UPDATE: Google has confirmed in this video released 3 years after the below article, that fresh content is indeed a signal when it comes to ranking.

Have you heard of fresh content marketing… probably not since I only just coined the phrase recently after doing research on where the search engine and SEO industry is headed. So let me tell you a little about this SEO strategy.

What is Fresh Content Marketing?

Fresh content marketing is the future of SEO (at least for now it is). Though SEO experts will still need to use their skills for all the old SEO tactics like title optimisation, keyword research and backlink building, the new focus will be on fresh content. New content put into a site on a regular basis is what will help the most to get a site to the top position on Google. With the new Google Caffeine update by Google it is evident that fresh content is what Google wants.

How do I know if my content is fresh?

Well if you have not updated in the past 3 months then your site is stale. Google has a bot called the “freshbot” which looks for new content constantly, if your site is constantly updated you may be visited by this freshbot. It is easy to tell if you are visited by the freshbot, simply add a new page to your site and see if it appears in the Google index within a couple of minutes. If it does and it contains a small timestamp in green next to it then you are in good shape.

If your site does not show up in the results right away then you may need to update more often.

What about old pages?

Even if you are visited by the freshbot, some pages on your site may be old and out-dated. If these pages contain keywords that you want to be listed under or have brought you many visits in the past then you may want to write a new article or page with these keywords giving Google a fresh updated version to look at. This does not mean that you need to copy the old article and re-post it… you must write a completely new article on the same topic.

What if I only have static pages and no news or posts?

Then I suggest that you get writing, the best way to get new content on your site is by writing a little about your industry and then letting people read about it. Your visitors will like this and so will the search engines.

Conclusion

Keep your site fresh and keep your site updated. No one likes stale cheese, not even a search bot.