What are the best practices for removing outdated content from your website?

Firstly, it is not entirely certain that obsolete content must always be removed. However, it does depend on certain factors. After analyzing the content with a web analytics tool to understand its traffic (including not only organic but also referral traffic, for example), we need to determine if we should: maintain and update the content, redirect and merge the content, or completely remove it (with a 410 status code).

Your decision to remove outdated content from your website is a strategic move. Now, the notion of removal doesn't mean erasing every bit of old content. If certain information topics remain relevant or could be updated to meet current needs, Repurposing becomes a powerful strategy. This might involve creating new articles, infographics, or even video content based on the core concepts of the outdated material. By doing so, you cater to both those seeking updates and new audiences hungry for valuable insights.

It is important to keep on updating the content of your website. The content of your website also plays an essential role for attracting viewers. Remove any outdated content and change or update it accordingly.

Before you take a decision of removing the outdated content from your website, the content management team undergoes a "CONTENT AUDIT" or "CONTENT GAP ANALYSIS" Conduct a thorough content audit to identify outdated or irrelevant material. This includes blog posts, product pages, news articles, and any other content on your website. If your content looks outdated in terms of statistics, keyword selection, trends, and year then it must be edited and optimized immediately.

A quick guide to remove old content for a website: Go to the Remove outdated content page. Enter the URL (web address) of the page that has the outdated content you want to remove. Select Request removal.

We need to determine which pages receive the least amount of traffic and more importantly, the reasons behind this. Alongside web analytics, we must also perform a content audit and consolidate the data to generate the most complete picture possible. For instance, we must also take into account the seasonal variations in searches and the existence of any orphan pages.

The first step of a good content audit is to determine your goals for the content. Analyze the performance of each piece of content against the goals. Without that, how do you know if that content is performing or not? Then you can identify the outdated or underperforming content based on that which is not helping you reach your goals.

I use Google Analytics and maintain an Excel sheet of various timelines. It helps me to find the traffic pattern of that particular content. You can also start to maintain the same kind of Excel sheet. First, find low traffic and high bounce rates content. Furthermore, you can five into the 'behavior section' to find the less-performing content. I used to update the excel every week. It helps me to stay on track and ensure that my blog or website maintains it's standards.

To identify outdated content use tools like Google Analytics to see what's getting attention and what's not. Take Google Search Console along for the ride too. Then, make a list of all your content and give it a good look. Check if it's still cool, useful, and fits the vibe you're going for. Here's a little example: Let's say you wrote about the hottest tech trends of 2020, but it's 2024 now. Time for an update, right?

Deeply analyze the content by checking following points: 1) change in trend related to your content 2) pages with least traffic (that have potential to get high traffic) 3) New methods or techniques introduced related to the content.

I would say if you have content 'hosed' your site, whether human or AI content, and you have lots of non-value-added, duplicate content, then remove it! Google's helpful content update in August this year hit sites that had done so hard (on a page-by-page basis). Slap a 301 on that you remove if possible; if it's been written by an AI without a human handler, and it's crappy, then 410 code it. Also - removing that content is better for the environment (you reduce your digital footprint) and focuses google on the content you want it to rank. A content audit helps you do this - keep, rework, merge, cull (redirect), cull (get rid)

If you confirm that the content is outdated - do not directly remove it. Instead, you can rewrite the content and add more information to revive its freshness. Include visuals to attract Google. If the new information isn't available, remove the content and add a 301 redirect to the most relevant content. It helps your readers hang and maintain a sweet SEO score. Keeping our website up-to-date is necessary to compete in this large competitive space. Set your own schedule to update old content and maintain a sustainable first-page position.

Before you think of permanently deleting any "outdated content", you need to check if it is one of your previously "best performing posts." In this case, you could just update the content on the website. Also you need to update any external links that might be leading to such content especially if you are bent on deleting it. Finally, don't forget to inform your audience that the content has been removed(You can give an upfront notice of like 1 week that the content will be removed) ??Just in case, consider archiving instead of deleting such content.

Don't just scrub, shine! Removing outdated content is great, but don't stop there. Consider repurposing old gems. Transform an aging blog post into a catchy infographic, breathe new life into a static page with an interactive video, or spin a dated guide into a series of bite-sized social media posts. This way, you'll refresh your content, reach new audiences, and squeeze every drop of value from your existing work. Remember, sometimes a little creative alchemy can turn forgotten content into pure digital gold.

Keep an eye on website analytics to assess the impact of content removal. Look for changes in traffic, bounce rates, and other relevant metrics. This information can guide further adjustments if needed. Generally if you have set the parameters right, you will see a positive incline in the traffic after two weeks of the content optimziation.

Conduct periodic content audits to identify outdated or irrelevant pages. Evaluate the relevance, accuracy, and usefulness of each piece of content. Establish clear criteria for determining when content should be removed. Consider factors like outdated information, low traffic or poor engagement. For pages with valuable backlinks or traffic, consider redirecting them to relevant/updated content. If the content can be refreshed or repurposed, update it with accurate/current info. Use the opportunity to optimize existing content. Analyze keywords, improve readability, update meta tags and ensure proper internal linking. Continuously monitor the performance of your updated content and track metrics.

I always follow this practice when we are upgrading the web content, blog content or even ASOs. Before making significant changes, back up your website. This ensures that you can restore previous versions if something goes wrong during the removal process.

One of the best ways which I have used to update content in a particular blog that has been written some time ago is by searching the keywords used in google. What’s the point of searching these keywords? You get insights on what people are searching about this keyword. If you find in-depth information that aligns with your blogs H1s and H2s you are good to make the changes. This not only updates the outdated content. Brings in more traffic as you have included answers to what people are searching for.