8 tools to support a content audit

1. Ahrefs

Ahrefs is a set of SEO tools that help users perform content audits, find opportunities for backlinking and improve site visibility. Its main components include the following:

• Site audit, which crawls the entire website to flag SEO issues like broken links, duplicate content and redirect chains.
• Content explorer, which surfaces top-performing content by topic to help with competitor benchmarking and keyword gap analysis.
• Keywords explorer, which offers search volume, difficulty scores, click-through rates and search engine results page (SERP) data for any keyword.

Updated versions added AI Content Helper, which can generate SEO-friendly meta tags and outlines based on web content and target keywords.

Pricing is split into three tiers. When billed annually, the Lite tier starts at $108 per month, Standard at $208 per month and Advanced at $374 per month. A free Webmaster Tools account is available. Users can also purchase add-ons, such as Brand Radar AI and Content Kit, separately.

2. Google Analytics (GA4)

Google Analytics 4 (GA4) is a free analytics platform that offers real-time insights into user behavior, content engagement and conversion performance. Its main components include the following:

• Engagement metrics that track bounce rates, scroll depth and session duration to evaluate how users interact with individual pages.
• Landing page reports to identify which content draws organic traffic and drives conversions.
• Event tracking to monitor on-site searches, downloads and video plays to identify high- or low-performing content.

GA4 is an updated version of Google Analytics. It replaced Universal Analytics and added native event tracking and AI-driven predictive metrics.

GA4 is entirely free, browser-based and compatible with all major browsers and devices. It includes enhanced measurement and integration with other Google tools, like Search Console, at no cost.

3. MarketMuse

MarketMuse is an AI-based tool that includes capabilities to automate content audits, identify topic gaps and generate optimization briefs based on search intent and competition. Its primary components include the following:

• Content inventory to assess existing pages across metrics like word count, quality, authority and SEO score.
• Topic modeling to find opportunities to improve topical depth and add supporting content.
• Content briefs that automatically build outlines with target keywords, questions to answer and suggested internal links.

Updated versions improved content brief capabilities with natural language processing scoring and competitive heat maps.

A free version is available, and MarketMuse offers three pricing packages. Users can sign up for a free trial of the paid plans. More information on each package is available upon request.

4. Moz Pro

Moz Pro is an SEO platform that helps users manage content audits and optimize site health. Its main components include the following:

• Site crawl to identify technical SEO issues like duplicate content, missing metadata and broken links.
• Page optimization to analyze on-page content for target keywords, readability and link quality.
• Keyword explorer to offer keyword suggestions, SERP features and priority scoring.

Some Moz Pro updates include improved visualizations in the site crawl report and deeper keyword filtering in the keyword explorer.

Pricing is split into four tiers: Starter, Standard, Medium and Large. When billed annually, Starter is $39, Standard is $79, Medium is $143 and Large is $239, all per month. Moz Pro also offers a free trial, and some of its features -- like the title tag tool -- are freely available. Higher pricing tiers provide larger content inventory limits and white-label reporting.

5. Screaming Frog SEO Spider

Screaming Frog is a website crawler that identifies SEO issues and assists with data exports for technical and content audits. Its main components include the following:

• Full site crawl to extract titles, meta descriptions, headings, word counts and status codes from every URL on the site.
• Custom filtering for advanced segmentation using XML Path Language and regular expressions to isolate specific templates or content types.
• Google Analytics and Google Search Console integrations for keyword data and traffic importing to gain behavioral insights in content audits.

Updated versions added enhanced JavaScript rendering, scheduled crawls and visual crawl diagrams.

Unlike other tools, Screaming Frog is licensed on-premises for Windows, macOS and Linux devices. A free version is available for up to 500 URLs. The paid version is $279 per year and includes unlimited crawling and priority support.

6. Semrush

Semrush is an SEO and content marketing platform that offers content audit, competitor analysis and optimization capabilities. Its main components include the following:

• Site audit to scan sites for issues like duplicate content, broken links and missing schema.
• Content audits that use traffic, backlinks and keyword analysis to evaluate performance and suggest updates.
• SEO writing assistant, which integrates with Google Docs and WordPress to score content in real time based on readability, keyword usage and tone.

Updated versions added Semrush Copilot and ContentShake AI for generative content suggestions and automation capabilities for content audits. WordPress integrations and browser plug-ins are available.

Pricing is split into three tiers: Pro, Guru and Business. When billed annually, Pro is $117, Guru is $208 and Business is $416, all per month. Semrush also offers a seven-day free trial and a free plan for new marketers.

7. Sitebulb

Sitebulb is a content audit tool that offers information on technical SEO and site architecture. Its main components include the following:

• Visual crawl maps, which offer dynamic sitemaps and crawl path visuals to help audit content structure and template consistency.
• A hint system to offer context and action items for flagged issues, such as content depth and duplication.
• Audit comparisons to compare crawl results over time to monitor progress or regressions in SEO health.

Updated versions improved scheduling options and enhanced link mapping. Sitebulb also offers a cloud-based version, Sitebulb Server, which supports team collaboration and large-scale crawling. The product is licensed on-premises for Windows and macOS and offered as a cloud-based tool.

Pricing is split into desktop plans and cloud server plans. There are three desktop plans: Lite is $180, Pro is $425 and Sitebulb Cloud is $1,500, all per year when billed annually. There are four cloud plans: Mini is $1,500, Small is $2,940 and Medium is $5,940, all per year when billed annually. The Enterprise tier pricing is available upon request. Sitebulb also offers a free trial.

8. SurferSEO

SurferSEO combines SERP analysis with AI-powered content scoring. Its main components include the following:

• Content editor to analyze top-ranking pages and suggest keyword placement, structure and length.
• Audit tool to evaluate existing content against SEO benchmarks and competitor data.
• SERP analyzer to break down ranking factors like keyword density, title usage and backlinks for a particular query.

Updated versions added real-time collaborations, automated internal linking suggestions and AI content generation.

Pricing is split into three tiers. When billed annually, Essential is $79 and Scale is $175, both per month. More information on the Enterprise tier is available upon request. SurferSEO also offers a seven-day money-back guarantee.

Christine Campbell is a freelance writer specializing in business and B2B technology.