Most of the best things in life seem to come fresh—there's freshly brewed coffee, freshly made donuts, the fresh smell of a spring garden in the morning, and so on. When something is fresh, it is likely very, very good. As human beings, we are inherently drawn to things that are "good." Google is not so different from us; Google likes it fresh too, particularly fresh content. Google also equates "fresh" with "good." After reading this article, you'll want to start blogging more. Read on to know why.
Why Fresher Is Better
Freshness as a ranking signal is not new; it has been part of Google's algorithm for years. Continuous updates to the ranking algorithm have allowed Google to do its job more efficiently, collecting and evaluating content much faster than before. Algorithm updates, including the introduction of BERT and MUM, have enhanced Google's ability to understand the context and relevance of content, further emphasizing the importance of fresh, high-quality content. As a result, new content is likely to get a better ranking and perhaps be indexed more quickly. The purpose remains the same: to provide users with relevant and up-to-date results every time they conduct a search.
Why It Makes Sense
Put yourself in the shoes of the searcher. When you search for something, you certainly want the results to be as relevant as possible. For instance, if you want information about your favorite TV series, say, " Yellowstone," you probably want to know about its upcoming season. By simply typing in "Yellowstone new season", you will still get the latest information about the series even if you don't specify the season number in your search. Makes sense? It sure does! The improved freshness algorithm is smart enough to determine whether the recent information you need is from last week, yesterday, or even from minutes ago.
Why You Should Care
One of the best ways to maintain the freshness of your site is through blogging regularly. The more articles you publish, the more freshness points you get. Every new article is an excellent opportunity to be ranked better and found by your target audience—provided you have original, high-quality, well-optimized content. You can't use bad practices and expect to get away with it. Google is too smart for that. Freshness is only one of the factors it considers when ranking new content. Google also checks the content's quality, relevance, and topicality. If you run a white-hat business, writing blogs regularly is definitely worth your effort.
Why a Blog
A blog is one of the easiest, most efficient ways to keep your website fresh in Google's eyes—or in this case, its "nose." By adding a blog to your site, you can post articles regularly with ease. This way, everyone's happy: Google's happy because you're giving it what it wants; your customers are happy because they have a steady stream of "what's new and happening" in the industry; and most importantly, you are happy because the process is easy to do and you get rewarded for it, ultimately helping you achieve your SEO goals. On top of that, this tactic is non-obtrusive as it does not significantly alter your site's structure.
Final Words
Surprisingly, many people are still unaware of the "freshness factor" and the important role it plays in helping a website rank well. The good news is that this gives you a fighting chance even if you are new to the online business world. Your new article will likely be ranked better and deemed more relevant to the user than an old article from several years ago. The old article might be better in more ways than one, but Google might prefer yours just because it's fresher. As long as you don't cut corners and follow the rules, you have a good chance. So, start blogging more often! Do it right, and you should start to enjoy the "fresh" smell of success!
For further information about this topic or other issues related to digital marketing, contact us today. If you're struggling to fill your blog with original articles, let us know too!
