Update an existing article when the reader’s question is unchanged but the answer needs improving. Write a new article when there is a genuinely different question, audience or decision to cover. A new date or title alone is not a reason for another URL, especially if both pages would compete to answer the same need.
Write the question each article answers
Before opening a new draft, describe its purpose in one sentence. Compare that sentence with the existing article. If the difference is mostly wording, start by improving what you already have.
For an illustrative business, “How to prepare for a website redesign” and “Getting ready to redesign your site” are likely to overlap. “Who should own your website accounts?” has a narrower, distinct purpose and can support the broader guide.
Look beyond the headline. An article can drift into another topic halfway through, leaving both pages only partly useful. The editing decision should be based on the actual answer.
Update when the existing answer has aged
Platform screens, service details, examples and source links can change. If the question still matters, review the article against current information and correct what is no longer accurate.
Also check whether the opening answers the question directly. Older articles sometimes spend several paragraphs introducing a subject before reaching the useful part. Moving the answer up can improve the piece without changing its purpose.
Google’s helpful-content guidance encourages content that satisfies the reader and warns against changing dates merely to make pages look fresh. A meaningful update needs meaningful work behind it.
Write a new article when the decision is different
A separate article earns its place when it answers something the existing guide cannot cover well without becoming unfocused.
Ask whether a reader would reasonably want to send the new article to someone for a distinct reason. An account handover checklist may be useful to a director. A guide to briefing website photography may be useful to the person organising a shoot. Both can support a redesign without repeating the same answer.
Give the new article a specific title and link the pieces where they help one another. Do not create a second broad guide simply because the first one is old.
Use an editorial review sheet
Record the current URL, intended question, accuracy issues, missing information and relevant evidence. Then choose update, new article, merge or retire.
- Update: same question, better or more current answer.
- New article: distinct question with enough useful material of its own.
- Merge: two pages are doing substantially the same job.
- Retire: the topic no longer serves a real need and has no appropriate replacement.
The decision can change after research. A proposed new article may turn out to be a useful section in an existing one. That is a good editorial outcome, even if it produces fewer URLs.
Check more than the body copy
When updating, review the title, description, headings, images, downloads and links. A corrected article can still send readers to an outdated checklist.
Check every claim that depends on a source. Follow the source link and confirm that it still supports the sentence. Remove a claim if you cannot verify it, rather than preserving it because it sounds plausible.
Add evidence that you actually have, such as an approved example or a measured result with its period and context. Do not invent a case study to make an article appear more experienced.
Keep the URL stable where possible
If the subject remains the same, a new URL is often unnecessary. Changing it adds a separate technical task and may leave old links pointing elsewhere.
If articles are merged or moved, plan the old URLs properly. Our guide to duplicate pages and redirects covers those choices.
Keep a note of substantial changes and use an honest updated date. This gives readers context and helps you distinguish a genuine revision from a cosmetic edit.
Review whether the article is useful afterwards
Read the finished piece as someone with the original question. Can they act on it? Are there missing steps or unexplained terms? Would a simpler example make the decision clearer?
Then review its internal links. The article should lead naturally to useful supporting material and, where relevant, the service it supports.
Our SEO service can help prioritise that work using content quality, search evidence and the role of each page. Publishing another article should be a considered decision, not the automatic answer to an empty calendar slot.