Have you gotten rid of your decay lately? We’re not talking about last week’s banana peel—we’re talking about content decay. And it may just be smelling up your website.
Do you remember Oscar the Grouch, the little cantankerous green guy who lives in a trash can on Sesame Street? One would assume his bad mood is due to being surrounded by smelly garbage (we would be moody, too).
Oscar’s entire outlook could’ve changed just by taking out his trash. The same is true when it comes to your outdated website content.
Content Decay? Gross.
Content decay is what happens to your website content over time. It loses its power and starts to dwindle in traffic. As tempting as it is to leave it be, your audience thinks otherwise. Outdated website content is a surefire way to scare off your audience. Why? In short, it often sends the wrong message about your level of care for your business and your customers.
One way to ensure you decrease content decay is by creating evergreen content (which we talked about last week in this blog post. You should also be updating your website content regularly.
What Website Content Should You Update?
First things first, turn your attention to the main pages on your website. Pages such as your Services page, About page and Home page are all ripe for updates, as they are frequented by your audience. If it’s been a year since you’ve updated, it’s past time to do so.
Next, update high-performing content you published in the past. For example, if you created a blog post a couple of years ago that resulted in several new leads, it’s a great candidate for an update. It may just give you another boost.
5 Steps to Breathe New Life Into Old Content
You know those Febreze commercials where the mom sprays the teenage son’s tennis shoes and then takes a deep breath to enjoy the freshness? It’s about time for you to do the same with your website. Let’s refresh some content.
1. Update Outdated Stats, Links and Information
Look for outdated stats and replace them with newer research. Find any broken links and replace them with new links. You’ll also want to find any information that’s no longer relevant and simply remove it from your copy.
2. Add Fresh Perspective
Things change. Lucky for us, it’s easy to add fresh perspective to online content. Take some time to freshen the copy by adding new thoughts or diving deeper into a subject. For example, go deeper into a concept inside a blog post. Or, add that new service you offer to your Services page on your website.
3. Add or Remove Keywords Based on New Goals
Content, no matter how outdated, will still drive traffic to your website if it’s what your audience is looking for. Now’s the time to add or remove keywords and phrases based on your current target audience’s needs. This one simple update could drive more potential customers to your website.
4. Update Any Photos or Graphics
Outdated images are nothing but distractions. Make sure your images are relevant to your content and fresh. For example, old blog posts may not have images that match the post’s subject matter. Or, that team photo on your About page may be missing a few members due to team growth.
5. Promote Your New Content
Once you update your new content, don’t forget to promote it. Share it on social media as if it were new or link to the refreshed content from inside content you recently created. You could also mention the updated content in your next e-newsletter.
Whatever You Do, Don’t Change That Link!
Whatever you do to update the content, don’t change the URL. Changing the content’s link basically begins the SEO process all over again, which can damage your website’s traffic. Simply update the content itself and republish.
Outdated Content Got You Feeling Grouchy? We Can Help.
As a business owner or marketing manager, you may struggle to find the extra time to update your content. Let our team of Word Nerds help you out. Reach out to our team by sending us a message.
