Keeping your website up to date can be time-consuming and is often something that falls to the bottom of the priority list or is not done at all. But updating the content on your website can help your business stay relevant, drive traffic, and boost your position in search engines.
In this guide, we will learn about the importance of keeping your content up to date and explore some practical tips on how to keep your website fresh and engaging.
Why Should You Keep Your Website Up To Date?
Whether it's new blog posts, updated product listings, or fresh images, keeping the content on your website up to date and fresh can help it to be more relevant, secure, and useful to its users.
User Experience
Having content that is current and recently published can help to build trust and engagement among visitors.
Credibility
A modern website with up-to-date functionality and technology will appear more credible and trustworthy to users.
Conversion Rates
A regularly updated website also keeps your audience engaged, which can lead to higher conversion rates, as returning visitors are more likely to convert.
Security
Regularly updating your website’s software, plugins, and security features helps to protect it against vulnerabilities and ensures that your website remains safe and secure.
Does Updating Content Help SEO?
Having content that is regularly updated and relevant can also help your website to rank and drive traffic from search engines.
Search engines, like Google, prefer relevant content as it provides a better experience and more useful information to searchers. So, if you make edits and publish new content, you can signal to Google that your website is actively providing users with current information and a relevant experience. This will likely help you to rank higher in search results.
How To Update Content On Your Website
1. Regular Content Audits
Make sure that you schedule in time to review your website content in regularly. This could be every month or every 6 months.
It should involve checking for outdated information, broken links, and content that no longer aligns with your brand.
2. Create a Content Calendar
Create a content calendar to plan your content updates in advance. This helps you stay organized and ensures that you consistently add fresh content.
A content calendar can include brand-new blog posts, page updates, and product launches, as well as seasonal promotions.
3. Leverage User-Generated Content
Encourage your audience to create content for you! Ask for reviews and testimonials, which will help to keep your website fresh while also increasing your credibility and engagement.
4. Update Visuals
Updating your content doesn’t just mean the text you have on your website. You can refresh the visuals on your site, like images, videos, and infographics.
Just make sure that any visuals you add still represent your branding and include alt text so search engines can understand what is in them
5. Optimize for SEO Regularly
Review and update your content regularly to optimise it for SEO. This includes ensuring that your content targets keywords with relevant headings and page titles.
Consider adding or changing internal links, too, as this is still considered a content update!
6. Monitor Website Performance
Use tools like Google Analytics to identify any pages or content that isn’t performing as well.
Metrics like page views and bounce rates can help to indicate if your content is working or whether some edits might be needed.
Should You Keep Old Content on Your Website?
Yes, you should keep old content on your website! Just refresh it.
Keeping your website up to date doesn’t necessarily mean investing lots of time or resources into writing brand-new pages. You can also work with the content you already have, adding more recent statistics, linking to other new pages, optimising it for keywords, or updating it to target the latest trends.
When to Keep Old Content
Evergreen Content: If the content will still be relevant over time or is seasonal, then it’s worth keeping. For example, a Christmas gift guide will be relevant every Winter! It may just need some tweaking to keep it relevant and current.
High-Performing Content: If an old page consistently brings in traffic, ranks well, or generates leads, keep it so you don’t loose that traffic. Perhaps just consider how you can make sure the content doesn’t get old or lose touch with current affairs.
When to Remove or Update Old Content:
Outdated Information: If the content is no longer accurate or relevant, it may be better to remove it entirely.
Low-Quality Content: Consider deleting and redirecting pages that haven’t received traffic in years or have very little content on them. Early blog posts or pages that no longer meet your quality standards, for example.
How Do I Keep My Website Content Up To Date?
Keeping your website content up to date doesn’t have to be a daunting task. By following these easy steps, you can ensure that your website remains a valuable resource for your audience and a powerful tool for your brand.