes | e.g., "example.com" |
| Seed competitors | Recommended | 2-5 competitor domains; system discovers more |
| Target keywords | Optional | User provides; system also auto-discovers |
Cost
| Component | Est. Cost |
|---|
| Content catalog (target) | ~$0-0.50 (free unless Apify fallback needed) |
| Semrush data (target) | ~$0.10 |
| Ahrefs data (target) | ~$0.10 |
| Google rank checks (~30 keywords) | ~$0.06 |
| Competitor Semrush data (3-5 competitors) | ~$0.30-0.50 |
| Content catalog (competitors, lighter) | ~$0-1.00 |
| Brand voice extraction | Free (WebFetch) |
| Total typical audit | ~$1-3 |
Step-by-Step Process
Phase 1: Context & Setup
Gather basics from the user: company name, domain, seed competitors, target keywords.
Phase 2: Content Inventory
Crawl the target domain to build a complete content inventory:
- Fetch sitemap.xml (or RSS, blog index as fallback)
- Catalog every page: URL, title, date, content type, topic cluster
- Group content by type (blog posts, landing pages, case studies, comparisons, etc.)
- Analyze publishing cadence (posts/month, trend, recency)
- Optionally deep-analyze top 20 pages for word count, funnel stage, CTA presence
Phase 3: SEO Performance Data
Pull SEO metrics for the target domain:
- Domain overview — authority score, organic traffic estimate, keyword count, traffic trend (via Apify Semrush scraper if
APIFY_API_TOKEN is set, or web search probes as fallback)
- Backlink profile — domain rating, referring domains, top linking sites (via Apify Ahrefs scraper)
- Keyword rankings — check actual Google rankings for target keywords (via web search or Apify Google Search scraper)
- Competitor discovery — identify competing domains from keyword overlap
- Competitor metrics — run a lighter version of steps 1-2 for each competitor
Phase 4: Competitor Content Analysis
For each competitor (3-5 max), crawl their site to get:
- Content type breakdown (blog posts, case studies, comparisons, etc.)
- Topic clusters (what topics they cover)
- Publishing cadence (how often they publish)
No deep analysis needed for competitors — just structure and volume.
Phase 5: Build Gap Matrices
Using data from Phases 2-4, build two matrices:
A) Topic/Keyword Gap Matrix
Cross-reference the target's keyword rankings and content topics against competitors:
| Topic / Keyword | [Target] | [Comp 1] | [Comp 2] | [Comp 3] | Gap? |
|-----------------|----------|----------|----------|----------|------|
| cloud cost optimization | #4, 3 posts | #1, 12 posts | #2, 8 posts | #7, 5 posts | Partial |
| aws savings plans | No content | #3, 4 posts | No content | #1, 6 posts | YES |
| finops best practices | 1 post, not ranking | #5, 3 posts | #2, 7 posts | — | YES |
For each topic/keyword:
- Does the target have content? How much?
- Does the target rank for it? What position?
- Which competitors rank? How much content do they have?
- Is this a gap? (target has no/weak content, competitors are strong)
How to build this:
- Collect all unique topic clusters from target + all competitors
- For each topic, count content pieces per company
- Cross-reference with keyword ranking data (from Phase 3)
- Flag gaps where competitors have coverage and target doesn't
B) Content Type Gap Matrix
Compare what types of content each company produces:
| Content Type | [Target] | [Comp 1] | [Comp 2] | [Comp 3] | Gap? |
|-------------|----------|----------|----------|----------|------|
| Blog posts | 89 | 156 | 112 | 45 | Volume gap |
| Comparison pages | 0 | 12 | 8 | 3 | YES |
| Case studies | 5 | 22 | 15 | 8 | Weak |
| Glossary / educational | 0 | 45 | 0 | 30 | YES |
| Integration pages | 12 | 34 | 28 | 15 | Partial |
| ROI calculator / tools | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | Opportunity |
| Webinars / video | 3 | 18 | 12 | 6 | Weak |
How to build this:
- Use the content type classifications from all content catalogs
- Count per type per company
- Flag types where target is at zero or significantly behind competitors
Phase 6: Brand Voice Extraction (Optional)
If the audit will feed into content creation:
- From the content inventory (Phase 2), select 10-15 of the best blog posts (most recent, longest, most diverse topics)
- Fetch each page and analyze the writing style
- Produce brand voice guidelines: tone, vocabulary patterns, sentence structure, do's and don'ts
Phase 7: Synthesis & Report
Combine all findings into the final report. Save to the current working directory or wherever the user prefers.
Output Template
# SEO Content Audit: [Company Name]
**Date:** YYYY-MM-DD
**Domain:** [domain]
**Competitors analyzed:** [list]
**Data sources:** [Semrush (via Apify), Ahrefs (via Apify), Google SERP, sitemap crawl, RSS]
---
## Executive Summary
[3-5 sentences. Overall SEO health assessment. Biggest strength. Biggest gap.
Most important recommendation. How they compare to competitors overall.]
---
## 1. Content Inventory
### Overview
- **Total pages cataloged:** X
- **Blog posts:** X
- **Landing pages:** X
- **Case studies:** X
- **Comparison pages:** X
- **Other:** X
### Content by Topic Cluster
| Topic | Posts | % of Content | Most Recent |
|-------|-------|-------------|-------------|
| [Topic 1] | X | X% | YYYY-MM-DD |
| ... |
### Publishing Cadence
- **Average:** X posts/month
- **Trend:** [increasing/decreasing/stable]
- **Most recent publish:** YYYY-MM-DD
- **Unique authors:** X
### Content Depth Assessment
[From deep analysis of top 20 pages: average word count, funnel stage distribution,
how many have CTAs, internal linking patterns]
---
## 2. SEO Performance
### Domain Metrics
| Metric | [Target] | Industry Benchmark* |
|--------|----------|-------------------|
| Authority Score (Semrush) | X/100 | |
| Domain Rating (Ahrefs) | X/100 | |
| Monthly Organic Traffic | ~X | |
| Organic Keywords | X | |
| Backlinks | X | |
| Referring Domains | X | |
### Top Performing Pages
| # | URL | Est. Traffic | Top Keyword | Position |
|---|-----|-------------|-------------|----------|
| 1 | ... | ... | ... | ... |
### Keyword Rankings
| Keyword | Position | URL | Gap? |
|---------|----------|-----|------|
| [keyword 1] | #X | [url] | |
| [keyword 2] | Not ranking | — | YES |
### Backlink Profile
- Domain Rating: X/100
- Referring Domains: X
- Top linking sites: [list]
- Notable: [any insights about link profile quality]
---
## 3. Competitor Comparison
### Domain Metrics Comparison
| Metric | [Target] | [Comp 1] | [Comp 2] | [Comp 3] |
|--------|----------|----------|----------|----------|
| Authority Score | | | | |
| Organic Traffic | | | | |
| Keywords | | | | |
| Blog Posts | | | | |
| Content Types | | | | |
### Topic/Keyword Gap Matrix
| Topic / Keyword | [Target] | [Comp 1] | [Comp 2] | [Comp 3] | Gap? |
|-----------------|----------|----------|----------|----------|------|
| [topic 1] | X posts, #Y | ... | ... | ... | |
| ... |
### Content Type Gap Matrix
| Content Type | [Target] | [Comp 1] | [Comp 2] | [Comp 3] | Gap? |
|-------------|----------|----------|----------|----------|------|
| Blog posts | X | X | X | X | |
| Comparison pages | X | X | X | X | |
| Case studies | X | X | X | X | |
| ... |
---
## 4. Gaps & Opportunities
### Critical Gaps (High Impact, Act Now)
1. **[Gap]:** [Description. What competitors have that target doesn't.
Estimated search volume / traffic opportunity. Difficulty to address.]
2. ...
### Content Type Opportunities
1. **[Missing content type]:** [Why it matters. What competitors are doing.
Estimated effort to create.]
2. ...
### Quick Wins (Low Effort, Immediate Impact)
1. **[Quick win]:** [What to do. Expected impact.]
2. ...
### Keyword Opportunities
| Keyword | Est. Search Volume | Competitor Positions | Difficulty | Priority |
|---------|-------------------|---------------------|------------|----------|
| ... |
---
## 5. Brand Voice Profile
### Voice Summary
[2-3 sentence summary of their writing voice]
### Tone
| Dimension | Position |
|-----------|----------|
| Formality | [e.g., Professional-casual] |
| Authority | [e.g., Expert/teacher] |
| Humor | [e.g., None] |
| Directness | [e.g., Very direct] |
### Writing Guidelines
**Do:**
- [Guideline 1]
- [Guideline 2]
**Don't:**
- [Anti-pattern 1]
- [Anti-pattern 2]
[Link to full brand voice profile if generated]
---
## 6. Recommendations (Prioritized)
### Tier 1: High Impact, Do First
1. **[Recommendation]**
- What: [specific action]
- Why: [evidence from audit]
- Expected impact: [traffic/ranking improvement]
- Effort: [Low/Medium/High]
2. ...
### Tier 2: Medium Impact, Plan For
1. ...
### Tier 3: Long-term Strategic
1. ...
---
## Appendix
### A. Full Content Catalog
[Link to content-inventory.md]
### B. Complete SEO Profile
[Link to seo-profile.md]
### C. Brand Voice Guidelines
[Link to brand-voice.md]
### D. Raw Data
- Content inventory JSON
- SEO profile JSON
- Competitor content JSONs
Tips
- Run Phases 2-3 in parallel. Content cataloging and SEO metrics are independent — run them simultaneously to save time.
- Start with 3 competitors, not 5. More competitors = more Apify costs. Start small, add more if the initial analysis shows gaps.
- The gap matrices are the most valuable output. Focus your analysis effort there. They directly feed into content strategy recommendations.
- Brand voice is optional but valuable. If you're pressed for time, skip it. But if this feeds into content creation or outreach, it's worth the 10 minutes.
- Update quarterly. SEO landscapes shift. Re-run the audit every quarter to track progress and discover new gaps.
- Combine with AEO visibility for a complete organic search picture — traditional SEO + AI answer engine coverage.
- The free fallback works. If Apify is unavailable, the scripts fall back to web search probes. You get less precise data but still a useful audit.
Dependencies
APIFY_API_TOKEN env var (for Semrush/Ahrefs data via Apify; free web search probes work without it)- Web search and web fetch capabilities