Removing Outdated Content with Google to Boost Site Popularity

Indeed, it’s essential for a business to constantly cultivate its online presence. You can do this by removing Outdated Content with Google. Outdated Content — part of Google’s latest update — refers to irrelevant content on your company website. 

When it comes to the internet, you can never be too sure if erased data is really gone. After all, the internet’s a vast place, and there’s no guarantee that someone hasn’t saved a copy of your work even as you erased all traces of it on your end. After all, the internet’s a vast place, and there’s no guarantee that someone hasn’t saved a copy of your work even as you erased all traces of it on your end.

The idea for outdated content is that it either changes to fit the times or gets booted off the company site. Of course, Google Analytics will be pretty helpful for that, but here are some methods you can use to remove outdated content with Google for better site popularity.

A rundown on Outdated Content

“Outdated Content refers to irrelevant content on your company website.” For example, it can refer to pages for discontinued products and/or services. However, if it’s old or irrelevant, it’s Outdated Content. 

Factors that indicate Outdated Content are:

• Click-Through Rate;
• Bounce Rate; and
• Outdated Services.

Why is it necessary to deal with Outdated Content?

You have to treat your website like a manicured garden. You can’t just plant whatever you like in whatever space is available. Otherwise, it’ll look messy. Not to mention, the plants can interfere with each others’ growth. Likewise, you can’t just continuously churn out content without checking on it and even updating it from time to time.

You can take down pages well enough, but you never know what’s floating around on the Net. Also, Google can keep bites of data for quite some time on its results page. Data such as snippets — web page summaries — and cached copies — saved copies of a webpage found in search results.

Something significant to note is that Content Removal requires Google’s permission. That’s right; you can’t just take down things willy-nilly! Its Removals Tool page states, “Google Search Console’s removal tool is meant to be used for legitimate purposes, so don’t abuse it.”

When you go to its Remove outdated content from Google Search page, you have only a short bullet list of instructions, a request button, and a backlog of recent requests (if you made any). In addition, the tool “works only for pages or images that have already been modified or removed from the web. To remove personal information or content with legal issues that still exist on a page, submit a legal request instead.”

Google Tools for inspecting your content

As mentioned before on Outdated Content and What It Means for Your Business, Google Analytics and the Google Webmaster Tool are the main places to check for Outdated Content. 

• Google Analytics

Google Analytics provides free tools that allow you to analyze data about your business in one place. As a result, it can help you make smarter business decisions. 

It’s a pretty good tool for searching for outdated content on your company site! It gives you insights on website performance, too. Additionally, it’s got plenty of other benefits!

• Google Webmaster Tool

Now the Google Webmaster Tool can track a website’s search performance. So you can spot issues with your company site in a snap and remedy them just as quickly. The tool also has guides if you need assistance in making a top-quality site visible in searches from the get-go.

It used to inspect URL addresses under specified protocol and had several verification methods. However, as part of a recent update from Google, it can also examine Domains! Its Search Console page states that it can review “all URLs across all subdomains (m., www. …),” as well as http or https URLs. However, for Domains, they require DNS verification.

How to remove Outdated Content with Google

There are multiple ways to handle your content. They have their upsides and downsides, so figure out which one best suits your situation.

Update old blog

This method will require time, it’s true, but it will still allow you to inspect content in person and see how your content has progressed. Updating your blog is a bit of a hassle. Again, though, you can make the most of it by ensuring that everything’s up to standard. Also, you can provide a standard format for curating your content from the present and the past!

You can also add or republish your blogs! Do this by updating the content with new information. However, when doing this, it’s not necessary to change the URL to fit the new content. This way, you get to keep the link value! Finally, remember to update the date of the new and improved content!

Of course, if you’re short on time and need a remedy mainly for search results, this isn’t a be-all-end-all. Check the next couple of options for a more automated time!

301 redirect

A redirect involves changing a URL so that the old or current URL can automatically send visitors to the new one. This way, your visitors won’t have to scour the search results for the page they want.

The most important and most permanent kind of redirect is the 301 redirect. It’s so permanent that it’s also known as 301 Moved Permanently. 

Not only can it move your page content, but a 301 redirect will also move pretty much everything to the new URL! This includes your ranking power and visibility. So, that new redirect shows up in search results. Therefore, a 301 redirect is the recommended method for when you’re dealing with SEO. (Here’s a couple of extra SEO tips!)

Lastly, if you change the slug and apply a 301 redirect, make sure to click Request Indexing to inspect the new URL for any indexing issues. If there aren’t any, the page will be queued for indexing. Then, the tool will try to fix the issues that it finds on the page.

Report to webmaster tool

You can access Google’s Removal Tool from the Webmaster Tool. To do this, make a request, input the necessary details, and wait for Google to process it! It’ll give you a history once you’ve sent at least one request. Now, the tool has quite a few warnings attached to it. 

To reiterate, use the tool if you’re not the owner of the search results page, or the content doesn’t exist or has changed from its current version. On the other hand, don’t use the tool if you think the content is bad or wrong, if you’re the owner of the search results page, want to remove a search result permanently, or if the information still matches the current version of the content!

Google states: “If the page is no longer available, it will no longer appear in Search results.” So carefully think about what you’ll take off the ‘Net!

Give your site a facelift by removing Outdated Content with Google!

Removing Outdated Content from your site with Google means getting ahead of your competitors on Google’s playing field. 

Taking down old, irrelevant, and discontinued content or services is one way to ensure your company website is in top form. However, when removing outdated content with Google, ensure that no trace is left; Google can sometimes save copies of outdated content.

You can use Google’s Analytics and Webmaster Tool to search for content. You can then remove the outdated content with Google by updating your blogs, redirecting the blogs, or reporting to the Webmaster Tool.

Content Writers that offer Web Content Services can help with removing outdated content from your site also.

About Axel May Rivera

Axel is an avid fan of many dramas and songs. She is always eager to explore and discover more when it comes to movies and entertainment, especially in Korean and Filipino culture. In her free time, she enjoys reading books and playing badminton.