The internet is full of content. And its not just words: there are infographics, videos, reviews, slideshows, surveys…the list of content types is seemingly endless.
And let’s just go ahead and say it: there’s content for everything on the internet. Any niche hobby or interest has at least some content swirling about on a random site, forum, or YouTube channel.
However, not all of this content is current (or even relevant). There are a lot of stale articles that are holding on despite being published years ago.
This is why Google has been factoring in “content freshness” when it returns search results on a search engine results page (SERP).
What is “content freshness?”
Content freshness refers to content that was either posted or updated recently. Not only will this be a recently published piece, but it will also use the latest statistics and link to other fresh content.
When folks talk about freshness, you’ll likely hear the term “evergreen” pop up. Evergreen content is content that is always relevant, no matter how old it gets. These are often how-to articles (like how to tie a tie), recipes, and other content that doesn’t age or change much over time.
Evergreen articles may not be fresh, but their timeless factor gives them a huge boost in the search rankings (and updating them with new data wouldn’t hurt).
So why is it important that content is “fresh?”
Google loves seeing fresh content on sites. So first and foremost, you should publish posts over time and not in one big batch to keep your freshness factor fresh.
This “freshness” factor is used by Google uses to rank a particular page on the SERP. You may already know some of the other ranking factors, including:
- Relevance
- Helpfulness
- Length
- Keywords
- Backlinks
- Page structure
- Page speed
- Mobile-friendliness
For sake of space, I’m not going to list them all here, but feel free to check out all of Google’s ranking factors in this post from Brian Dean at Backlinko.
How you can come up with new content ideas
At times, coming up with new content ideas can be downright challenging. You feel like you’ve hit a wall and covered every topic and every angle possible. But guess what? There’s a treasure trove of content ideas out there just waiting to be explored.
A lot of people have asked (albeit, not directly), so here are all the different ways that I like to come up with new content ideas:
- Google autocorrect: Start typing a search query into the box and see what comes up as suggestions
- Google’s “People also ask” box: Check out the block on the page labeled “People also ask,” where other similar questions appear
- Answer The Public: Find related keywords and see what people are asking on the internet
- Reddit forums: Browse the communities (also called “subreddits”) to see what people are posting or asking
- Comment threads: Look at trending blog posts or articles and see what people are writing in the comments section
- Your competition: No harm in borrowing like an artist 😉
Keep it fresh when you can
Fresh content is a great way to show that you are actively participating in the discussion (whatever that may be) and have more than just a splash page. It shows that you’re regularly providing new words and ideas to circulate on the web.
But you don’t have to create brand new content from scratch. Consider revisiting some of your older content that is getting plenty of traffic and adding new stats, quotes, or backlinks before updating the publishing date. Remember, updating content that has been performing well will only help its rankings — or at least help it hold its position on the page.
Now take some of these ideas and create your new content (or at least give that old post a facelift).
Austin Writes Content 