Content decay occurs when content performance declines over time (often indicated by a drop in organic traffic or Google ranking).
There are several causes of content decay. New content created with Google's latest algorithm update in mind can surpass old content. Google and social media algorithm updates can affect how old content ranking on Google and uploaded to social media sites perform. User preferences change constantly, and old content may lose relevance, eventually falling out of favor.
In this blog post, we will explore the causes of content decay, how to detect it, and practical strategies to rejuvenate your content, ensuring it remains relevant and continues to attract and engage your audience.
How to Detect Content Decay?
Leverage tools like Google Analytics, Ahrefs, Semrush, and other robust SEO platforms to identify underperforming website content effectively. These tools provide comprehensive insights into your website's performance, allowing you to pinpoint specific pages struggling to drive organic traffic.
Delve into the analytics to uncover pages that contain outdated information that may no longer be accurate or relevant to your audience. It's crucial to pay close attention to keyword rankings, as they can significantly impact your content's visibility in search engine results. Additionally, monitor engagement metrics such as conversion rates, click-through rates (CTR), and bounce rates, as these indicators can reveal how well your content is resonating with visitors.
To stay proactive, set up content decay alerts that notify you immediately when a page's performance begins to decline. This will enable you to address any issues promptly and maintain your content's effectiveness.
Fixing Content Decay
Content decay can have far-reaching consequences. It can lead to a sudden drop in organic traffic, hurt your credibility, affect click-through rate and content visibility, and negatively impact your brand image. Here are some ways to address content decay.
Prune Old Content
Get rid of low-performing and obsolete content pieces with keywords that are no longer relevant. You can, for instance, remove old content with keywords related to a particular product feature that has been discontinued. Continuing to use content with irrelevant keywords may lead to a fall in organic traffic.
Update and Refresh Existing Content
If an old piece of content is still relevant to your target audience but contains outdated information, consider updating and refreshing it by adding new data, the latest information, and the most recent, appropriate examples. Fix broken links and check image alt tags and captions to ensure relevance. Add videos, images, and infographics to make old content visually appealing. Incorporate quizzes, polls, or calculators in old content to transform it into interactive content.
Consolidate Your Content
Consolidating content involves combining two or more content pieces that cover overlapping topics to create comprehensive content. Content consolidation usually takes longer. Make sure the internal links or backlinks to the articles are combined to create a consolidated article point to the new article.
Steer clear of repetitive content and eliminate duplicate information. After consolidating old content to create fresh content, delete old pieces and redirect to the new URL using a permanent 301 redirect. A permanent 301 redirect tells Google and other search engines that the content has been relocated.
Expand Content
Is your old content missing an essential piece of information? Consider expanding the article's word count. Depending on the nature of the information to be added, you may need to increase the piece's word count by as little as 100 or as much as 1,500 words or more.
There is a popular misconception that the longer a piece of content, the more likely it is to appear on the first page of Google. Add only relevant information to old content. Avoid fluff in writing, as it adds no value.
Focus on Internal Linking
An internal linking strategy aims to drive traffic to the website and improve its conversion rate. Broken links can affect user experience, and you may lose out on conversion opportunities. Periodically conduct a technical SEO audit to ensure your website's links are working correctly. Fix broken links and add new links to content that has been published recently.
Optimize Your Old Content With Emerging SEO Trends in Mind
If your content has keywords that are no longer relevant, replace them with new, trending keywords that align with search intent. Position Zero results or featured snippets are search results that appear above organic search results and below paid search results.
By achieving position zero, you occupy more SERP (search engine results page) territory. Your website's CTR improves, and the likelihood of your content appearing in voice search results increases dramatically. Restructure your old content to create FAQs or listicles, optimizing it for position zero. Ensure your old content is mobile-friendly so users can easily access it on their mobile devices.
Re-Promote Refreshed/Updated Content
Your target audience may not discover your updated content until you re-promote it. After updating old content, spread the word about it. Share updated content in newsletters and on social media. Write guest posts that link back to your updated content.
Given that content is king, content decay is a serious concern. It can affect SEO ranking and lead to a gradual decline in website traffic. Audit your old content regularly to evaluate its performance and relevance. Repurpose or update old content to keep it relevant and make sure it aligns with search intent. Remember that updating old content usually takes less time than writing new content, and you can increase traffic to your website with minimal effort.
In Conclusion
Content decay is an inevitable challenge in the ever-evolving digital landscape, but it can be effectively managed with the right strategies. By regularly auditing your content, updating outdated information, and optimizing for current SEO trends, you can maintain your content's relevance and continue to engage your audience.
If you're looking for expert guidance on how to tackle content decay and enhance your digital marketing efforts, contact us today. Our team of professionals is ready to help you rejuvenate your content and boost your online presence.
