what to do with outdated posts but with lots of links

[Lyanna]

I have a website that I currently make money on and one of the best keywords that I have gotten daily traffic and conversions on is basically just the regular keywords but with "2011" tacked on at the end.

For example, instead of trying to rank for "bad credit help" I just go for "bad credit help 2011" (just an example, not my real keyword) - it's like 5x easier than the main keyword and people who use it are seriously looking for the latest solutions.

Anyway, I am sure you can already see the problem. What happens when 2012 is near? The old 2011 posts already have good SERP ranking because I have a lot of backlinks.

The options as I see it are:

- just make new posts/pages with 2012 in it, this is not bad but of course the old backlinks are basically useless since they all link to the old posts

- use the old posts but put 2012 in the title, problem is that the url will have 2011 in it. possible trust issue with readers if they notice it and not ideal because I believe having the keyword in the url is best

- do some sort of redirect? I don't know how to do this, can someone advise?

- any other possible options?

[JSProjects]

Sell!

You've still got time to flip it for a small profit, then work on 2012.

Though you can 301 it to a new domain if you want to keep it.

[Lyanna]

Originally Posted by JSProjects

Sell!

You've still got time to flip it for a small profit, then work on 2012.

Though you can 301 it to a new domain if you want to keep it.

Whoa I never thought of selling! Kinda a good answer so thanks but this will not work for me as the entire domain is not 2011-based, just some of the posts that get me the most traffic.

Like, the main domain is coolseoprofit dot com (just an example, not the real website) and the posts that get the most traffic are "seo link wheels 2011" "free high PR backlinks 2011" "best seo practices 2011", etc.

So the problem is just the most popular posts, not the domain itself.

[Lyanna]

Originally Posted by hfmoo

I think you may be able to try to resolve the file 301. I think so.

How would I do that and what will be the impact on SEO?

[linkassistant]

Agree - 301 Redurect is the best option.

Originally Posted by Lyanna

How would I do that and what will be the impact on SEO?

1. Create a new page for "bad credit help 2012". The content should be brushed up - you're right about the "trust issue ". The title, the url and the description should be identical to the 2011 page.

2. Redirect 2011 page to 2012 page.

This will allow you to keep some SEO value from your previous link-building efforts.

3. Do some link-building for the newly-created page.

[Lyanna]

Originally Posted by linkassistant

Agree - 301 Redurect is the best option.

1. Create a new page for "bad credit help 2012". The content should be brushed up - you're right about the "trust issue ". The title, the url and the description should be identical to the 2011 page.

Thank you. I have now create one separate 2012 post. In my niche it's possible to write some opinion posts about "what I think the future holds for us" type off thing so it should be alright for now.

It's already ranking on the first page of Google because it's low competition. I expect I will have to ramp things up when it's closer to 2012.

2. Redirect 2011 page to 2012 page.

This will allow you to keep some SEO value from your previous link-building efforts.

I will do that when 2012 rolls along. Right now the 2011 is still relevant and I get nice conversions from it.

This is what I have read here about 301 redirects, right? I will have to find out how to do that. If anyone has a good guide on how to do it, please feel free to link to it.

3. Do some link-building for the newly-created page.

I will! Thanks for the answer.

[linkassistant]

Originally Posted by Lyanna

This is what I have read here about 301 redirects, right? I will have to find out how to do that. If anyone has a good guide on how to do it, please feel free to link to it.

The procedure is as simple as this:

Redirect 301 /oldpage.html http: //www.example.com/newpage.html

You can get more information here:

301 redirects - Webmaster Tools Help

[Lyanna]

Originally Posted by linkassistant

The procedure is as simple as this:

Redirect 301 /oldpage.html http: //www.example.com/newpage.html

You can get more information here:

301 redirects - Webmaster Tools Help

Really? Okay, looks like it's not too hard then.

[supershoesclub]

I think the good idea is to post the 2010 links in your high pr 2011 post in the end to lead the visitors to see the new 2012 post.thus, you still keep the pr value. but meanwhile,you will get the traffic to your new post too.

[paulgl]

301 redirects are not really for stuff like this.

That's not what its intended use is.

Don't delete anything. That's the best thing to do.
Just do new posts. Put links to them on the old posts,
with anchor text saying, click here for 2012 update..etc.

Many people err by wanting to eradicate indexed content. No need.

Paul

[Amy marketing]

Originally Posted by supershoesclub

I think the good idea is to post the 2010 links in your high pr 2011 post in the end to lead the visitors to see the new 2012 post.thus, you still keep the pr value. but meanwhile,you will get the traffic to your new post too.

Yep,it's a wonderful idea.

[yukon]

I would not touch the old page (2011) Page Title or URL.

Create new pages for 2012 then put internal links inside the old 2011 pages content that point to the new 2012 page. Keep the pages 100% targeted on the same keyword.

Chances are you'll end up getting double SERP listings for the same keyword, maybe double SERP listings for both the 2011 & 2012 page version.

Whatever you do, don't 301 redirect, your wasting existing ranked keywords/traffic.

Why have one page getting traffic, when you can have 2 pages getting traffic?

[Lyanna]

Hi guys, thank you. I see there are actually different opinions about this and I must say simply putting in a "click here for 2012 update" is just the easiest thing to do.

What about google seeing two different posts with almost almost the same title? I'm afraid it will look artificial to have "keyword phrase 2011" + "keyword phrase 2012" in the same blog. I do love one particular keyword because it's pretty low competition but gets me good conversions. Please bear in mind that I have multiple posts with 2011 in the title.

On the other hand, I don't think actual website visitors will be confused. I think users will also realize it's good to update old content so user experience will be enhanced.

For example, as a user I wouldn't feel it was bad to have "most effective anti-malware tools 2011" and "most effective anti-malware tools 2012" (yes, my keywords are that long) in the same blog, clearly the writer just updated their old post.

Do you feel it is necessary for me to find a new keyword so Google doesn't see the same keyword/s repeated too much?

Why have one page getting traffic, when you can have 2 pages getting traffic?

Well this is my first year doing IM but I believe that in my niche (downloads) 2011 traffic will be dead by 2012. Literally no one will be searching for last year's downloads but yes, I think I do understand what you are saying.