Delete outdated content? More traffic with less!
Posted: Mon Dec 23, 2024 5:53 am
Should you remove content from your website and Google search results? Absolutely. But does that mean deleting the entire blog post, or should it be rewritten and updated? That depends on several factors. Ask yourself these questions when identifying content that you feel could be removed.
Content Marketing
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Why is it Important to Remove Outdated Content?
40% of all website content is outdated. (Source: HubSpot)
Outdated content can hurt your website's search engine rankings. (Source: Google)
Outdated content on your website can confuse and frustrate your visitors. (Source: Neil Patel)
Outdated content can hurt your brand's reputation. (Source: Moz)
Outdated content can pose a security risk. (Source: Cloudflare)
Businesses rely heavily on their websites to attract and engage customers. Outdated information on the website can turn off customers and cause them to lose trust in the business. Updating the website with the latest information, products, or services helps keep customers informed, improve SEO rankings, and enhance the overall user experience.
Is the Content Useful for Your Readers?
If it's useful, educational, or informative and simply outdated, keep it and update it. If it's old, promotional, or simply lacks real value, delete it.
Search engines use complex algorithms to determine the relevance and quality of a website's content. Outdated content may be considered less relevant and ranked lower in search results. This can make it harder for potential customers to find the website and decrease its visibility and traffic.
Outdated content can make a website look unprofessional and untrustworthy. Visitors, not just Google crawlers, may question the business’s expertise or trustworthiness if they find outdated information on the website. “How are you ranking on AOL with your business?” Unless you’re running a site for the Guinness Book of Errors, outdated content can also how to get singapore number for whatsapp be confusing or misleading, resulting in a poor user experience and competing with yourself in SEO through keyword cannibalization . This can lead to high bounce rates and low engagement, which can result in lower conversion rates.
Using our blog as an example, in addition to creating 3-4 new posts per week to fill content gaps and new developments, we are constantly updating dozens of old or underperforming posts, fixing broken links, updating or adding data, links, and more. Maintaining or adjusting content in line with the evolution of your business, maintaining good on-page SEO rankings, and shaping topical SEO relevance are critical. We aim to update each of our posts two or more times per year.
This has a direct impact on a business’s bottom line. Low search engine rankings, credibility issues, and poor user experience can all contribute to a decline in website traffic and conversions. This can result in fewer leads, fewer sales, and ultimately less revenue. The financial impact can be significant, especially for businesses that rely heavily on online sales or lead generation.
Ways to identify which content on a website is outdated
There are several ways to identify outdated content on a website. One way is to manually review pages and posts on the site, looking for information that is no longer accurate or relevant. Another option is to use analytics tools, such as Google Analytics and Google Search Console, to identify pages with low traffic, poor search rankings or click-through rates, or high bounce rates. These pages could be an indication that the content is outdated. Tools like SEMRush are also invaluable when comparing your results in a competitive environment.
Deciding what content you want to remove or update can be a challenge. Should you remove content from just your website? Is it okay for it to still appear in search results, or should you remove outdated content from Google as well? How can you get your content removed from Google Search?
It's crucial to consider how your content strategy aligns with your business goals and audience. Outdated content that no longer fits current business goals or audiences should be removed. However, content that still provides value and aligns with business goals should be updated to reflect current information.
Content Marketing
Want to learn more about how to use Content Marketing to grow YOUR business?
Why is it Important to Remove Outdated Content?
40% of all website content is outdated. (Source: HubSpot)
Outdated content can hurt your website's search engine rankings. (Source: Google)
Outdated content on your website can confuse and frustrate your visitors. (Source: Neil Patel)
Outdated content can hurt your brand's reputation. (Source: Moz)
Outdated content can pose a security risk. (Source: Cloudflare)
Businesses rely heavily on their websites to attract and engage customers. Outdated information on the website can turn off customers and cause them to lose trust in the business. Updating the website with the latest information, products, or services helps keep customers informed, improve SEO rankings, and enhance the overall user experience.
Is the Content Useful for Your Readers?
If it's useful, educational, or informative and simply outdated, keep it and update it. If it's old, promotional, or simply lacks real value, delete it.
Search engines use complex algorithms to determine the relevance and quality of a website's content. Outdated content may be considered less relevant and ranked lower in search results. This can make it harder for potential customers to find the website and decrease its visibility and traffic.
Outdated content can make a website look unprofessional and untrustworthy. Visitors, not just Google crawlers, may question the business’s expertise or trustworthiness if they find outdated information on the website. “How are you ranking on AOL with your business?” Unless you’re running a site for the Guinness Book of Errors, outdated content can also how to get singapore number for whatsapp be confusing or misleading, resulting in a poor user experience and competing with yourself in SEO through keyword cannibalization . This can lead to high bounce rates and low engagement, which can result in lower conversion rates.
Using our blog as an example, in addition to creating 3-4 new posts per week to fill content gaps and new developments, we are constantly updating dozens of old or underperforming posts, fixing broken links, updating or adding data, links, and more. Maintaining or adjusting content in line with the evolution of your business, maintaining good on-page SEO rankings, and shaping topical SEO relevance are critical. We aim to update each of our posts two or more times per year.
This has a direct impact on a business’s bottom line. Low search engine rankings, credibility issues, and poor user experience can all contribute to a decline in website traffic and conversions. This can result in fewer leads, fewer sales, and ultimately less revenue. The financial impact can be significant, especially for businesses that rely heavily on online sales or lead generation.
Ways to identify which content on a website is outdated
There are several ways to identify outdated content on a website. One way is to manually review pages and posts on the site, looking for information that is no longer accurate or relevant. Another option is to use analytics tools, such as Google Analytics and Google Search Console, to identify pages with low traffic, poor search rankings or click-through rates, or high bounce rates. These pages could be an indication that the content is outdated. Tools like SEMRush are also invaluable when comparing your results in a competitive environment.
Deciding what content you want to remove or update can be a challenge. Should you remove content from just your website? Is it okay for it to still appear in search results, or should you remove outdated content from Google as well? How can you get your content removed from Google Search?
It's crucial to consider how your content strategy aligns with your business goals and audience. Outdated content that no longer fits current business goals or audiences should be removed. However, content that still provides value and aligns with business goals should be updated to reflect current information.