Content Optimisation: The Antidote to SEO-Killing ROT

What is Content Optimisation?

Content optimisation is the process of improving existing content on a website to keep it relevant, engaging, and competing against the competition in search. Compared to content creation which focuses on bringing an article to life, content optimisation is all about bringing an article back to life.

The ROT Problem: Why Content Decays

ROT stands for Redundant, Outdated, and Trivial - three common SEO-killing problems that most older content eventually faces when left unaddressed.

Redundant content refers to an article covering the same or very similar information to others already on your site. This will confuse search engines about which page to rank, risking cannibalisation, where the pages will likely not perform.

Outdated content contains stale information, broken links, or references that no longer apply. This can not only make your site appear neglected and unreliable to both users but also reduce the articles performance.

Trivial content offers little value to users, often articles created solely to target keywords, lacking depth and importance. A great example of this is content that brings nothing new to the web, churned out by AI.

How Often Should Content Be Optimised?

Like everything when it comes to SEO, it really does depend.

Content should be optimised when it becomes outdated, begins to drop in performance, or could simply benefit from improvement. Ideally, content should be regularly reviewed, at a minimum, every 12 months, which when outsourcing SEO, will usually be part of an SEO audit, if not, a separate content audit. In fast-changing industries, like law or marketing, you can expect content to need reviewing and optimising more often than others.

Evergreen content, a type of content that remains relevant for a long period, is slightly different,as focused on timeless information, for example "the traditional method to making tea" will require minimal updates. To keep it up with the best practices and performing better than other competing pieces, it's best to update every 1-2 years. In this case, adding a bit of information about modern tea-making methods could be a good idea.

Benefits of Keeping Content Optimised

Optimising content as apart of your content strategy has many benefits. It may seem like added faff and additional cost, in time or money, but done right, it can bring brilliant results for your business.

Better Search Performance

Freshly optimising content is usually rewarded by both traditional and AI search algorithms, particularly when you introduce unique information. Updating content gives them confidence that content is relevant, increasing the changes of it being pushed.

Maintains User Confidence

Outdated or incorrect information can damage users' confidence in your business, potentially deterring them from buying your products or using your services. Regularly optimising your content helps ensure accuracy and relevance.

In fast-moving industries, users may be discouraged from reading older articles. Updating your content not only improves its quality but also gives it a fresh appearance, with the last update date making it seem a lot newer than it actually is.

Easier Long-term Management

Staying on top of optimisation content makes it much easier to handle in the long run. Creating content and letting it decay for years, seeing it as a “future problem” isn’t the right approach. Not only will it cost a lot more, time and money, to address later, but in the meantime, you risk falling behind your competitors. Regular updates keep your content relevant, manageable, and competitive.

4 Simple Steps for Effective Content Optimisation

Optimising content may not be as hard as you think. You’ve already got a home on the hill - now it’s about making it the best one.

Rip back the content, remove all the rubbish, and leave what’s valuable alone.

Restructure the content to fill all the gaps, upcycling some of the best performing pieces from the competitors. Do some research and gather valuable information on the web to add, and think about any unique information, whether statistics, studies, etc you could include.

Rewrite the article, forming the existing and new information together. Consider what you’re targeting along the way, but focus on the audience you’re writing for and the intent behind their search. Link to sources of content, both internally and externally.

Republish the optimised content, replacing the published date with a “last updated” date to make it look fresher. Monitor its performance to measure the impact of your improvements, making future updates if required.

Common Content Optimisation Mistakes to Avoid

Over-optimisation

Keep content focused on users first, not just search engines. Rather than simply reshaping existing content spamming keywords here and there to “rank better”, expand it with new, unique information that brings new genuine value to users. Although things like links, internally and externally, play a huge part, where your content is concerned, that’s what search engines will reward.

Neglecting User Intent

Don't lose sight of what users actually want when they find your content. If it’s article on a question like “Who’s the best for SEO in Lincoln?”, start by giving them a clear answer – doing the hard work for LLMs, this will also increase your chances of getting cited. Look at competing pieces and what content they’ve wrote to get to the top is always a good place to start.

Optimising & Walking Away

Content optimisation should be driven by data. Setting a schedule to review and optimise a piece of content on your website annually isn’t an effective strategy. Once you optimise an article, track its performance regularly. If there’s little to no improvement, go back and refine it further.

Keep Your Content from Rotting Away

Content optimisation is an important part of any content strategy. Creating new content is great, but if you’ve got lots of content on your website, your time and money is likely best spent on getting the underperforming, performing first. By taking control of your content that’s simply rotting away, you’ll be rewarded.

An independent search marketing consultant, I’m here to help your business increase its visibility in search, paid and organically. My SEO content strategy service is designed to get your content into better shape, filling in topic gaps, strengthening your overall visibility for searches made by your target audience. Best of all, I deliver it providing complete transparency and exclusivity to you.

Take your next step towards search success – get in touch with me today to learn more about my PPC and SEO services.

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