The concept of content freshness can be dated back to 2003, when Google freshness was announced. This algorithm took into account the relevance and frequency of information updates when ranking. The value of this indicator increased after updating and complication in 2011.

The more relevant the information, the higher the position it occupies in the ranking. Freshness is not important for all pages. Search engines understand that certain data is pointless to update. For example, a page dedicated to Shevchenko’s work will not publish news about the poet every day.

Relevance is important for the following types of requests:

  • Current events. For example, news. The more recent the information on this issue, the higher the position it will occupy.

  • Regularly recurring events with minor changes. For example, the release of new episodes of a popular TV series or exchange rates. Such data is provided in portions. The fresher they are, the more relevant information the user receives;

  • Topics whose relevance is constantly changing. For example, a list of popular mobile devices this year is more useful than a similar list from five years ago.

Search ranking algorithms

Search engines use comprehensive analysis of content and the site as a whole to determine relevance. As a rule, systematic work in key areas will help achieve high search results.

There are several key factors that can have a significant impact on ranking:

  • Document creation date. If the posted content belongs to one of the above categories for which the freshness indicator is important - the later the date of its publication, the more relevant it will be for the search engine;

  • Scope of changes to the document. Existing pages need to be updated. A significant scale of changes will increase attention to the site from the search engine;

  • Frequency of page updates. Frequent page updates are a sign of constant freshness of the content. Search engines understand this. They give preference to resources that regularly carry out such work;

  • New pages appear. The increase in new content increases the overall significance of the resource. This demonstrates to search engines the freshness of the information, having a positive impact on rankings;

  • Extent of change in important content. Changes affecting the main content of the page, and not service information (footer, advertising, widgets), have a significant impact;

  • Increase in link mass. If many trusted sources start linking to the updated page, the search engine considers the content relevant;

  • Freshness of donor sites. Links from recent pages of donor sites have a significant impact on ranking. This is easy to explain. If an article from 5 years ago links to a specific page, there is a high probability that its content is outdated. On the other hand, links from new resources indicate the relevance of the information offered;

  • Stability of anchors. If a site suddenly changes its focus and theme, the entire built-up link mass is not taken into account in the ranking. For example, a site dedicated to bicycles begins to talk about gardening. It will be considered relevant to the latest topic. Early weight gain will be ignored;

  • Поведенческие факторы . If users spend a lot of time on a page, leaving comments and taking targeted actions, it remains relevant to the search engine.

There are a number of ways to keep your site fresh. It is necessary to periodically update the content, increase the number of pages (by an average of 30% per year), and publish high-quality articles that are useful to users.