You already paid for content—now you need to make sure it ranks over time.
SERPs change. Competitors update and release new content. Google moves the goalposts with algorithm updates.
If you don’t re-optimize, you will fall behind.
When you set up Sites + Content Audit, Surfer will:
Scan your whole domain
Flag underperforming pages
Recommend top articles to refresh
Unlock a 5-step re-optimization workflow
Google Search Console connected to Surfer
At least 30 days of Google Search Console (GSC) data
Content Audit in Sites
Content Editor
Set it up once → Check insights weekly
You should set up Sites (and Content Audit) as soon as possible. After the setup, you should monitor content performance and review refresh recommendations at least once per week.
Make sure your website is connected to Google Search Console. If not, do that first → How to set up Google Search Console.
For Sites to work properly, make sure you have at least 30 days of data in your Google Search Console.
Connect your Google Search Console to your Surfer account (see How to add Google Search Console to Surfer for more details).
1. Pick the domain for auditing (use search if you’ve got many) during Workspace setup, or under the SEO → Performance tab.
Note: Domain property means that its site includes data from all directories and subdomains for a given website. If you want to optimize a smaller part of your website, create a separate property in GSC (see How to set up Google Search Console (GSC) for more details) or filter specific sites in the next steps.
2. Select the location your website is targeting. This location will serve as the reference point for all optimization guidelines in this project going forward. Locations are arranged by the number of clicks your website is getting—the location at the top generates the most traffic.
Note: Some locations have multiple language options (e.g., location “United States” targets American-language results in the USA, but “United States - ES” targets Spanish content in the USA)—pick the most relevant option or create multiple Sites to cover more than one variant.
3. Select Next - Set up Brand Kit to proceed. Review your automatically generated Brand Knowledge, and select Get started to complete the setup.
4. Surfer will start building your Performance, Content Audit, and Topical Map (takes a few mins). You can explore Performance data while you wait.
5. Surfer will automatically audit up to 100 top-ranking pages from your domain. You can review them under the SEO → Content Audit section on the left menu bar.
6. Add and/or remove pages from your audit:
The “Top 50 - 500 pages” buttons will select pages with top traffic ratings.
You can search for specific paths and directories or select the top 50, 100, 200, or 500 pages (available limits differ per subscription plans). Use the search bar for easier setup.
Done! Your first Content Audit is live. Now let’s find the best pages to update for a quick traffic recovery →
