You and your Internet business consultant have probably heard of Google’s “Freshness Update.” This basically means that “new” content is ranking higher in many searches. The solution to this may seem really simple—write new content often. But what if your product or service doesn’t change often? How do you keep writing “fresh” content about something when it’s not so fresh anymore?
1. Get yourself into Google News. It does make sense to be on Google News if you want to rank higher up in Google search rankings. Other than that, Google News is useful for organizing and making new information searchable. Check out Google’s guidelines for news quality and once you’re all set, suggest your site to Google News.
2. Use proper time-stamp on your content. If you do get yourself into Google News, you’ll find that there is a way to create a timestamp for your content. But it can be as simple as putting the date clearly on a single line beneath your article.
3. Blog. If you aren’t already blogging, then there is clearly a large gap in your Internet marketing campaign that needs to be filled. Call your local Internet business consultant.
4. Have a community of like-minded people build content for you. Wills explains that this is not a strategy for all types of companies but say for example your product is fashion jewelry for women, you can consider asking your customers to share their thoughts on fashion jewelry. Each woman may have something new and different to say about your product.
5. Go back to forums. According to Wills, these are the original social networks. Managing a forum almost guarantees fresh content regularly but it does take a considerable amount of work to manage.
6. Include your own Q and A section. Check out Yahoo! Answers for reference. It’s almost like tip number four without having to ask your audience directly to do it for you.
7. Add a social news section. Check out Digg and Reddit. These sites get news posted, voted on and even commented on. There’s “new” content everyday. Wills does not guarantee that it will get into the “fresh” index but it is a good way to give you time-stamped content.
What are your own “freshness” strategies? Share it with us!