Freshness is absolutely key when preparing food or drink. The word fresh always makes me think of orange juice. It's crisp and refreshing, and fresh orange juice always hits the spot. Today we're talking about freshness on your website, another place where freshness makes all the difference.
If you've worked around an active website at any point in the last 10 years you've certainly heard about search engine optimization (SEO) and keyword engineering. You understand that both of these endeavors are vital for capturing the correct search queries and moving traffic to your site. But have you heard of Google's Fresh Content Ranking Factor?
Google prioritizes sites with the most up-to-date content in searches for things that are time sensitive. If you searched FIFA World Cup right now your top results will be minutes old since the event is currently taking place and Google wants you to have the most up-to-date info.
Google's goal is to give the searcher a perfect website as the number one search result every time. Because the newest information on any subject is most likely the most accurate, the freshness of a website is a major factor, so they prioritize fresh content over old content in search results.
When was the last time the content on your website was updated or refreshed? What about your About page and your basic content pages? If they have been sitting dormant for months or years your freshness score is taking a hit and you're missing out on traffic that should be coming your way.
A professional built website, great imagery and keyword engineering are all very important when trying to gain web relevance in searches, but if the content (writing) hasn't been updated recently, Google will shuffle you right down the results page for lack of freshness or relevance.
Here are four things you should be doing to improve your traffic:
1- Update Current Content
Your existing pages should be rewritten every 3-4 months. When I say rewritten I don't mean adding a single sentence. Google doesn't look for change alone. A full rewrite is the best way to gain attention and freshness. Updating stagnant pages will show that you're still active and remind crawling bots that these pages have relevant content worth pointing searchers towards.
2- Regular Blog Content
Research continues to show that the most effective way to bring in traffic to your site is with a blog that you post on 3-4 times per week. If you're offering your readers fresh content this regularly, you'll likely be indexed as an expert in your keyword areas.
3- Add New Pages to Your Site
I encourage my customers to add a new page every eight weeks. The wider you spread your knowledge offerings, the more depth the search crawlers see. Remember, Google wants to give the searcher the best possible results at the top of the results. If you offer all of the related content, your page will be seen as the best chance to give the searcher what they are looking to find.
Rewriting content is time consuming and tedious, especially when you're trying to keep keywords accurate. This is why I encourage everyone to hire a professional for the job. If you need help in the planning or execution of content creation please let us know! Cool Spring Creative is experienced and ready to help you.