The words on your website matter. They’re your most valuable online asset.
Gone are the days when your website could sit untouched for months. It needs regular attention. The content’s too important to neglect.
Revisiting and refreshing your old web content not only enhances user engagement but also bolsters your site’s SEO performance.
Updating your existing content is essential from both user and SEO perspectives. You need to think about concepts like E-E-A-T and AI Overviews and how these impact your business online.
This blog talks about the importance of refreshing your old web content and shares some practical tips to get you started.
What is outdated content?
Outdated content refers to any page on your website that lacks value, has inaccurate information, or doesn’t align with your brand position.
This could be time sensitive pages like job listings that have expired, discontinued products or services, outdated advice or content that is no longer relevant to your business.
And it’s not just a case of deleting these old pages – that’s a quick fix. Your website will benefit more from revisiting and refreshing old content. This will allow Google to re-crawl your website and potentially rank it higher on the search engine than before.
The user perspective: Keeping your content relevant and engaging
Content is the most important aspect of your website. Without clear written content, your audience won’t understand who you are, what you do, and why they should use your services or products.
Users visit your website seeking accurate, up-to-date information. Trends, ideas and strategies are constantly changing. If your blogs or website content contain outdated information, this can lead to frustration, increased bounce rates and diminished trust in your brand.
Refreshing your old content also means you can drive more traffic to your website without having to constantly think of new ideas.
A blog, for example, is a powerful tool that can be used as the foundation and pillar for your marketing activity. It provides ample social media material, it can be shared in your email marketing activity, and it can be repurposed into video, or a podcast.
All of this activity leads back to driving traffic to your website, where your content sits, and where you convert users into paying customers.
You need to demonstrate your commitment to providing value to your audience, positioning your brand as a reliable authority in your industry. When users find that your site offers the latest insights and data, they’re more likely to return and recommend your content to others.
As your business evolves, so do the needs and interests of your audience, and with regular content being added to your website, both new and updated, you can address their changing demands effectively, ensuring your website remains a relevant and valuable resource for your target market.
The SEO perspective: Boosting your website visibility and SEO rankings
Search engines like Google prioritise fresh, relevant content. Regularly updating your web pages signals to the search engines that your site is active and provides current information, which can positively impact your rankings.
E-E-A-T: Establishing authority and trustworthiness
Google’s E-E-A-T framework – Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness – is a crucial factor in determining content quality.
To enhance your website’s organic search performance, understanding E-E-A-T is crucial.
While E-E-A-T isn’t a direct ranking factor with a specific score, Google does consider it when prioritising which pages to show in its search results. With so many changes in Search in the last year, now’s the ideal time to review your content to ensure it aligns with E-E-A-T guidelines.
AI Overviews: Adapting to new search features
AI Overviews are the AI-generated summaries that appear prominently in search results, providing users with quick answers to their queries.
When your content is featured in an AI Overview, it appears at the top of search results. This prime position can significantly increase your visibility to potential customers.
Content repurposing is one of the most effective ways to capitalise on this feature. Google’s AI looks for comprehensive, authoritative content when creating AI Overviews. Expanding your existing content increases its chances of being seen as a credible, trustworthy source on a topic.
Practical steps to refresh your content
To keep your content fresh and effective, it’s essential to periodically assess and improve it. Content that isn’t regularly uploaded and refreshed may lose its relevance, accuracy, or ability to attract new audiences. Here are some key steps you can take to refresh and optimise your content strategy.
Conduct a content audit
Evaluate your existing content to identify pieces that are outdated, underperforming, or no longer aligned with your brand message. Use Google’s E-E-A-T guidelines to help repurpose and refresh your content in line with these new best practices.
Update information
Revise statistics, facts and references to ensure accuracy. Replace broken links and update any time-sensitive information. This could be job listings that have since expired, or advice and information that is now outdated.
Enhance visuals
Incorporate new images, videos, or infographics to make your content more engaging and shareable. Video in particular offers a unique ability to connect with audiences emotionally and visually, making complex information easier to digest.
Optimise for SEO
Integrate relevant keywords, update meta descriptions, and ensure your content aligns with current SEO best practices. Businesses should focus more on long-tail search phrases, optimising for engagement and authoritativeness rather than keyword-stuffing.
Talk to an expert
Revisiting your content and thinking about all the factors at play – both from a user perspective and SEO perspective – can be daunting. Getting advice and help from a subject expert can alleviate the stress and provide peace of mind that your new updated content is in line with all the latest best practices.
Creative Content by QBD
Refreshing your old web content is a strategic move that enhances user experience, strengthens your SEO efforts and ensures your brand remains authoritative and trustworthy.
At QBD, we understand the critical role that fresh, engaging content plays in both user experience and search engine optimisation.
Our comprehensive content services are designed to revitalise your existing web material, ensuring it remains relevant, authoritative, and aligned with your business objectives.
About the authors
Molly Sneath
Molly is our PPC & Digital Marketing Specialist.
As well as managing QBD’s marketing activities, she supports multiple clients and projects with her skills in SEO, social media management and Pay-per-click, specifically Google Ads. She also has strong copywriting skills and writes blogs for clients who have a monthly subscription with us.
Jon Smart
Jon is our Head of Creative Content. He works with a range of QBD clients, producing engaging, SEO-friendly website and digital content to help them reach a wider audience. He does this by gaining a deep understanding of who our clients are, what they do, who their customers are and what makes them special, then helps them to tell their brand story in a way that connects with their target audiences.