6 Reasons to Refresh Your Outdated Website Content

Content Marketing Is An Important Element of Effective Marketing Strategies

No matter how hard you try, your website will have outdated content. At RKF Media, we consistently write and publish new blog articles and page content for ourselves and our clients because creating fresh content is essential to quality results for users. Updating the SEO for that website page will enhance the page rank as well. By updating and reposting outdated pages and articles as part of your regular editorial tasks will not only be a cost-saving action but it makes sense for an overall effective marketing strategy.

Identify Which Content to Update

Adding fresh content is vital to any company's content strategy but reviving old content and giving it new life should also be part of the plan. To identify which content to update, analyze the performance of your key word content and learn where to make improvements. If the page is less than six months old, it does not need to be updated as it takes time to rank on search engines.

Important Reasons to Refresh Old Content – Even If You Don’t Think You Need It!

1. Update Content Relevant to Your Current Strategy
   Ask yourself if the website pages and blog articles content messages are still applicable to the users you are targeting. Be sure the headline is still catchy enough to draw readers in, and that it aligns with user intent when they search for specific key word terms. 
2. Improve Organic SEO
   Refreshing outdated content allows you to improve your Search Engine Optimization performance by adding more relevant keywords. Content loses its value over time because customers’ needs change, and the target keywords you used to improve search rankings when you first wrote the content might not be pertinent anymore. Because Google aims to return the most relevant results for the best user experience, they continuously update their algorithms. And ultimately, these updates are what can make your page rank drop. 
3. Errors Can Be Fixed
   Though we strive for professionalism and excellence, errors happen. Refreshing outdated content offers you the opportunity to fix spelling and grammar mistakes. Besides linguistic errors, double-check all links on the page and update outdated references where necessary. Review the URL to ensure it reflects the refreshed content. And update visual elements and graphics, including alt tags, that no longer fit your current message.
4. Increase Content Accuracy
   Content maintenance includes increasing the accuracy of content by updating statistics and backlinks and revising content to have the latest research or findings. Updating older content is also an opportunity to create a new user experience by making it more interesting with visuals such as photos, videos, illustrations, visual call-to-actions and data visualizations. Accurate, refreshed content is not only about visuals and the latest information but should also speak to your whole audience. 
5. Searcher Behavior Changes
   The need to keep track of an audience's shifting needs is very important when it comes to refreshing outdated website content. Your audience may be more diverse now than when the page was originally written, or your target audience may have changed. For example, consumer insights may indicate that they like to do their product research online, that they are making buying commitments earlier than usual, and that they will make purchases where it is most convenient, whether an app, online or in-person. So the old piece of content you are adapting might have to reach the consumer on a different platform than before and be published earlier than expected.
6. Confirm Content is Adapted for Mobile Use
   Google has transitioned to mobile-first indexing which means that they predominantly use the mobile version of the content for indexing and ranking. So another way to increase your content ranking on search engines, and draw increased organic traffic, is to adapt your content for mobile use. When refreshing outdated content by adapting it for mobile, subtle changes such as using shorter paragraphs might make all the difference. But Google has mobile-indexing best practices, including ensuring the desktop and mobile content are the same, so be aware or there could be some traffic loss. 
   

Have You Refreshed Your Website Content Lately?

Global, national, or personal events can change search behavior very quickly. But the world speeds onward, time passes, and soon there is a list of outdated articles and pages that need to be updated. Refreshing outdated content as part of your editorial calendar just makes sense for an overall effective marketing strategy. Changes to outdated content don't have to be extensive but simply viewed with a different, more updated perspective of your consumer. Of course, we understand that reviving ALL your website's page content can be a daunting task - and that's where RKF MEdia can help!

Do you want your monthly traffic to increase and for Google to see that your content is fresh? We'll work with you to develop a plan that fits your budget and schedule while delivering the results you need to stay ahead of the competition. Click to contact RKF Media online to schedule a consultation or call 215-716-3043 if you need help refreshing your website content.