As search engines and AI-powered search tools continue to evolve, routine website maintenance is becoming increasingly important.

Keeping your content, assets, and links up to date helps ensure visitors find accurate and relevant information while supporting your site’s visibility, credibility, accessibility, and overall performance.

We ask that editors review and implement the following best practices to help keep your website in top shape!

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1. Important: Manage Your Asset-Media Repository

CMS editors should regularly review and clean up their site’s Asset- Media Repository.

Once you’ve confirmed that an older image or document is no longer needed, permanently delete it from your website’s Asset-Media Repository. Removing outdated files helps prevent obsolete content from remaining publicly accessible and allows search engines and AI crawlers to stop indexing those files eventually.

Best Practice: Clean out old files monthly, including PDFs, documents, and images.

***Please note: Removal from search results is not immediate and cannot be guaranteed.

❌ “Deleting a file removes it from Google.” =  Not guaranteed.

✅ “Deleting a file removes it from your site and allows search engines to eventually stop indexing it.” = Accurate

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2. Content Additions and Deletions

After adding new content or files, PROOF your changes/edits, i.e., check links, check that the correct file was added, etc. Make any necessary adjustments and republish the page/post.

Take time to identify outdated pages, posts, and other content that no longer serves your visitors or could confuse search engines and AI-powered discovery tools.

Many websites include time-sensitive information such as dates, events, statistics, facts, and figures. Make sure visitors aren’t finding information that is no longer accurate or relevant.
Removing or refreshing outdated content improves the visitor experience and strengthens the accuracy and authority of the information on your website.

Best Practice: Review your website(s) at the beginning of each semester, or more frequently if content creators post often. Always PROOF any website edits/changes.

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3. Asset Repository: Check Your Site’s Images for Alt Text

Alt text helps make web content more accessible and inclusive while also providing useful context about images for search engines and other technologies.

Best Practice: Add alt text to every new image you upload, and regularly review your website’s images to ensure each has appropriate alt text.

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4.  Check for Broken Links

Broken or outdated links can frustrate visitors and make it harder for them to find the information they need.

To help keep your website performing at its best, check the Broken Links Manager under your site’s Dashboard each month. Fix, update, or remove links that are no longer working or relevant.

Best Practice: Review the Broken Links Manager monthly and fix any broken links that appear.