{"id":21858,"date":"2019-05-09T08:57:36","date_gmt":"2019-05-09T13:57:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.hostgator.com\/blog\/?p=21858"},"modified":"2019-07-02T13:10:39","modified_gmt":"2019-07-02T18:10:39","slug":"how-keep-website-fresh","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.hostgator.com\/blog\/how-keep-website-fresh\/","title":{"rendered":"How and Why to Keep Your Website Fresh"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Want to keep visitors coming back to your site? <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Keep it fresh. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Stale content, outdated site technology, and pass\u00c3\u00a9 design can cause visitors to move on in search of more timely information, a faster-loading site, or a site that doesn\u2019t look like a time capsule<\/a> from a bygone era. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Freshness can help you earn new visitors, too. Frequently updated content gets crawled more often by search-engine bots, so your site is less likely to get buried by newer items in search results. Keeping up with the latest technical standards, like fast-loading pages and mobile-friendly design, can help your site\u2019s search results performance, too.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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1. Keep Website Content Fresh with a Content Calendar<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Content is what visitors come to your site for, whether it\u2019s new blog posts, photos, videos, or products. If you don\u2019t already have a content calendar-a schedule for creating and adding new content to your site-start by making one. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Your content calendar can be as simple as reminders in your existing Google calendar or as comprehensive as a WordPress plugin like Editorial Calendar that lets you schedule, edit, and publish your WordPress posts easily.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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2. Bring Older Content Up to Date<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Of course, the more new content you publish, the bigger your archive of older content will be. Don\u2019t let that material get stale. You can get more views for your older content by linking to it in some of your new posts. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

You can also use the related content feature in the free version of the Jetpack WordPress plugin to find and display related posts at the bottom of each new post you create. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Your older content may need updating to keep it reliable and relevant. Information changes, links get broken, and you may have new insights to add to your previous posts. If your archived posts number in the hundreds or thousands, keeping it all updated may seem like an impossible task. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

That\u2019s why it’s a best practice to start your update program with what’s called your “cornerstone content”-the best performing and most relevant articles on your site. Build reminders into your content calendar to update these pieces every 6 to 12 months.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Once you\u2019ve got that cornerstone content up to date, add reviews and updates to your content calendar for your non-blog content, too, like your About and Contact pages. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

3. Repurpose Your Older Content<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Let\u2019s say your foodie blog has an old post about sous vide cooking basics. Now that sous vide cooking is trendy, think about how you can repackage the information in that old post to grow your audience. You could turn the basic steps into an infographic or slide deck to share on social media. You could also create a video based on your post to share on social media and YouTube. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Got a bunch of short posts about sous vide tips and tools? Try combining them into one big new post. Or maybe now\u2019s the time to put all that information into an eBook that your visitors can download if they sign up for your newsletter. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

4. Keep an Eye on Keyword Data<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Check your Google Search Console data<\/a> to see what keywords are bringing visitors to your site. If your content doesn\u2019t already contain the most popular keywords your site visitors are using, it\u2019s time to revise some of your posts to include those keywords-where they\u2019re a natural fit. You can also use those keywords as a list of potential topics for new content. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

5. Update Your Web Design<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s not only your content that you want to keep fresh and interesting. The appearance of your site will get stale over time, too-especially to frequent visitors. It may also be time for a web design makeover<\/a> if:<\/p>\n\n\n\n