Ask an Ambassador - Should I Delete My Old Out of Date Posts?
I must admit I have been tempted to do this. So far I haven't and I am going to give you the reasons why.
Most of us blog for business and hope to reach the public. We want to be found on the search engines and want our posts to rank high so we can be found and recognized as an expert in our fields.
Posts about the market reference a specific time period and some may say they are not valid after some time has passed. Those posts have staying power even though they may not be relating to the present. When you are posting current information in another blog you can reference these older posts and the backlinks could help the older posts to rise in the rankings. So if they still have potential to get you found why would you want to delete them?
Here are a few suggestions to get even more mileage out of your older posts such as your market reports and listings.
- For your listing posts try adding the date of the closing and you might even want to post the sale price. Afterall that is public record you know. This would make that post have longevity.
- Another suggestion is to add a current photo, graph or video at the top with a caption stating what the current market (reference a date) is doing.
- Go back and update them with more current information. You don't have to put a lot of information in and it could be something as simple as putting in your current date and adding a link to more current information or a more current post. Google likes to see activity and this will help your older posts have staying power.
- For topics on local events, you may want to update them too. This will be a service to the community and help the public not get confused if they pull up an older post on a Google search. Also when you are writing the original post make it very clear the date of the event.
What if you wrote a rant post or an opinion piece and it is no longer your opinion or how you feel? The same thing applies, update it. Updating could be nothing more than a short paragraph with referencing the date that you are updating it and stating why you feel differently now.
What if you simply don't want to be associated with a post any longer or are sorry you wrote one? Then you should delete it. If the post was Public you might just change it to Members Only so it will survive but where the public cannot see it. Ultimately it is up to you which you do.
I strongly suggest you do not delete your real estate related posts, market data or anything that shows your expertise and success in the real estate business such as neighborhood blogs, listings or tips articles. All of these accumulate and help establish you as a knowledgeable resource in your market area. Isn't that the goal that will help bring in more business?
Ask an Ambassador - Should I Delete My Old Out of Date Posts?
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