Fresh Content Marketing
Back in my Retail days, we called it “Newness”, and here in the Digital World we call it “Fresh Content”. Why does keeping your content fresh matter, and how does it help your SEO?
Why does recency matter?
We have spoken in previous blogs about Google’s guiding principle, E-A-T (Expertise, Authority and Trust). E-A-T is one of the pillars Google uses to determine what “good” looks like – from a performance criteria for their staff, through to the way Google evaluates a page against a customer search query.
Google constantly crawls pages of every website worldwide, gathering data via it’s AI to assess what is on each page. It then ranks the “quality” of that page, so that it can present the most useful and relevant response to any conceivable search.
When Google’s AI is presented with 2 pages which give a “similar” quality result, it needs a tie breaker – this is where content freshness comes in. The more recent the relevant content to the search, the higher it will be shown.
Evergreen content
You worked long and hard creating your Brand online, so you should not change the fundamental (evergreen) copy or imagery on your site unless something has fundamentally changed in your business. (e.g. You have added a new service, you have a new brand strapline, you are entering a new market). For example, if you take Clarks’ page called “how to tie shoelaces” – chances are there is no need for them to change the copy for years, although they update the images to show tying a more modern / appropriately seasonal shoe from time to time.
Fresh Content
To make life simple, most websites have certain sections which users can access to add fresh content easily. These are usually Blog Posts, Testimonials, Case Studies and Team Members.
Think of these sections as great ways to add personality and re-enforce your expertise on your website. By keeping this content fresh and highly relevant to what your business is all about, you are giving Google additional content to crawl (to help you be found for search) as well as sharing useful and engaging information with your readers.
How to keep your content fresh
- Blog regularly – check what your aspirational competitors do to establish an appropriate rhythm.
- Know who you are talking to – most of us have more than one target customer persona – don’t try to talk to more than one persona in a single piece. If your blog content is aimed at beginners / enquirers in your subject, don’t over-complicate it with jargon.
- Be intentional – don’t write about whatever comes into your head. A good blog demonstrates your depth of knowledge in one of the services shown on your site, shares relevant industry news, showcases a team member’s expertise etc and is useful and/or entertaining for the reader. Always plan the keywords you want to be found for from the blog.
- Bring content alive with images or video – No-one wants to read endless copy unless they are reading a novel, so break up your content with images, or even better, video. Occasionally refresh your evergreen content with updated images or video. Don’t forget that Google can’t read images or video (yet), so transcripts, titles and descriptions tell Google what that image or video is all about – use them wisely.
- Take the opportunity to show off! – Testimonials and Case Studies are great ways to show off your achievements to your customers, so add new ones to your site as they come in.
- It’s all about you – When someone checks out a B2B website with a view to doing business, they will usually look at your About Us page. Make sure leavers are taken down and new starters added, and take the opportunity to showcase recent awards, achievements or CSR projects or initiatives that demonstrate your company culture.
If you’d like to chat further about Content Marketing, please simply contact us.
