Update a page when the information in it has become wrong, incomplete, or overtaken by events. Do not update it to change the date, which achieves nothing and eventually gets noticed. The most valuable updates add something that was not there before rather than rephrasing what already was.
Why updating beats writing new
An existing page has history. It has been crawled, assessed, possibly linked to, and it may already rank for something. A new page starts with none of that.
So improving a page that already has standing frequently produces more than publishing a new one on the same subject, and it avoids creating two pages competing for the same queries, which is the problem described in duplicate content.
This is one of the few areas where the cheaper option is also usually the better one.
What genuinely deserves updating
Facts that have changed
Prices, regulations, product names, platform features, figures. A page confidently stating something no longer true is worse than no page, because a reader who catches one error discounts everything else.
Advice that is now wrong
Distinct from facts. Guidance that was sound three years ago and has been overtaken. This is the most damaging kind of staleness because it is not obviously dated.
Gaps the page never covered
Questions readers ask that the page does not answer. Enquiry records and search queries both reveal these, and adding the missing section is usually the highest-value edit available.
Pages with impressions but few clicks
Search Console shows where you appear but are not chosen. Frequently the fix is the title and the opening rather than the body, since the page is being found and rejected rather than not found.
Broken links and dead references
Unglamorous maintenance. A page full of dead links reads as abandoned regardless of the quality of its writing.
What to leave alone
- Pages that are performing. If it ranks and converts, the risk of change exceeds the likely benefit. Fix errors and otherwise leave it.
- The URL. Changing it means a redirect and unnecessary risk. Keep the address even when the title changes.
- Genuinely timeless material. Not everything decays.
- Dated content that is honestly dated. A post about an event in 2023 is not stale, it is historical. Leave the date visible and let it be what it is.
The date question
Two practices get conflated and only one is legitimate.
Reasonable: substantially revising a page and updating the modified date to reflect that. The date now tells a reader something true.
Not reasonable: changing dates on unmodified pages to appear current. It misleads readers, and any short-term benefit reverses when someone reads a supposedly current article containing obviously outdated advice.
Showing both an original publication date and a last-updated date is the honest arrangement, and it lets a reader judge for themselves.
How to do an update well
- Read it as a stranger first. Note what is wrong, what is missing, and where you lost interest.
- Check every factual claim. Especially numbers and anything about a third party's product or policy.
- Add rather than rearrange. Reorganising an adequate page rarely helps. Adding a section answering something it did not cover usually does.
- Improve the opening. If the answer is buried, move it up, per writing the answer paragraph.
- Update internal links so the page points at your current related material.
- Keep the URL.
- Note what you changed somewhere, so the next person to review it knows what was already checked.
A workable cadence
Reviewing everything annually is unrealistic for most businesses and unnecessary. A more practical arrangement:
- Pages containing prices, regulations, or platform specifics: check twice a year, because these go wrong quietly.
- Your most important pages: read annually, whether or not anything appears wrong.
- Everything else: when something prompts it, such as a customer question that reveals a gap.
The alternative, updating nothing until a redesign forces a review, is how a site accumulates pages that quietly contradict each other.
Frequently asked questions
Is it better to update an old post or write a new one?
Usually to update, where the topic is the same. An existing page already has crawl history and possibly rankings and links, and publishing a second page on the same subject creates two pages competing for the same queries.
Does changing the date on a post improve rankings?
Changing dates on pages that have not been substantially revised is misleading and achieves nothing durable. Updating the modified date after a genuine revision is legitimate, and showing both original and updated dates lets readers judge for themselves.
Which pages are most worth updating?
Those containing facts that have changed, advice overtaken by events, gaps the page never addressed, and pages showing impressions but few clicks in Search Console, where the fix is frequently the title and opening rather than the body.
Should I change the URL when updating a page?
No. Keeping the address avoids the need for a redirect and the associated risk, even where the title and much of the content change. There is rarely a benefit that justifies altering a URL that already has history.
What should I leave alone?
Pages that already rank and convert, beyond correcting genuine errors, since the risk of change exceeds the likely benefit. Content that is honestly dated, such as a post about a past event, is historical rather than stale and can remain as it is.
How often should content be reviewed?
Pages containing prices, regulations, or platform specifics twice a year since those go wrong quietly, your most important pages annually whether or not anything appears wrong, and everything else when something such as a customer question reveals a gap.
West Coast Media Solutions Inc. builds websites for businesses across Canada. Search and analytics platforms change frequently, and where practitioners genuinely disagree we have said so rather than presenting one position as settled.
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