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Join us in analyzing 3 case studies that show the importance of driving brand search behavior and engagement, and how to do it in months, instead of years.
Join us in analyzing 3 case studies that show the importance of driving brand search behavior and engagement, and how to do it in months, instead of years.
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Google’s John Mueller and Lizzi Sassman answered a question about Content Decay, an actual problem that has little to do with content
Google’s Lizzi Sassman and John Mueller answered a question about Content Decay, expressing confusion over the phrase because they’d never heard of it. Turns out there’s a good reason: Content Decay is a just a new name created to make an old problem look like a new one.
Google tech writer Lizzi Sassman began a Google Search Off The Record podcast by stating that they are talking about Content Decay because someone submitted that topic and then remarked that she had never heard of Content Decay.
She said:
“…I saw this come up, I think, in your feedback form for topics for Search Off the Record podcast that someone thought that we should talk about content decay, and I did not know what that was, and so I thought I should look into it, and then maybe we could talk about it.”
Google’s John Mueller responded:
“Well, it’s good that someone knows what it is. …When I looked at it, it sounded like this was a known term, and I felt inadequate when I realized I had no idea what it actually meant, and I had to interpret what it probably means from the name.”
Then Lizzi pointed out that the name Content Decay sounds like it’s referring to something that’s wrong with the content:
“Like it sounds a little bit negative. A bit negative, yeah. Like, yeah. Like something’s probably wrong with the content. Probably it’s rotting or something has happened to it over time.”
It’s not just Googlers who don’t know what the term Content Decay means, experienced SEOs with over 25 years of experience had never heard of it either, including myself. I reached out to several experienced SEOs and nobody had heard of the term Content Decay.
Like Lizzi, anyone who hears the term Content Decay will reasonably assume that this name refers to something that’s wrong with the content. But that is incorrect. As Lizzi and John Mueller figured out, content decay is not really about content, it’s just a name that someone gave to a natural phenomenon that’s been happening for thousands of years.
If you feel out of the loop because you too have never heard of Content Decay, don’t. Content Decay is one of those inept labels someone coined to put a fresh name on a problem that is so old it predates not just the Internet but the invention of writing itself.
What people mean when they talk about Content Decay is a slow drop in search traffic. But a slow drop in traffic is not a definition, it’s just a symptom of the actual problem which is declining user interest. Declining user interest in a topic, product, service or virtually any entity is something that that is normal and expected that can sneak up affect organic search trends, even for evergreen topics. Content Decay is an inept name for an actual SEO issue to deal with. Just don’t call it Content Decay.
Dwindling interest is a longstanding phenomenon that is older than the Internet. Fashion, musical styles and topics come and go in the physical and the Internet planes.
A classic example of dwindling interest is how search queries for digital cameras collapsed after the introduction of the iPhone because most people no longer needed a separate camera device.
Similarly, the problem with dwindling traffic is not necessarily the content. It’s search trends. If search trends are the reason for declining traffic then that’s probably declining user interest and the problem to solve is figuring out why interest in a topic is changing.
Typical reasons for declining user interest:
When diagnosing a drop in traffic always keep an open mind to all possibilities because sometimes there’s nothing wrong with the content or the SEO. The problem is with user interest, trends and other factors that have nothing to do with the content itself.
The problem with inept SEO catch-all phrases is that because they do not describe anything specific the meaning of the catch-all phrase tends to morph and pretty much the catch-all begins describing things beyond what it initially ineptly described.
Here are other reasons for why traffic could decline (both slow and precipitously):
Content Decay is one of many SEO labels put on problems or strategies in order to make old problems and methods appear to be new. Too often those labels are inept and cause confusion because they don’t describe the problem.
Putting a name to the cause of the problem is a good practice. So rather than use fake names like Content Decay maybe make a conscious effort to use the actual name of what the problem or solution is. In the case of Content Decay it’s best to identify the problem (declining user interest) and refer to the problem by that name.
Online content tends to become outdated or irrelevant over time. This can happen due to industry changes, shifts in user interests, or simply the passing of time.
In the context of SEO, outdated content impacts how useful and accurate the information is for users, which can negatively affect website traffic and search rankings.
To maintain a website’s credibility and performance in search results, SEO professionals need to identify and update or repurpose content that has become outdated.
Not all old content needs to be deleted. It depends on what kind of content it is and why it was created. Content that shows past events, product changes, or uses outdated terms can be kept for historical accuracy.
Old content provides context and shows how a brand or industry has evolved over time. It’s important to consider value before removing, updating, or keeping old content.
Website owners and SEO professionals should take the following steps to avoid confusing users with outdated content:
These strategies help people understand a page’s relevance and assist them in getting the most accurate information for their needs.
Featured Image by Shutterstock/Blueastro
I have 25 years hands-on experience in SEO, evolving along with the search engines by keeping up with the latest …
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