Many companies struggle with this issue - how important is it to keep your web content fresh and new - and how often should your content be updated?To answer that question, it is important to carefully evaluate what kind of site you have, and your overall company goals.
Updating your content - for example, a hotel or retail site - whose changing deals and offers generate a large amount of revenue, obviously becomes much more important.The overall goal would be to generate sales from fresh content. This new content would populate more of the search results for various search queries because users are always searching for the most current information.Driving more traffic to your site (and converting this traffic into cash [revenue]) is a strong motivator for companies having a hard time seeing the value of a strong and consistent content marketing campaign.Websites that are regularly publishing new and relevant content are giving the search spiders a reason to come back and revisit the site, improving their overall online brand exposure and enhancing their organic SEO.So how is this done? Here are a few ways to easily update your current content and keep the search spiders interested in your site:
- Company Blog - new improvements in facility and service, upcoming events, community service, charity and volunteer activities.
- Press Releases - local or national recognition and awards, staff promotions, new offers, community events
- Videos - area attractions, things to do, facility tours, room tours
- Testimonials - real customers talking about their positive experience and enjoyment of your service.
All of these methods are excellent ways to easily update or create new and relevant content for your website. Keep in mind that you don't have to publish tons of content, but consistency is the key.On the flip side, in addition to adding new content to your site, it is important to consider removing or redirecting old content. Ensure that current and accurate information is easy to find.Some tips on how to do this while still retaining consistent rankings for your important search terms:Once a deal or offer has expired, consider linking the old deal page to the new deal page.If they are similar deals, create a product page which has a list of all deals (linking each to its unique deal page). Consider using a canonical tag on the old deal page to point the new similar deal page.This will ensure that product page ranking for a majority of your search terms still benefits from short term link growth.If you have a large number of expired deals, be careful about using 301 redirects. Redirecting these niche and potentially keyword rich and well linked pages could result in a drop in your keyword rankings.Careful evaluation of your business goals will help you determine your specific needs for fresh content. Regardless of your type of business, keeping your content updated and relevant is an easy and effective tool in driving more traffic to your site - a smart goal for every business owner.
Many companies struggle with this issue - how important is it to keep your web content fresh and new - and how often should your content be updated?To answer that question, it is important to carefully evaluate what kind of site you have, and your overall company goals.
Updating your content - for example, a hotel or retail site - whose changing deals and offers generate a large amount of revenue, obviously becomes much more important.The overall goal would be to generate sales from fresh content. This new content would populate more of the search results for various search queries because users are always searching for the most current information.Driving more traffic to your site (and converting this traffic into cash [revenue]) is a strong motivator for companies having a hard time seeing the value of a strong and consistent content marketing campaign.Websites that are regularly publishing new and relevant content are giving the search spiders a reason to come back and revisit the site, improving their overall online brand exposure and enhancing their organic SEO.So how is this done? Here are a few ways to easily update your current content and keep the search spiders interested in your site:
- Company Blog - new improvements in facility and service, upcoming events, community service, charity and volunteer activities.
- Press Releases - local or national recognition and awards, staff promotions, new offers, community events
- Videos - area attractions, things to do, facility tours, room tours
- Testimonials - real customers talking about their positive experience and enjoyment of your service.
All of these methods are excellent ways to easily update or create new and relevant content for your website. Keep in mind that you don't have to publish tons of content, but consistency is the key.On the flip side, in addition to adding new content to your site, it is important to consider removing or redirecting old content. Ensure that current and accurate information is easy to find.Some tips on how to do this while still retaining consistent rankings for your important search terms:Once a deal or offer has expired, consider linking the old deal page to the new deal page.If they are similar deals, create a product page which has a list of all deals (linking each to its unique deal page). Consider using a canonical tag on the old deal page to point the new similar deal page.This will ensure that product page ranking for a majority of your search terms still benefits from short term link growth.If you have a large number of expired deals, be careful about using 301 redirects. Redirecting these niche and potentially keyword rich and well linked pages could result in a drop in your keyword rankings.Careful evaluation of your business goals will help you determine your specific needs for fresh content. Regardless of your type of business, keeping your content updated and relevant is an easy and effective tool in driving more traffic to your site - a smart goal for every business owner.
