Aug 17, 2022
When it comes to helping your website to climb up the rankings on the first page of Google, one of the most important factors is search engine optimization, also known as SEO. This is made up of a variety of different ranking factors, but one of the most significant contributors is having a continuous supply of unique and relevant content. The question is, should you be putting effort into creating completely new SEO-rich content for your website, or is it better to go back and work on optimizing your existing content? We have experimented with this quite a bit as part of our internet marketing work. Let’s take a look at some of the pros and cons of each approach.
One of the things we have learned during our time offering internet marketing services is that webpages accrue value over time. Assuming the content on your website is evergreen, it is going to be relevant years from its original publication date. As time goes on, it is increasingly likely that these pages will build up backlinks from other sites and gain more search engine visibility. This does a lot to increase the overall value of the page. What does this mean in terms of internet marketing? Well, in simple terms, if you have high-quality content on your website that was published five years ago, or maybe even longer, it could still be showing up in search results. If this is the case, briefly refreshing those pages with a few updated statistics, or a summary of new developments in the topic can help push them higher up the search engine rankings.
Now, the above may seem contradictory, given that most internet marketing professionals, including ourselves, have been heavily pushing the need to add fresh new content to your website. That is still very much the case. Google is looking for up-to-date information to serve to internet users, and they will rank a site that is updated regularly higher than one that hasn’t been touched in years. In the example discussed above, an evergreen piece of content published five years ago may still be relevant, but it is likely to be ranking at the bottom of page one of Google or even back on page 2 or 3. That’s why editing those pages to freshen them up is essential. Even adding one paragraph of new information or updating some of the statistics you have quoted to those from more recent research can be enough to elevate that page back to the top of page one of Google.
Although evergreen content is excellent, there is also a need for a steady stream of content that focuses on what is happening in your industry right now. What are the pain points facing your target market today? What are the most recent innovations in your industry? If you want to position yourself as an expert on the leading edge of your niche, then you need to have your finger on the pulse of the latest hot topics. There are also a number of more technical reasons for putting in the effort required to add new content to your websites. For example, it is a great way to start targetting new keywords that you have not focused on in the past without having to revise the existing pages of your website completely. Publishing new content to your site also means it will be more frequently indexed by Google, giving you more opportunities to be considered a frequently updated website. This is just one of the factors that Google is looking for when ranking websites. A word of caution is needed here - frequent updates are good, but only if they are relevant and of good quality. Don’t simply publish any old content in order to be seen as a frequently updated website. Make sure the content you are putting out is relevant to your brand and serves to educate, engage, or entertain your audience. Quality still beats out quantity every single time.
In conclusion, when it comes to deciding whether to focus on new content or work on refreshing existing pages, the answer is neither. It is important to pay equal attention to both. If you have high-quality, evergreen content that is still relevant and still attracting traffic, then it is worth taking the time to update it every year in order to get the most from it. You may also want to repurpose it by using the content to create other media like videos or infographics. However, it is also important to create brand new content too that is designed to address current trends and topics. Combining both of these strategies is going to give your entire internet marketing strategy a boost.
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To Your Best Online!
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Ingrid Maddox, Internet Marketing & Strategy Consultant. bluedress INTERNET MARKETING®, an Internet Marketing Company headquartered in Knoxville, TN. Internet Marketing Developed, Implemented, and Managed to Full Circle! Organic Internet Search Engine Guru. Turn-Key Internet Optimization Programs Placing You Everywhere and Anywhere You Need to Be Online.
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