Why Do Search Results Display Old Content?

It can be frustrating when you’re seeking the most current information, yet the first page of your search results is filled with outdated content. This phenomenon occurs for several reasons, each tied to the complex algorithms and systems that power search engines. Here are a few key factors behind why search results display old content.

1. Search Engine Algorithms and Relevance
Search engines like Google use sophisticated algorithms to determine the relevance of web pages to your search query. These algorithms consider hundreds of factors, including keywords, backlinks, domain authority, and user engagement. Older content that has accumulated a significant number of backlinks and has been consistently engaging to users over time can rank higher, even if newer content on the same topic exists. The idea is that these pages have stood the test of time, proving their relevance and reliability.

2. Authority and Trustworthiness
Websites that have built a strong reputation and authority in their field often see their content prioritized in search results. For instance, an article from a highly regarded news outlet or an established academic journal may appear at the top of the search results despite being several years old. Search engines prioritize these authoritative sources to ensure users receive credible and trustworthy information.

3. Lack of New Content
In some cases, the topic you’re searching for may not have been widely covered recently. If there hasn’t been much new content published on the subject, search engines will display older content to provide the best possible answers. This is particularly common in niche areas where information doesn’t change rapidly.

4. Search Query Specificity
The specificity of your search query can also influence the age of the content you see. Broad or generic search terms are more likely to bring up older content that has had more time to establish relevance and authority. In contrast, using more specific or time-sensitive queries, such as including the current year or using terms like “latest,” can help you find more recent content.

5. User Behavior and Click-Through Rates
User behavior plays a crucial role in determining search results. Pages that have historically received high click-through rates and positive user engagement are more likely to rank higher. If an older article has been frequently visited and found helpful by many users, search engines interpret this as a signal of quality and relevance, keeping it prominent in search results.

6. Technical SEO Factors
Technical aspects of SEO, such as proper use of meta tags, schema markup, and site structure, also affect how content ranks. Older content that has been well-optimized for search engines may continue to perform well. Additionally, websites that regularly update their older posts with new information and refresh their content can maintain their high rankings.

7. Historical Context and Evergreen Content
Some content remains relevant regardless of its age. Known as evergreen content, these articles or pages provide information that doesn’t quickly become outdated, such as “how-to” guides, historical analyses, or fundamental principles in various fields. Evergreen content is often prominently featured in search results because it remains useful to users over time.

How to Find More Recent Content

If you find that your search results are dominated by old content, there are several strategies you can use to find more up-to-date information:

Use Date Filters: Most search engines, including Google, allow you to filter results by date. You can select options like “Past year” or “Past month” to ensure you see the most recent content.

Include Specific Time-Related Keywords: Adding the current year or words like “latest,” “new,” or “updated” to your search query can help bring up more recent articles.

Check News Sections: For current events or recent developments, use the news tab on search engines to find the latest articles from reputable sources.

Conclusion

While it can be frustrating to encounter old content in your search results, understanding the reasons behind it can help you navigate and refine your searches more effectively. Search engines strive to balance relevance, authority, and freshness to provide the best possible answers to your queries. By using specific search strategies, you can ensure you find the most current and relevant information available.

Boost Your Launch: The Value of a ‘Coming Soon’ Page

If you’ve recently started your business, chances are you’ve secured a URL—your online address where visitors can learn about your organization. However, until your website is live, anyone visiting your URL will likely see an error message like “This site cannot be reached.”

This not only appears unprofessional but also wastes an opportunity to engage with your audience. That’s why a “Website Coming Soon” page is invaluable. It’s a temporary placeholder that informs visitors you’re actively working on your website. Include basic information about your business and contact details (phone or email) to maintain credibility and provide a way to connect.

Typically, it takes 24-48 hours to launch a new website. However, if your site is already live with a “Coming Soon” page, transitioning to the newly built website is nearly instantaneous.

A “Coming Soon” page is essential for a new business or organization as it builds anticipation, establishes an online presence, and provides a foundation for future engagement. Here’s why it’s important:

Creates Buzz and Excitement: A well-designed page teases what’s to come, sparking curiosity and interest among potential customers or supporters.
Captures Leads Early: It can include sign-up forms for newsletters or notifications, allowing you to build an email list before your official launch.
Establishes Credibility: A professional page signals that your business is serious and actively preparing for its debut.
Improves SEO: Launching a placeholder page early can help search engines index your website, giving you a head start on visibility.
Provides Key Information: It can share essential details like the launch date, mission statement, or a glimpse of your offerings, helping people understand what to expect.
Fosters Engagement: Links to social media or calls to action encourage visitors to follow along and stay connected as you grow.

In short, a “Coming Soon” page turns anticipation into an opportunity to build relationships and momentum for your business or organization.

What to include in an About us page

People do business with other people. Having a good text for your “About Us” page is important because it can help you establish trust and credibility with your audience. The “About Us” page is typically one of the most visited pages on a website, as visitors often want to learn more about the people behind the company.

A well-crafted “About Us” page can provide your visitors with a clear understanding of who you are, what you do, and why you do it. It can also give them insight into your company’s mission, values, and culture, which can help build a connection between your brand and your audience.

A good “About Us” page can also help differentiate your brand from competitors. By sharing your unique story and highlighting what sets you apart, you can show potential customers why they should choose you over other options.

Here are some points to focus on while creating your About page:

Write a compelling history about your business

Every business has a story. Describe when your business was founded, its mission, what makes your business unique, and why someone should want to work with you. Connect & engage with your audience in a personal way.

Introduce your team

There are people behind every business. Remember to present at least one person from each department along with their full name and title at the minimum for each team member. If possible, add a short bio that includes responsibilities within the company, education, hobbies, and a way to connect with them.

Add photos

This is probably the hardest part of the bio page. People don’t like being photographed. But it is a good way for people to see who they are interacting with. Remember to use a photo that is high-resolution, and where the face doesn’t have any shadows.

Include a contact form on the page.

By providing a contact form on the About Us page, you make it easier for potential customers or clients to reach out to you. This can lead to increased conversions and business opportunities.

Finally, having a good “About Us” page can also benefit your website’s search engine optimization (SEO). Search engines like Google value high-quality, relevant content, and a well-written “About Us” page can help improve your website’s relevance and authority.

In summary, having a good text for your “About Us” page is important because it can establish trust and credibility with your audience, differentiate your brand from competitors, and improve your website’s SEO.

What is local SEO & do I need it?

Local SEO (Search Engine Optimization) is the practice of optimizing your website and online presence to rank higher in search results for local searches.

Local SEO is important because it helps businesses optimize their online presence for a specific geographic area or region. When someone searches for a product or service in a particular location, Google and other search engines prioritize results based on relevance, distance, and prominence.

By using local SEO strategies, businesses can increase their visibility in local search results, improve their online reputation, and drive more targeted traffic to their website. This can lead to more foot traffic to their physical location, more phone calls, and ultimately more sales.

Here are some steps to help you with your local SEO strategy.

Optimize your Google My Business (GMB) listing

Claim and verify your GMB listing and ensure that all the information provided, including your business name, address, phone number, and hours of operation, are accurate and up-to-date. Add photos, videos, and other relevant information to make your listing more attractive and informative.

Conduct keyword research

Identify the keywords that people use to search for businesses like yours in your local area. Use these keywords in your website content, GMB profile, and other online directories and citations.

Build local citations

Ensure that your business is listed accurately on various online directories such as Yelp, Yellow Pages, and other local directories. Consistency of business information is key, so make sure your business name, address, phone number, and website URL are the same on all listings.

Get customer reviews

Encourage your customers to leave reviews on your Google My Business page and other relevant review sites. Positive reviews can boost your local SEO efforts.

Use local structured data markup

Add structured data markup to your website to provide search engines with more information about your business. This will help improve your visibility in local search results.

Create locally-focused content

Create content, such as blog posts, news articles, and other types of content, that is relevant to your local area and that will engage your local audience.

Make sure your website is mobile-friendly

With more than half of all searches now done on mobile devices, it’s important that your website is mobile-friendly. Ensure that your website is optimized for mobile devices and has a fast loading time.

In conclusion

Local SEO is important because it can help businesses attract more customers, improve their online reputation, and increase their revenue.

By following the above steps, you can improve your local SEO and increase your visibility in local search results.

Business owner’s guide to evaluating your website

It is hard for any person or business to evaluate their own website. It’s hard to be objective and it’s hard to put yourself in the position of a new site visitor who does not know the things that you know. It is harder still if you don’t know what the important factors are in evaluating a website. Here are few questions to ask yourself when appraising your existing website.

Marketing

Four-second test

If you don’t know anything about the business, can you clearly understand the nature of the business within 4 seconds of looking at the home page? Can you immediately tell what geographical region this business serves?

Calls to action

Does the website intuitively lead the visitor to the next step?

Buttons/links that say “Read more”, “Get in touch”, etc. lead visitors to take the next step on the website. Without any such help, the visitor may leave the website and you would have lost a potential lead.

Above-the-fold content

Does the top of your home page contain the most important information that you want to convey to your visitor?

“Above the fold” is to newspapers as “top of the home page” is to a website. It is the place of highest visibility where the most important information should lie. This increases the likelihood that a visitor will interact with those features.

Design & Aesthetics

From a purely aesthetic standpoint, design can be subjective. What one person finds attractive may differ from another person’s taste. However, there is more to web design than personal aesthetic preference. A website is, first and foremost, a marketing tool. The website’s design should reflect the brand’s personality and should be crafted appeal to the target audience. Most importantly, the design needs to effectively communicate what the business does and provide an intuitive path for the user to do what you want them to do (i.e., contact you, buy a product, etc.).

Here are some questions to ask about your website:

Do the colors used on the website complement the colors on the logo?
Do the images or the website embellishments get in the way of the marketing message?
Is there enough contrast between the background and the font colors? Are the fonts large enough? If not, then the text may be hard to read.
Is the style consistent throughout the website?
Are the buttons and links obvious?
Is the design appropriate for the audience?
Is the textual content placed in one long and boring block or are they broken out into easy-to-read logical chunks?

Contact information

This may seem obvious, but it very common to see websites where the contact information is difficult to find. You don’t want your site visitor to have to click around various places looking for this information.
This may include the following information:

Name
Address
Phone number
Contact form
Email address
Geographic region served (for example, you may be located in San Carlos, but do you serve the entire Bay Area?)

Technical

Is the website mobile-friendly?

There are now more site views happening on mobile devices than on desktops or laptops. It’s important for your website to work well for those users. In addition, your search engine rankings are lower if your site is not mobile-friendly. Go to Google’s page for mobile-friendly testing and it will analyze a URL and report if the page has a mobile-friendly design.

Are all the links (internal & external) active and valid?

If you intended a part of text to be a link, but forgot to make it a link, that is an inactive link. You make it active by including the URL of the link destination. A valid link is one which works (i.e, no errors) and which leads you to the correct location.

Does the website work well on different browsers?

It is essential these days for your website to work well on the most popular browsers on both Windows and Mac computers.

Are there any Flash videos/applications on the website?

Flash is an outdated technology that not all devices support.

How long do the pages take to load?

Longer a page takes to load, the worse it is for retaining a visitor’s attention. In addition, your search engine rankings will be adversely affected if your site is slow. Particular care needs to be taken with videos and large images since they often consume a lot of bandwidth.

Conventions

Design conventions are very important online. They help visitors intuitively know where to look for information. This reduces the frustration of not knowing one’s way around a new website.
Does your website look and feel markedly different from a lot of other websites? If yes, you may be flouting convention. Unless you are in an edgy field or have a good reason to move away from convention, don’t.