Did you know that having outdated content can actually harm your SEO efforts?
There’s no hard evidence for this – that I’m aware of – but anecdotally speaking, the Google algorithm doesn’t appear to like it when your website has too much outdated content.
You need to either remove it or update it.
Removing it will feel like a waste, and I get that. You’ve invested resources into producing the content, even though it may have been 5 years ago.
But doing so can actually yield results.
I have experience removing a whole bunch of content from a website, after which the remaining pages started performing better.
In terms of traffic and conversions, the net result for the business was overwhelmingly positive.
Let’s take a look at what outdated content is and what you can do about it.
What is Outdated Content?
Outdated content refers to information on a website that is no longer relevant, accurate, or useful to its intended audience. This can include old statistics, obsolete references, broken links, and content that does not reflect current trends or industry standards.
Why Outdated Content Can Hurt Your SEO
Search engines like websites that run a tight ship – each page needs to be valuable for your target audience.
If a page isn’t useful for your readers, you should either update it or remove it.
When users land on your page and find obsolete information, they leave quickly. This signals to search engines that your content is not valuable.
It also signals to search engines that your site is not maintained, which can lead to lower rankings.
When this happens to too many pages, this may even have a negative ranking effect on your website as a whole.
Regularly updating your content signals to search engines that your site is active and maintained. This can improve your rankings and visibility.
How to Identify Outdated Content
Use tools like Google Search Console to do a content performance analysis and identify pages with declining traffic.
Look for content that hasn’t been updated in the past year or more.
Analyze user behavior on these pages to see if they are exiting quickly or not engaging with the content.
This should give you a clue as to which pages may be outdated.
I also recommend manually going through your content – from oldest to newest. This helps you identify content that deserves a closer look, sometimes just from judging the titles alone.
Should You Remove or Update Outdated Content?
So you’ve created a list of pages and content that may be outdated.
Now, it’s time to determine if you’re better off updating the content or removing it altogether.
The first question you should ask when determining your next course of action is:
“Is it evergreen?”
If your content is evergreen – but outdated – it may make sense to update the information to current standards and practices. It will likely still provide value to your target audience.
The next question should be:
“Is it driving traffic?”
If your content is driving meaningful traffic, consider updating it or even keeping it as-is.
If your content isn’t evergreen, outdated, and it’s not driving any traffic, it may be best to remove it altogether.
Steps to Update Outdated Content
Here’s some steps you can follow for outdated content you determined could still be valuable and should be updated.
- Review content thoroughly. Read through each piece of content. Identify what is outdated or irrelevant. Make a list of necessary updates and prioritize them based on traffic and importance.
- Update information. Refresh statistics and facts. Replace outdated references with current ones. Ensure all information is accurate and reflects the latest industry standards.
- Improve readability. Break up long paragraphs. Use bullet points and subheadings. This makes content easier to read and understand, enhancing user experience.
- Add visuals. Add new images or videos. Use infographics to explain complex ideas. Multimedia can boost engagement and shareability, making your content more attractive.
- Update SEO elements. Revise meta descriptions and title tags. Ensure they reflect your updated content. Use relevant keywords naturally to improve search visibility.
- Check and fix links. Verify that all links are working. Replace or remove broken links. Ensure internal and external links add value and lead to reputable sources.
Steps to Remove Outdated Content
Here’s some steps you can follow for outdated content you determined should be removed.
- Analyze impact of removal. Check if the page has backlinks. Determine if it contributes to your overall SEO. Removing content should not harm your rankings or user experience.
- Redirect. Use 301 redirects to direct users to the closest relevant pages.
- Update sitemap. Remove deleted pages from your sitemap. Submit the updated sitemap to search engines. This ensures accurate indexing and helps search engines understand your site structure.
Best Practices for Maintaining Updated Content
You should get to a stage where you’ve removed what needed removing, and you are left with content you want to keep live and updated.
You should regularly do a full content audit of your website to stay on top of traffic trends and keep your content from becoming outdated.
I recommend doing it at least twice a year.
What I personally like to do for my own websites is to embed content updates into my content idea generation strategy.
One of my favorite ways to generate new content ideas is to go through my existing articles and look for ideas and concepts mentioned in them that could become their own article.
Simultaneously, I do a quick scan of the article and determine if it’s outdated or not.
Two birds with one stone!
Get Rid of Outdated Content Today
Outdated content can harm your SEO and user trust. Regularly updating or removing it is essential for maintaining a high-performing website.
Make it a priority and watch your website thrive.
Contact me if you need help auditing your current content to see if any of it is outdated. I can also help you remove and update any outdated content we identify.
