The only thing that’s certain is the fact that nothing is certain or that everything changes. This can be tough but as we welcome a new year—a new decade—upon us, most see these changes as signs of a fresh start. We know how everyone has been talking about the things they want to change but how many have stopped and pondered if there things they actually want to bury beyond the depths of nothingness. This same thought of remoulding is the same when managing your online presence. Your website, after all, is your brand’s representation within the massive digital space.
As most site owners are now looking into revamping their websites, some content managers are also looking through their blog posts to see if each post is still relevant or not. Some of you may think twice if this is actually efficient. Good thing we’re here to share a few tips and considerations if you should really re-curate your blog posts.
Should You Delete Your Old Blog Posts?
Before going for the specifics, let us first lay down the considerations if it really is okay to delete your old blog post. If you look at it, deleting blog posts may help your website look neat and relevant, like how Instagram users curate their feed once in a while. Some sites claim that it helped their websites.
On the other, and apparently, the one having more weight, some content marketers are also against deleting old blogs but here is the catch: instead of deleting, these content marketers prefer to update their blogs.
So our verdict: It is preferred that you update your blog, instead of deleting it. This is the same with posts that are outdated because having those around also gives off a notion of brand authenticity. However, if there blog posts that contain incorrect information or if you no longer want to see them anymore, you can always choose to delete it. There are also vital conditions that make deletion the best option. Situations like this include discontinuing products that you don’t think will ever come back, having site content changes, publishing medical findings and treatment information, and posting financial or other industry advice. This applies too to those that decided to move.
Updating Old Content
As what some content marketers do, they choose to update old blog content instead. This actually makes sense because those old blogs would be a bit of a waste if you just delete it. What others do is they update the said topic of the outdated blog. Surely, there will be new and valuable content already from your old posts. This will make it more relevant. Aside from updating, you can also merge three of the blog posts about the subject into one new post. You should keep in mind to redirect old post URLs to the new post with the 301 redirect.
Use 301 Redirect
Related to updating your content, do not forget to redirect the old post to a new one, too. An old URL might still hold value so it would be such a waste to disregard it. You can take advantage of this value even if it is already an outdated content by redirecting the URL to a related one. A 301 Redirect signals search engines and visitors that there is a better and updated version of the blog they are currently reading. A 301 redirect ushers audiences and even Google to your new content.
Inform Google With A 401 Deleted Status
In case you really need to bid goodbye to those outdated blog posts, it’s your call. However, in doing so, it is best to give Google a heads up that your old post is gone by serving a 410 Deleted status to the said search engine. This will inform Google and anyone who visits that the page has been deleted.
Comparing this to becoming branded with the 404 Not Found, 410 makes Google act faster because, with 404, you still give off a more vague activity as Google only makes out that it is lost.
Keep Creating Valuable Content
This already goes without saying. Aside from curating your old content, you should be able to put in fresh ones, too. You know how Google loves content that is fresh and substantial. Updating your blop posts is just one thing but actually uploading relevant ones will draw audiences to your website.
Here are just some of the things you need to know about whether you should delete your content or not. This can be a tough call for sure, especially when you are just learning the ins and out of digital marketing. To be sure, you can just seek the services of a reliable SEO company like OOm.
