If you find an old article on your website, don't automatically delete it and start again.
Sometimes the existing content can be improved and brought up to date. If the original article has a useful subject, there may be more value in strengthening what is already there than creating another page from scratch.
That is exactly what I've recently done with some very old content I found.
While working on another project, I came across an old LiveJournal account that I had forgotten about.
It contained several articles I had written more than a decade ago, including articles about websites, SEO and Cotswold accommodation.
One particular article was still online, but when I read it again it was obvious that it needed some work.
The original article wasn't completely useless, but it had definitely aged.
Some of the information was outdated, the wording wasn't particularly good, some of the terminology belonged to a different period of the web and one of the links was no longer working.
Rather than simply leave it there, I decided to see whether I could turn it into something useful again.
I kept the original subject of the article but went through it properly and rebuilt the weaker sections.
This included:
Most importantly, I wasn't trying to fill the article with keywords just for the sake of SEO.
The aim was to make the page better and more useful to someone actually reading it.
The result is the updated version of the original article:
SEO Tips for Your Accommodation Website
It is still based on the original article, but the outdated material has been removed or rewritten, the dead link has been corrected and the information has been brought much more up to date.
I've been looking after the website and IT for nearly 20 years for The King's Head Inn in Bledington.
Part of that work involves creating articles about the Cotswolds and the surrounding area. The idea is to provide useful information for people researching the area while also increasing awareness of the business and what it offers.
That means I have accumulated quite a lot of content over the years. Some of it remains useful, while other content needs updating, improving or occasionally replacing.
Rather than continually creating something new, I think it is worth looking at the existing content and asking whether it can be made better.
Web Workbench isn't just where I write about websites. I also use it to test things I build before putting them onto client websites.
That includes WordPress plugins, automation and other systems that I develop or modify.
One example is my Nested FAQ WordPress Plugin with Visitor Questions.
I can test the plugin here first, work out what needs improving and make sure it behaves properly before using it on a live client website.
The plugin is now actually being used on The King's Head Inn FAQ page, so the development and testing on Web Workbench has a direct connection to a live website.
We've also had actual questions from customers that we've been able to add to the FAQ. That means the page isn't just filled with questions we think people might ask — we're adding real questions that customers have actually asked the business.
As more questions come in, the FAQ can continue to grow and become a useful source of information for future visitors.
If you're looking after a website for a business, you may not have access to the business inbox or see every question customers are asking. An FAQ system like this gives you another way of capturing that information and turning it into useful website content when the business passes those questions on to you.
There is a tendency with websites to concentrate on creating new content all the time.
Sometimes the better option is to look at what you already have.
An old article might contain useful information but need updating. A page might have a broken link. A plugin might need improving. Or an old piece of content might simply need rewriting so that it makes sense to someone reading it today.
That is what I've done with the old LiveJournal article.
It wasn't about putting a new date on an old page or adding a load of keywords. It was about taking something that had become weak and outdated and making it useful again.
Before creating something new, have a look at what you've already got. It might just need some work.