SAVE THE CONTENT THAT JUST NEEDS AN UPDATE
The good news is, you absolutely do not need to completely abandon all of your old and ageing content. While many blogs are all too eager to tell you to delete all of your old content, this is not the best option in every case. Sometimes, all it takes is a small update to revitalise past content. Suddenly, it’s relevant again. Business contact details can and will change over time. To make your contact pages relevant again, all you need to do is update them with the new relevant telephone numbers and email addresses. Moreover, as a business grows, product/service offerings may change. You can salvage these pages. It could be as simple as updating them with the current information. Unless you have made drastic changes to your company structure and core business, like when Nokia switched from making toilet paper to mobile phones, a few updates are all that’s needed.
301 REDIRECT
Old content that really can’t be spruced up may have some residual URL value. If you must delete such antiquated content, you could use a “301 redirect” to a new page. It could be to a related subject or a brand new page—at the very least to your homepage. Deleted posts may still pop up on Google. That’s right, even weeks after you have deleted them. Don’t just delete and think you’re done. You can’t afford to forget about the value the URL may still possess. Furthermore, you can create a 301 redirect using a variety of tools. Yoast.com has a handy step-by-step guide with a suite of options.
410 GONE
Getting Google to forget about a post altogether is not as difficult as you might think. If you want to get rid of old content and make sure it’s gone for good, “410 gone” status is the best option. Perhaps a product or service has been eliminated from your business. To purge this content completely and without delay, 410 gone is the fix. For a more detailed explanation of the various server codes, Yoast is the site to visit.
WHY KEYWORDS ARE NOT ENOUGH ANYMORE
Google SEO has changed significantly since 2011. Content created prior to the Google Panda update simply isn’t fit for purpose anymore. You may need to perform an audit of old keyword-heavy content, just to make sure you are playing by the modern rules of online engagement. These days, high-quality content trumps the keyword-stuffed texts of old.
