How to handle outdated, unoptimized blog posts receiving little or zero traffic?
-
I'm doing some overdue spring cleaning on our WP blog. Some big visual updates are in the works, but currently I'm working on pruning and updating some poopy and outdated content. Many of the older posts weren't written with SEO in mind and were posted to the blog merely as an extension of our monthly enewsletter.
Here's an example: http://pq.systems/2FkQyVG
This post needs a lot of work to meet our new standards. The content is thin, readability is weak, kw targetting is non-existant, the visuals suck, zero links, and the charting software mentioned has since been replaced with another solution that we are currently promoting.
There are quite a few other posts with similar issues...
Any thoughts on the best way to handle these posts?
From poking around similar Q&A threads, it seems my options are:
- Create new updated post, remove old post, 301 redirect from old to new
- Create new updated post, add blurb & link pointing to new post at the top of old post
- Edit/update old post, add "This post was updated....etc" blurb to top of old post
Any other options or opinions on which solution I should go with would be much appreciated!
-
Good news is that after I did the same tedious process myself, my SEO results went up!
-
Glad that it was helpful!
-
Thanks for the response Lydia! It's tedious, but the process you described is exactly what I ended up trying (https://www.screencast.com/t/ujdst1UxEpqK). Great to know I'm on the right track before continuing to audit 400+ pages one-by-one
-
Hey Sam!
I would try to sort these posts into categories like "posts that could be useful for SEO", "posts that have backlinks but I do not want to keep", and "posts that are of no use at all". For the ones that could be useful I would try to figure out a way to re-target them to make them more useful (since they are not getting traffic at the moment). For the posts that have backlinks, you can pass their link equity by 301 redirecting them to a similar post if you do not want to keep it around. For posts that don't have backlinks and you don't want to keep, simply adding a noindex tag may be your best best to keep it out of the index and from competing with other pages on your site for rankings.
Obviously, each site cleanup has a unique situation and this may not fit in with yours, I am totally open to discussion on this as there is not a definitive "right" answer.
Have a great day!
Lydia
Got a burning SEO question?
Subscribe to Moz Pro to gain full access to Q&A, answer questions, and ask your own.
Browse Questions
Explore more categories
-
Moz Tools
Chat with the community about the Moz tools.
-
SEO Tactics
Discuss the SEO process with fellow marketers
-
Community
Discuss industry events, jobs, and news!
-
Digital Marketing
Chat about tactics outside of SEO
-
Research & Trends
Dive into research and trends in the search industry.
-
Support
Connect on product support and feature requests.
Related Questions
-
Embedded twitter post is good for https://www.fitness-china.com/hip-thrust-machine seo
We have short video posts on twitter. Embedded twitter post is good for https://www.fitness-china.com/hip-thrust-machine SEO?
On-Page Optimization | | ahislop5740 -
We recently updated a large guide that takes the place of the original. The original has some nice organic traffic to it and I don't want to risk losing it. Should I 301 redirect to the new version, or update all the info directly on the original page?
We don't have a lot of content that garners much non-branded organic, so this is something I don't want to risk losing. We do not have a whole lot of external links into the page either.
On-Page Optimization | | AFP_Digital1 -
Should I Use A Code For Last Updated Blog Posts
Hi, I have a quick question about updating blog posts. When I add "Last Updated" to an updated post should this be in any particular type of code or simply just text, perhaps with the tag? Thanks An Advance
On-Page Optimization | | KNpaul0 -
Should blog tags be location specific?
I understand the concept of organizing blogs with categories, but how specific should the tags on blog posts be? i.e. "cosmetic dentist" vs. "cosmetic dentist san francisco" I'm specifically using Squarespace if that helps. Thanks!
On-Page Optimization | | ReaderSam0 -
Blogger.com with an RSS Feed or on-site blog?
I have a client who uses blogger.com as their blogging platform, however this isn't helping to build the depth of their domain. They like to use this because it is easier for them than to create a blog post in their wordpress website. I am wondering if adding a feed to their site on a dedicated blog page would help SEO at all or would it be best to teach them how to use the wordpress CMS to blog? I was thinking that by adding the feed since it is their original content that it might have a similar effect. I know this is probably simple but I want to see what the moz community says. Thanks.
On-Page Optimization | | ReputationCrew0 -
Using a keyword on homepage of a blog
I have a blog and the homepage has the 5 most recent posts. I ran a report card on my homepage for my main keyword. One of the problems is that the keyword only appears 1 time. I don't want to put it in the signature of every post because I found that causing problems with self-cannibalizing. I checked my competitor and they got a check mark for this but I looked at their homepage and I found the keyword NOWHERE! So where is my competitor hiding the keywords and how can I get the keywords on the homepage when the content is constantly changing? Thanks in advance!
On-Page Optimization | | 2bloggers0 -
Should i nofollow outgoing links on posts
Hello, on my blog i don't nofollow the outgoing links inside roundups like : http://www.designzzz.com/extreme-demos-html5-jquery/ a friend of mine suggest me to nofollow all out going links in such postings. he added that it will help increase posts PRs and better search rankings. Any thoughts? cheers
On-Page Optimization | | wickedsunny10 -
Blog Comment IPs Seen By Google?
I have a page on a client's site for testimonials (a dental practice). The page is actually a post on a Wordpress install where customers can enter their testimonials as WP comments. In an effort to encourage more clients to give more testimonials I was considering setting up an iPad or other tablet at the receptionist's desk where patients would be able to enter their successes as comments on the page. If I made sure the patients all used unique names and emails in the Wordpress comments, would Google still see all the comments are from the same IP and view this as suspicious?
On-Page Optimization | | jargomang0