Is there ever a shelf life for old webpages? Conventional wisdom says yes. You wrote the content for those pages ages ago. They might have slang and industry jargon from five, six and seven years ago, depending on how old your website is.
Technology changes rapidly, search engine optimization changes daily, and customer moods and interests take mere seconds to shift 180 degrees.
One thing is clear – never delete a page unless it’s necessary. Is your page name (or slug) a duplicate or triplicate? If you look at your URL and see a ‘-2’ or ‘-3’ on the tail end, make sure the original URL is intact before you start the deletion process.
By uncovering the original and determining the copies contain nothing new, by all means, consolidate. Your customers will thank you.
“What about blog posts?” you ask. Don’t touch them! Blog posts should naturally show how a company progresses. Readers should get a feel for your site and how far you’ve come from your old webpages.
Any optimizing of an old blog should include a new title, slug and a link to the older content.
If anything, comparing and contrasting, while building internal links, is what revs Google’s engines.
Optimizing old webpages is an undertaking – particularly if your site reaches back for digital generations.
Who was president when you purchased your domain? What was the song of the summer? The box office bomb?
The older your site, the more pages your site is going to have, and the longer it’s going to take to figure out what’s wrong with each of them.
The KonMari method is a popular way of decluttering your wardrobe for spring break. The process starts with a simple question. “Does this (insert object here) bring me joy?”
The same can be attributed to old content. But first, switch joy for money or sales leads and see how you feel about your old webpages.
“Do these landing pages bring me leads?” If yes, then by all means optimize! Add a relevant keyword a new style of contact form and imagery. If no, then you can think of what happens next.
