When, why and how to refresh your site’s content
Do you ever feel like you’re stuck on a content creation treadmill for your website? Creating useful content is time-consuming and, honestly, hard. That’s why I’d like to introduce you to the idea of content refreshes. I’m here to make the case that a key part of your content marketing strategy should be to spend time updating your existing content, rather than always creating more, more, more.
This strategy is, ultimately, a time-saver: rather than being stuck on a treadmill of constant new content creation, you can focus time on refining the content you already have. Think of strategic content refreshes as a low-effort, high reward way to gain more organic traffic, increase conversions, and provide a better overall customer experience. Who wouldn’t want that?
If you’re thinking, wait a minute, I don’t even have content on my brand’s site yet - not to worry! Start with my guide to e-comm content strategy, plus this article on how SEO fits into your brand’s digital marketing strategy. Take your content creation one step at a time, and you’ll reap the future search traffic benefits.
If, meanwhile, you do already have a large body of content posted on your e-comm site: let’s dive in to when, why and how you’ll want to refresh it.
Why page refreshes are crucial for SEO
Updating pages sends good signals to Google (and other search engines) that your site’s content is fresh and relevant. Page updates also show that you have expertise in the topics you’re writing about. Here’s what Google has to say about how their algorithm prioritizes newer content:
“If you search for trending keywords, our systems understand that up-to-date information might be more useful than older pages. This means that when you’re searching for sports scores, company earnings or anything related that's especially new, you’ll see the latest information.” (Source)
This means that, if you take the time to update your site’s content regularly, you put yourself in a much stronger position to rank higher than your competitors.
Here’s a graphic from Neil Patel demonstrating that the majority of sites with top-ranking SEO spend most of their time making updates rather than creating fresh content:
Aside from the SEO benefits, recently updated pages are also more appealing to readers. Think about it - if you’re browsing search results, you’re going to click on blog posts that were written in the last year or so, likely not a decade ago. And, when we’re talking about e-comm content - which is designed to nurture customers on their buying journey - it’s critical that things stay up-to-date, on-season and on-brand.
Which pages should I refresh?
Picking which pages to focus on takes a bit of strategy. Start by reviewing your website and compiling the below:
High-traffic pages: which pages are most browsed? Which pages get the most organic traffic specifically?
Pages with evergreen longform content: which pages, blog posts, etc contain content that always feels relevant?
“Missed opportunity” pages: do you have any content on site that has become out of date, but that could be updated to be relevant again? These are pages where you’re currently missing out on traffic opportunities.
Product pages (and any other high-converting pages on your site) are key to consider for content refreshes. Glossier does a great job of building out product pages with tons of useful, relevant copy and images.
A deeper dive - and metrics to consider
Once you have these lists, take some time to review Google Search Console and Google Analytics (or whatever tech stack you’re using for analytics) and review:
Are there any pages that used to see lots of traffic, but have been declining month over month? If those pages align with the lists you made above, prioritize them.
Are purchases or signups declining on any key pages? Hint: it’s super helpful to track conversion rates in GA4 for just this reason.
By combining your knowledge of your brand’s current content assortment, plus using metrics strategically, you can pretty easily determine what needs to be refreshed first. (Still have questions? Email me.)
When to update content
Now that you’ve created a list of pages to prioritize, you may be wondering: when - and how often - do I need to make updates?
To start, you’ll want to wait between 6 to 12 months from the initial publish date to make any major content refreshes. This is because content can take a while to gain proper traction in Google. (A note: this rule is just for SEO refresh purposes. Don’t be afraid to update pages when and if you need to, just don’t focus on new pages for your content refresh strategy.)
After that, work through your list in order of priority, making note of what day you hit “publish” on any refreshed content. For high-traffic or important site pages, I like to aim for a 90 to 120-day cadence for refreshes. (If that doesn’t feel possible, then of course work with whatever is feasible for you.) For lower-priority blog posts or pages that get less traffic, a 6-8 month refresh cadence is perfect.
I recommend keeping a spreadsheet to track your refresh cadence. Here’s an example spreadsheet I use to track a client’s key blog posts and their ideal refresh cadence:
How to refresh content
There are lots of ways to improve your page content, and I bet you’ll have an intuitive idea of what could make most pages better. Here are some ideas to get you started:
Copy optimizations: complete some keyword research and see if you’re missing any relevant keywords. If so, work them in! (Only if it’s natural, of course.)
You can also expand a page’s copy - for best search results, I like a page to have at least 1,000 words of copy, as it’s a good benchmark that gives Google plenty of material to work through.
Check for any out-of-date or irrelevant information: are there references to products or promotions you aren’t offering any more? Could you add in references to any current trends or launches that will bring the content up to date?
Image optimizations: are there any assets that could be updated? What about any new images that could be added in? Maybe you have lots of great photos on social media that never made it to your site - can you add any to the mix?
Video content: when relevant, could you consider mixing in video? Video content can be so helpful for converting new customers since it gives them a sense of how products really move and feel.
Links to other pages: well-placed internal links help users make sense of your site’s content. Are there any links you could add to make the user experience smoother?
Shoppable carousels: do you have a blog post that would be that much more impactful if customers could jump straight to the shoppable product?
New promotions, launches or seasonal updates: can you provide seasonal styling suggestions for a best selling product?
Product timelines or availability: is a best selling product back in stock? Has a timeline changed for a made-to-order product?
Reviews or other UGC: user-generated content is hugely impactful for converting new customers.
Marcella’s blog posts do a great job incorporating shoppable products AND user reviews.
As always, your goal with these updates is to aim for quality over quantity. Remember: even though content length is important for SEO, your number-one priority should be improving user experience. Don’t ever focus on length over quality.
Feeling stuck on how to improve the quality of your content? Try asking yourself:
Have I covered the topic as comprehensively as I can?
What kind of unique spin can I put on this piece of content (that my competitors can’t)?
Are there any topics competitors are covering that my site isn’t?
Wwake’s sourcing pages are gorgeous but bare-bones. How would you build out this content to be more user-friendly?
How to ensure Google finds your page updates
Once you’ve refreshed a page’s content, it’s a good idea to give Google a heads up so that they can re-crawl the page and process your updates. Luckily, Google Search Console lets you do just that. Here’s how:
In Google Search Console, click the top “search” bar and input the site URL you’ve updated:
You’ll be taken to a URL review page that lets you know whether the page is already indexed or not. Either way - click “Request Indexing,” which sends a request to Google to re-crawl the page:
Indexing can take a few days - not to worry. You’ve gotten the ball rolling, and that’s the important thing. This step is so simple but so impactful as far as getting your updated content in front of more eyes, faster.
Once you’ve refreshed a page’s content, remember to track metrics in the coming weeks and months to see how changes perform. Keep a particular eye on month-over-month organic traffic, plus any relevant conversions (whether sales or newsletter signups or click-through rates).
Remember: user experience should be the top priority of all your content initiatives, so tracking what works - and what doesn’t - will give you valuable insights for your next content refresh.
Have questions? Need help creating a refresh strategy for your site’s content? Get in touch. I answer all messages personally.
