Audits & strategy
Content SEO strategy
At the kick-off I clarify the products/services, the audiences, the content priorities, the legal constraints, and the client’s approval process and resources. I also establish the required access and materials: traffic and conversion data, a list of URLs, the offer, existing content and marketing plans. I then carry out an inventory and audit of the URLs (topic, intent, freshness, duplication), analyse visibility, performance and keyword cannibalisation risks, and point out gaps and directions for change.
About the service
Kick-off and content audit for a Content SEO strategy: scope, data and priorities
About the Content SEO strategy service
A few service details- Setting goals and priorities
- Identifying legal constraints
- Agreeing resources and content approval
- Defining the scope: sections, markets
- Inventory and audit of existing URLs
- Performance analysis and directions for change
Work process
The Content SEO strategy process, step by step
I start with a kick-off and information gathering, in order to establish the goals, scope and terms of cooperation. I then carry out an inventory and a content audit for the whole site or selected sections. I turn the conclusions into priorities and implementations agreed through the established approval process.
- 01/ 03
Kick-off and inputs
I clarify the products or services, audience groups, priorities and constraints, and collect the required access and materials (including traffic and conversion data, a list of URLs, the offer, content and marketing plans).
- 02/ 03
Inventory and audit
I compile a list of pages and, for each URL, analyse the topic, intent, freshness, duplication, alignment with the offer, visibility, potential, risks (e.g. keyword cannibalisation) and content performance.
- 03/ 03
Priorities and implementation
Based on the audit, I identify the URLs to improve, consolidate, remove or expand, and prepare decisions on mapping topics to URLs, taking into account the available resources and content approval.
Kick-off and information gathering: key elements of the strategy
The kick-off and information gathering serve to establish clearly, from the outset, what the Content SEO strategy is meant to achieve and within what limits. At this stage I clarify the products or services, the audience groups and the priorities on the client’s side (e.g. blog, categories, guides). In parallel, I collect information about legal or industry constraints that may affect the choice of topics, the language and the format of the recommendations. I also establish how content will be approved and what resources are available on the client’s side, so that the strategy can be implemented organisationally.
The kick-off ends with a list of the required access and input materials, without which the analysis and prioritisation are limited. In practice this covers access to traffic and conversion data, a list of URLs, information about the offer, existing content and marketing plans. At the start I also define the scope of the strategy: whether it covers the whole site or selected sections (e.g. blog, e-commerce, knowledge base/FAQ) and whether it concerns one or several languages or markets.
- Establishing the products/services, audience groups and priorities (e.g. blog, categories, guides).
- Identifying legal/industry constraints and their impact on content.
- Agreeing the resources on the client’s side and the content approval process.
- Defining the scope of the strategy (site sections and languages/markets).
- A list of the required access and materials: traffic and conversion data, URLs, the offer, existing content, marketing plans.
Content inventory and audit: assessment and optimisation
The inventory and content audit consist of compiling a complete list of existing pages and assessing how each of them supports the content goals and the offer. For each URL I analyse the topic, intent, freshness and any duplication, and also check that the content is in line with the scope of the offer. As part of the audit I identify visibility, potential and risks such as keyword cannibalisation. The results of this stage also reveal topic gaps that may need to be filled in the later steps of the strategy.
The audit also includes a content performance analysis — checking which materials generate visits, engagement and actions, and which do not deliver. On that basis I single out the pages to improve, consolidate, remove or expand, always in the context of their role and their fit with intent. The conclusions from the inventory and the performance analysis feed into the later mapping of topics to URLs and the decisions on what stays, what changes its role and where new content is needed. The scope and precision of the assessment depend on the availability of input data, including traffic and conversion data and a complete list of URLs.
- A list of existing pages and their assessment: topic, intent, freshness, duplication and alignment with the offer.
- Verification: visibility, potential, keyword cannibalisation and topic gaps.
- Performance analysis: identifying the content that generates visits, engagement and actions, and the content that needs changes.
- An initial indication of the direction of work: improving, consolidating, removing or expanding selected URLs.
Query and intent research: matching the offer
Query and intent research consists of collecting topics and keywords and organising them so that they genuinely match the offer and the capabilities of the site. I organise the queries by intent (informational, comparative, transactional) and by the stage of the user’s decision, which makes it possible to separate the roles of content at different levels of the journey. This shows which topics should lead to offer pages and which require separate supporting materials. The conclusions from this stage are later used to assign topics to existing or new URLs.
In parallel, I carry out an analysis of the SERP and the content format, to verify what type of material is expected for a given intent. I assess whether, in a given area, a guide, a definition, a ranking or a landing page is more appropriate, and which elements support visibility, such as sections, FAQs, tables or multimedia. This verification helps to refine the scope and structure of the planned content before we move on to mapping topics across the site. At this stage, matching the offer also means avoiding topics or wording that cannot be used because of industry constraints.
- Collecting topics and keywords and organising them by intent: informational, comparative and transactional.
- Assigning queries to the stage of the user’s decision and matching them to the offer and the capabilities of the site.
- Analysing the SERP for the expected content format (e.g. guide, definition, ranking, landing page).
- Indicating the elements that support visibility: sections, FAQs, tables, multimedia.
Topic architecture and URL mapping: limiting keyword cannibalisation
Topic architecture and URL mapping consist of building topic clusters and assigning topics to specific pages so as to limit keyword cannibalisation. As part of this stage I define the pillar and supporting pages, and then decide what should be assigned to existing URLs and what requires new addresses. The mapping draws on both the results of the content inventory and the query and intent research, which makes it easier to capture topic gaps and conflicts between pages. The result is an organised topic structure across the site that supports guiding the user consistently through the content.
The outcome of the mapping is a content and intent map — a summary of topics, clusters, intents and assigned URLs (existing and new), with the role of each page in the user journey defined. This layout is the basis for a sensible choice of content priorities in the next steps, because only once the roles of the pages have been defined is it possible to assess what to deliver first. In practice, the map brings order to decisions about which content supports the main topics and which has a complementary function. As a result, further optimisation and the planning of new publications are based on clearly assigned URLs rather than on a loose list of topics.
- Building topic clusters and defining the pillar and supporting pages.
- Assigning topics to existing or new URLs in order to limit keyword cannibalisation.
- Taking topic gaps and conflicts between pages into account when planning the structure.
- Developing a content map and intent map with the role of each page in the user journey.
Optimisation plan for existing content: on-page work and linking
The optimisation plan for existing content is an operational list of actions for selected URLs, which sets out what is to be improved and how. For the priority pages I give recommendations such as updating, expanding, merging, changing the intent, improving titles and headings, matching the content to queries and filling gaps. Each action is described in the context of the role of the given page and of whether it needs strengthening, consolidating or a reduction in topical conflicts. The result of the work is a content optimisation backlog with a justification and a priority.
As part of the optimisation I carry out on-page work for SEO and UX, together with a plan for internal linking and navigation within the clusters. On-page work covers making consistent the H1–H3 structure, meta titles and descriptions, sections answering users’ questions, readability, trust elements and calls to action in line with intent. Internal linking covers proposed connections between pieces of content, contextual links, anchors and paths leading to offer pages, to make content easier to discover and to distribute authority. Where justified, the recommendations also indicate the places where informational content should be connected with the offer (e.g. CTAs, comparison sections, elements of credibility proof).
- A list of actions for selected URLs: updating, expanding, merging, changing the intent, filling gaps.
- Making on-page elements consistent: H1–H3, meta titles and descriptions, user question sections, readability, trust elements, CTAs in line with intent.
- An internal linking plan: connections within clusters, contextual links, anchors, paths to offer pages.
- A content optimisation backlog with a recommendation (update/expand/merge/redirect/remove), a justification and a priority.
Implementation and publication support: ensuring compliance with the plan
Implementation and publication support consist of coordinating the work so that the recommendations from the strategy are correctly carried over to the published pages. This covers handing over the recommendations, verifying the implementations and consulting with the authors or the editorial team while the materials are being prepared. Where necessary, I refine and correct the briefs to maintain consistency with the agreed format and intent. Finally, I check that the published pages comply with the plan, including their assigned role in the cluster and the user journey.
The scope of real results at the implementation stage depends on whether, on the client’s side, it is possible to make changes to the content, URL structure, linking and page elements.
The way of working also depends on the content cooperation model: who writes and who approves the content, what the feedback looks like and how many rounds of revisions are organisationally possible. These arrangements affect how publication is organised and how the verification of the implementation runs in practice.
- Handing over the implementation recommendations and coordinating publication.
- Verifying the implementations and consulting with the authors/editorial team.
- Corrections and refinement of the briefs during work on the content.
- Checking that the published pages comply with the plan and the assigned intent.
- Agreeing the cooperation model: who writes, who approves, what the feedback looks like and how many rounds of revisions are organisationally possible.
Testimonials
What clients and the industry say
Feedback from clients and industry people I have worked with on SEO projects.
I had the chance to work with Kuba at Kulturalnie o SEO, an event I organise. Kuba did a great job as a speaker and received high marks from the audience. He showed professionalism and broad knowledge. In other projects at Vestigio, Kuba shows enormous commitment, a willingness to explore and implement new ideas, and excellent organisation of his work.
01 / 08
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