Can I increase rankings without adding new content?

[Dopani]

I have an old blog around 30 old articles, I have not updated new content for months. I was just wondering if you can increase rankings in the search engines without adding new content to it? or do I need to build both backlinks and adding new content to increase ranking for my blog? any advice?

 

[SEOPub]

Yes you can. Google does not care if you update your content. Updating your content is not a ranking factor. That's a huge myth that people like to throw around.

 

[Hawker]

Hawker

Hmmm no I wouldn't say it was a myth. I've been ranking sites for years with content alone by just sheer volume of it.

It's no myth that posting regular content keeps the spiders coming back.

I post regularly at first like every day to "train" the spiders into coming back to my site everyday and that's always worked for me.

People like sites that update regularly. And we know that Google loves to crawl new content.

Plus it shows Google that the site is still being maintained/updated.

Plus new content means more things to rank for.

It's much easier to rank for something you already have on your site.

So having new content is a ranking factor for these reasons from that perspective.

 

[wms]

wms

I confirm things from Hawker is exact, Adding new content is not a ranking factor but it's better than a ranking factor. It maintains ranking for keywords and improve traffic for whole your site.

Why I said this because it was from the experience on a my site with 200,000 visitors a month (organic traffic) with top keywords on search engines and I tested more things with it. ( I can not show the site because it's downed by DDOS attacks in the past - 4 years ago while I have not got experiences anti DDOS at that time and I had to turn off the site)

In the case, you don't add new content to your site for a long time then you have to build quality backlinks to the site regularly, even very much to maintain and increase rankings for your sites...vise versa your site will decrease keyword rankings and traffic)

Adding new content needs to combine with building backlinks, it should do at the same time and doing some other marketing techniques that you can learn from people on our forum.

 

[zaktomlinson]

I would advice first to check if all of your onsite SEO elements are in order. Then to do linkbuilding... And if this doesn't work well enough for you, then update your content

 

[khassani]

Yes you can increase your rankings without adding new content on your website. If you have some valuable information and articles on your site then you should focus more on 'promoting your content' to other bloggers in the hope to get new backlinks and thus increase your rankings in the serp's.

All the best!

 

[SEOPub]

Google does not care one bit if a site is updated or not. You can find sites that have not been touched in over 10 years ranking at the top of very competitive search terms.

If you think you are ranking because of the volume of your content, what you are missing is all the additional internal links you are generating. That is much more likely the reason you saw ranking improvements.

How often Google visits your site and crawls it, also is not a ranking factor so whether Google visits once a week or once a month really does not matter.

As far as

Plus new content means more things to rank for.

That is a completely different conversation and topic. Adding new posts can let you target new keywords, but in a lot of cases you can just add the new content to existing posts and have the same, or even better, results.

I would also make the argument that adding content regularly can just as likely screw up a site's rankings as help it in any way. Adding new posts all of the time is the #1 cause of what people refer to as the Google Dance. They don't understand site structure very well and keep adding new content that screws up their internal link structure causing rankings to constantly fluctuate.

 

[Nytshade]

Hmmm no I wouldn't say it was a myth. I've been ranking sites for years with content alone by just sheer volume of it.

Oh no, not again Hawker. With sheer volume? Come-on man we're grown folks here hehe...

It's no myth that posting regular content keeps the spiders coming back.

I post regularly at first like every day to "train" the spiders...

Train the spiders?? :hysterical:

They don't need training, they're well qualified Lol...

So having new content is a ranking factor for these reasons from that perspective.

Sadly it's not a ranking factor :sad_no:

I would also make the argument that adding content regularly can just as likely screw up a site's rankings as help it in any way. Adding new posts all of the time is the #1 cause of what people refer to as the Google Dance. They don't understand site structure very well and keep adding new content that screws up their internal link structure causing rankings to constantly fluctuate.

I stopped posting on my high traffic blog and switched to posting new content on my forum. I did this because I was tired of the Google Dance because it also messed up my revenue. But I have a good silo structure, at least I believe I do hehe...

Since I stopped posting new content on the blog my rankings keep improving daily and organic backlinks keep growing as well. So from my experience, from an authority blog in my niche (3+ years blog) adding new content always messes up my rankings and other static sites I have also keep improving in rankings as compared to the ones I keep updated.

Thnx for bringing up Google Dance SEOPub, I'll have to check my site structure, try to change a few things and see what happens.

I also want to mention that getting google to crawl your website doesn't guarantee rankings and it's not a ranking factor like SEOPub already mentioned.

 

[Hawker]

Oh no, not again Hawker. With sheer volume? Come-on man we're grown folks here hehe...

Call me fickle but I don't get what your point is boss lol I think perhaps you misunderstand me or are thinking of something else.

But yeah by sheer volume, as in keep going until it has an effect.. Make an authority site.. Have amazing content that gets you ranked. That's what I'm talking about Nyteshade!

Train the spiders?? :hysterical:

They don't need training, they're well qualified Lol...

There is nothing funny about this. It's a method and term used by SEO's & webmasters for a long time now that I've used time and time again to keep the spiders coming back to new sites and how I've ranked sites without all your backlinks and fancy smancy SEO schemes. Those same sites have gone on to earn me a nice little nest egg. The only one that is laughing here is me, all the way to the bank!!

Obviously you can't train them in that sense. They are just programmed to follow commands. One of those commands is to crawl any new content on the Internet.

So don't take it out of context but don't take it too lightly either, getting the spiders back to your site everyday via new content to crawl/index for different things is one way to tell Google that your site is regularly updated and everyone knows and agrees now hand over fist that Google prefers/likes/favours sites that update its content regularly.

Both Matt Cutts and John Mueller has been saying that for over a decade and more. Plus I just told you its worked for me too so and how I've ranked sites in medium-high competition markets without engaging in any type of backlink building. It's just 1 method out of many methods to get them coming back to your site everyday at first for new sites and keep them coming back that's something any newbie knows!

Sadly it's not a ranking factor :sad_no:

Whoa whoa whoa who made you ranking police lol joke

Seriously though, that is your "opinion" Nyteshade and I respect it! But like said, Google does like sites that update regularly (this much we know) and have some activity on them, even if its just peoples comments/reviews for example..

Google likes sites that are human moderated that are created by humans not machines and one way to show that and appease that liking is through posting regular content of different things etc that in turn, also help you to rank for different things, terms etc. Articles you write, unique images whatever.

I get what you're saying in that it's "probably" not a ranking factor and you probably have lots of examples and tests you've done over the years and from what you know about ranking factors for sure now it doesn't tally up with that. But the question then is, "Is How Many Times a Site Updates a Ranking Factor?".

You should read [URLnf="http://seositecheckup.com/articles/5-reasons-why-fresh-content-is-critical-for-your-website-and-seo"]5 reasons why fresh content is critical for your websites SEO[/URLnf].

Basically it says what I say in more detail of basically that the more frequently you update your website with articles, downloads, and new web pages, the more frequently a search engine will stop by to visit your website.

Well that's just common sense!

I stopped posting on my high traffic blog and switched to posting new content on my forum. I did this because I was tired of the Google Dance because it also messed up my revenue. But I have a good silo structure, at least I believe I do hehe...

Since I stopped posting new content on the blog my rankings keep improving daily and organic backlinks keep growing as well. So from my experience, from an authority blog in my niche (3+ years blog) adding new content always messes up my rankings and other static sites I have also keep improving in rankings as compared to the ones I keep updated.

Well then it's not a blog any more then is it, it's just a static website with some articles on it. A blog is a blog because the noun for "blog" is "a regularly updated website or web page, typically one run by an individual or small group, that is written in an informal or conversational style." and the verb is to "add new material to or regularly update a blog." So therefore it's no longer a blog. Although it is still a blog. But it's a blog that is no more bloggin' and nobody likes a blogless blog! Ghost town...

Plus this chart that shows a comparison between a blog that doesn't update and a regularly updated blog is worth a thought.

But that was your decision and your apparent outcome. It's not one that has worked for everyone I don't think. When most people stop posting new content to their blog. Rankings don't usually suddenly start improving on their own that is just rare as frog hair but fair enough I give you the benefit of the doubt. Also sites/blogs don't just suddenly get start growing organic backlinks when they stop updating their content either, I've never heard of that happening or seen that happening before, quite the opposite in fact, as usually when you stop posting content and site goes dormant, eventually, the spiders stop coming back to your site, stop telling people which site they searched has been updated recently and then you start to loose rankings again. Especially in a tough competition niche which is constantly shifting as competitors work hard on SEO to outrank you you must be in an very easy niche or something man!

Also one more thing to consider, a lot of people use custom google search filters and choose to show "Most Recent" results within last 24 hours.

Well by not updating regularly, your site is never going to show for them regardless to its ranking position even if its #1 for a normal search.

Obviously that shouldn't bother you though because you're ranking better now but its what a lot of smart searchers do more and more now and you're potentially loosing out on money to your competitors because of it!

Just some food for thought for you.

Thnx for bringing up Google Dance SEOPub, I'll have to check my site structure, try to change a few things and see what happens.

I also want to mention that getting google to crawl your website doesn't guarantee rankings and it's not a ranking factor like SEOPub already mentioned.

Google dance google shmance! Its a bromance! Lol

SEOPub keeps mentioning your site needs good site structure!! You must have it or ye shall surely face impending doom!! LOL

I've seen sites that are so bad to navigate and so completely messed up and broke that they look like they were made in the early 90's by a kid using first version of Windows Office then beaten with spade, buried, dug back up, burned, buried, dug back up and beaten with the spade again. But what's even funnier is that some of the sites are still ranking 1st for things today 20+ years on and even make it to the "Top 10 Worst Website to Navigate" lists.

It just goes to show, that good site structure is just one part of good SEO.

Updating regularly is just another part of good SEO.

Together, they both go hand in hand.

It's a no brainer! :smart:

 

[SEOPub]

Google prefers/likes/favours sites that update its content regularly.

Both Matt Cutts and John Mueller has been saying that for over a decade and more.

This is just frankly not true. Google does not have a preference for sites that are updated regularly over sites that are not (with an exception possibly being news sites and searches dealing with current events), and Matt Cutts nor John Mueller ever said otherwise. Actually, John very well might have, but then he also probably said the exact opposite at some point too. He says a lot of things and then reverses himself on those same things later.

That article you posted a link to is nonsense with ZERO actual evidence backing any of it up.

SEOPub keeps mentioning your site needs good site structure!! You must have it or ye shall surely face impending doom!! LOL

I've seen sites that are so bad to navigate and so completely messed up and broke that they look like they were made in the early 90's by a kid using first version of Windows Office then beaten with spade, buried, dug back up, burned, buried, dug back up and beaten with the spade again. But what's even funnier is that some of the sites are still ranking 1st for things today 20+ years on and even make it to the "Top 10 Worst Website to Navigate" lists.

I never said such a thing. I said that poor site structure can account for a lot of ranking problems that people experience. They tend to blame it on other BS like the content not being updated enough or a Google penalty. A lot of ranking problems, such as what people refer to as the Google Dance, are most often caused by poor site structure, and more specifically poor internal linking structure.

The appearance of a site has nothing to do with what I am talking about. A plain text page with no fancy images, headers, backgrounds, etc. can rank just as well as one that has all those things. Mostly what Google is looking at is the text version of a webpage anyhow.

Now a crappy ancient looking site might be a turnoff for visitors and is certainly not going to help conversions, but that is a different conversation.

There are a lot of niches where it makes sense to post more frequently because of the nature of the topic. If I had a site about smartphones, obviously I am going to post much more frequently because there are always new phones and features being released.

If I am maintaining a site about Napoleon's reign in France, once the site is setup and complete and assuming that it covers the topic in detail, there really is no need to post new content to it. Ever. So Google is going to favor another site just because it posts more frequently?

Not only can you investigate the SERPs and see for yourself that this is clearly not the case, that sort of action by Google would not make one bit of logical sense.

 

[Nytshade]

SEOPub bro, another waste of time.

Like I said before, this guy doesn't read he just skim through the posts. Today I'll prove it to you, unlike him, without attacking him personally or his business. He didn't even get the joke coz all he wants to do is attack but it's cool D:

I also have to mention that I'm not in an easy niche, you speculate, like you always do.

This guy has never wrote Nytshade right, you can check everywhere. He just skims through things, I'm telling you. Here's proof:

https://www.webmastersun.com/search.php?searchid=440876

Even the sources where he gets his info from, he's probably just skimming.

This guy just gave us a definition of what a blog is hehe... how old is this guy?

OK he said:

So therefore it's no longer a blog. Although it is still a blog.

What? haha

Also sites/blogs don't just suddenly get start growing organic backlinks when they stop updating their content either

I never said this, told you he just skims through stuff. Let's brake it down for him. I said, when the rankings improved they brought more traffic which resulted in more organic backlinks. Don't worry we gonna dum down the post for you since you skimmed through it.

Well by not updating regularly, your site is never going to show for them regardless to its ranking position even if its #1 for a normal search.

Obviously that shouldn't bother you though because you're ranking better now but its what a lot of smart searchers do more and more now and you're potentially losing out on money to your competitors because of it!

I can't keep doing something that is affecting my rankings, traffic, revenue and list building. This static blog is making more money, getting more daily subscribers (email list), generating traffic and organic backlinks than the blogs I frequently update.

And I did mention that in my previous post that my static sites perform better than the blogs that I updated frequently, you missed that as well. So your post was just air, because it's just talking about speculations and nothing that I said.

Same thing with SEOPub, you say stuff that he didn't say and yes don't confuse appearance with a silo site structure. A silo structure is all about manipulating the link juice using links, menu, categories etc. not the appearance.

 

[Miguelito203]

I have an old blog around 30 old articles, I have not updated new content for months. I was just wondering if you can increase rankings in the search engines without adding new content to it? or do I need to build both backlinks and adding new content to increase ranking for my blog? any advice?

This is an interesting question because the answer may surprise you. In my experience, the answer yeah, your rankings can increase without adding new content or backlicks. I'll give you an example of one way this can happen. Two words: product launch. Here's how. Let's say you have an existing site with good amount of content on it. If a product creator (that you've previously written about) releases a new product, the product you previously wrote about will generally get a surge in traffic because it's been indexed for a while.

When sites publish new content, it generally takes a couple of days for them to rank (or longer) -- unless the site has major authority, so even if people create new sites to promote the new product, your site is likely to get more traffic than theirs (at least at first). It may slow down once a bunch of people start ranking, but by the time, the launch week (when most people buy) is usually over. That's why, I always make sure to include a link to the latest product the person released on the older page. I hope that makes sense.

Joey