Google's Lizzi Sassman and John Mueller responded to a question about Content Decay and said they were confused because they had never heard of the term. It turns out that there is a good reason for this. Content Decay is just a new name created to make an old problem seem like a new problem.
Googlers have never heard of content degradation.
Lizzy Sussman, a technology writer at Google, said at the beginning of the Google Search Off the Record podcast that when someone talks about content decline, you don't hear about content decline after someone posts the topic. I said that because I said so.
she said:
“…I think it came up in the feedback form on the Search Off the Record podcast topic that someone thought we should talk about content degradation. I don’t know what that is. So I thought I should look into it.'' Then maybe we could talk about it.'' ”
Google's John Mueller responded:
“Well, it's good that someone knows what it is. …When I looked at it, it sounded like this was a known term, but I have no idea what it actually means. When I realized that I didn't know and probably had to interpret the meaning from the name, I felt inadequate.”
Lizzi then pointed out that the name Content Decay sounded like it was referring to something wrong with the content.
“That sounds a little negative. A little negative, yes. Oh yeah. I feel like there's probably something wrong with the content. Maybe it's rotten or something has happened over time. ”
Googlers aren't the only ones who don't know what the term content decline means. Even experienced SEOs with over 25 years of experience, including myself, had never heard of this term. I reached out to several experienced SEOs and none of them had heard of the term content decline.
Like Lizzi, anyone who hears the term “content decline” would reasonably assume that the name refers to something wrong with the content. But that's wrong. As Lizzi and John Mueller understood, content decline isn't really about content, it's just a name someone gave to a natural phenomenon that's been going on for thousands of years.
If you're feeling out of the loop because you've never heard of Content Decay, that's not the case. Content decline is one of those lame labels someone coined to give a new name to a very old problem that predates not just the Internet, but even the invention of writing itself.
What is content degradation?
What people mean when they talk about content decline is a slow decline in search traffic. However, the slow decline in traffic is not the definition, but only a symptom of the real problem of declining user interest. It is normal for user interest to decline in a topic, product, service, or virtually any entity, and it is expected that even evergreen topics can sneakily influence organic search trends. Content decline is an inappropriate name for the actual SEO problem it deals with. Just don't call it content decline.
How does user interest wane?
Fading interest is a phenomenon older than the internet. Fashion, music styles, and topics move between the physical and internet worlds.
A classic example of waning interest is the collapse of search queries for digital cameras after the introduction of the iPhone, as most people no longer needed another camera device.
Similarly, the problem with traffic loss isn't necessarily the content. It's a search trend. If search trends are the reason for the drop in traffic, it's likely a decline in user interest, and the problem to solve is to figure out why interest in the topic is changing.
Common reasons for user disengagement include:
- My understanding of the topic has changed
- seasonality
- technological destruction
- The way words are used has changed
- The popularity of the topic has declined
When diagnosing a drop in traffic, always consider all possibilities, as there may be nothing wrong with your content or SEO. The problem is user interest, trends, and other factors that have nothing to do with the content itself.
There are various reasons for traffic drop
The problem with bad SEO catchall phrases is that because they don't explain anything specific, the catchall phrase's meaning tends to morph, overshadowing what the catchall originally incorrectly described. It's about starting to explain what's beyond.
Other reasons your traffic might drop (both slow and sudden) include:
- User interest in the topic is decreasing (user interest is better described as decreasing).
- Google has introduced a new navigation feature that will slow down your traffic (as people are also asking).
- Traffic slows down as Google introduces new rich results (video results, shopping results, featured snippets)
- The slow decline in search traffic can be a side effect of personalized search, where sites rank lower and are only ranked for specific people/locations (personalized search).
- The decrease in search traffic is due to a change in relevancy (algorithm relevancy change)
- Decline in organic search traffic is due to increased competition (competition)
Catchphrases are useless
Content decline is one of the many SEO labels given to problems and strategies to make old problems and techniques seem new. These labels are often inappropriate and cause confusion because they do not describe the problem.
It is good practice to name the cause of the problem. Therefore, you should make a conscious effort to use the actual name of the problem or solution instead of using a fake name like Content Decay. In the case of content decline, it's best to identify the problem (decreased user interest) and refer to it by its name.
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