Five Strategic Approaches to Boost Traffic to Informational Websites

Informational websites are experiencing growing challenges in maintaining search visibility, with no site immune to traffic declines. Digital marketing expert Roger Montti outlines five proven strategies to manage content effectively, maintain steady traffic, and adapt to changing audience preferences to ensure sustainable growth.

The diminishing returns of relying solely on either current events or static content have pushed publishers to rethink their content strategies, according to Montti's December 2025 analysis. Sites must diversify their approach to weather algorithm changes and shifting audience interests.

Creating a Strategic Content Mix

Successful informational sites balance time-sensitive and evergreen content to maintain consistent traffic patterns. While being first to publish breaking news can drive massive traffic spikes, this approach alone lacks sustainability.

"Publishers are in a constant race to publish what's latest because being first to publish can be a source of massive traffic," notes Montti. "The main problem with these kinds of sites is that publishing content about current events can run into problems, putting into question the sustainability of the publication."

Leading publishers like The New York Times demonstrate this balanced approach by maintaining specialized sections for evergreen content. Their standalone recipes section and Wirecutter product reviews complement their news coverage, creating multiple traffic streams that support the site during slow news cycles.

Entertainment and music websites follow similar patterns, combining industry news with star interviews and cultural essays that maintain relevance long after publication. Rolling Stone exemplifies this strategy by expanding from music coverage into adjacent topics like politics that align with reader interests.

Implementing a balanced content strategy requires careful planning and editorial calendars that allocate resources between breaking news coverage and the development of comprehensive evergreen resources that will continue to drive consistent traffic to your website long after publication.

Managing Content Strategy for Long-Term Success

Incorporating Trending Topics into Evergreen Content

Sites primarily focused on evergreen topics like recipes, gardening, DIY, or personal finance can significantly benefit from incorporating current events coverage. This approach introduces the website to new audience segments.

"The flow of traffic derived from trending topics is an excellent source of devoted readers who return to read evergreen content and end up recommending the site to friends for both current events and evergreen topics," Montti explains.

Publishers should actively seek opportunities to connect their core evergreen topics with trending news, products, or celebrity statements. This hybrid approach creates a more dynamic content ecosystem that supports both stability and growth.

For optimal results, consider developing a systematic method for identifying trending topics that naturally intersect with your core subject areas, allowing for rapid content development when relevant trends emerge. Tools like Google Trends, BuzzSumo, and social listening platforms can provide early indicators of rising topics within your niche.

Managing Outdated Content Effectively

Google's whole-site quality evaluations mean outdated or irrelevant content can actively damage a site's overall performance. Montti advises publishers to regularly audit their content libraries using usefulness as the primary criterion, not merely age.

"Content that is absolutely out of date and of no interest to anyone and is therefore no longer useful should be removed," Montti emphasizes. "The reason to prune this content is because it's possible that a whole-site evaluation may conclude that most of the website is comprised of unhelpful, outdated web pages."

For outdated content, publishers have several options:

• Archive useful historical content in organized sections
• Update and rehabilitate outdated but potentially valuable content
• Redirect obsolete pages to newer, more relevant content with 301 response codes
• Remove completely useless content and allow 404 responses

The New York Times exemplifies effective archiving by organizing old movie reviews by year, month, day, and category, maintaining their historical value while clearly signaling their age.

Content auditing tools such as Screaming Frog or Semrush can help identify aging content that may require updating or removal, making the process more efficient for sites with extensive content libraries. Establishing a comprehensive digital marketing strategy that includes regular content maintenance is essential for long-term success.

Monitoring Topic Interest and Audience Evolution

Traffic declines often stem from waning audience interest rather than ranking issues. Technological innovations, like the iPhone's introduction that Montti observed decimating traffic for sites covering certain product categories, can dramatically reshape search behavior.

"Always keep track of how interested your audience is in your topic," Montti advises. "Follow influencers in your niche topic on social media to gauge what they are talking about and whether there are any shifts in the conversation."

Publishers must distinguish between temporary interest fluctuations and structural decline. Misinterpreting cyclical slowdowns as permanent trends can lead to unnecessary pivots, while ignoring fundamental shifts can leave sites investing in increasingly irrelevant content.

The key is continuous monitoring and gradual adjustment rather than reactive overhauls after traffic has already declined.

Differentiating in a Competitive Landscape

Many informational sites suffer from content homogeneity—covering identical stories with similar visual styles and presentation formats. This convergence creates a sea of sameness that makes standing out increasingly difficult.

"Websites tend to converge into homogeneity in the images they use and the kind of content that's shared, based on the idea that if it's working for competitors, then it may be a good approach," Montti observes. "But sometimes it's best to step out of the pack and do things differently."

Authenticity presents a major differentiation opportunity. Recipe sites could show cooking bloopers alongside perfect results. Product review sites could include photos demonstrating actual product testing rather than stock imagery.

"Instagram and Pinterest are traffic drivers, but does that mean all images must be impossibly perfect? Maybe people might respond to the opposite of homogeneity and fake perfection," Montti suggests.

Establishing a unique editorial voice and visual identity can significantly enhance recognition and reader loyalty. This becomes particularly important as strategies for increasing organic traffic grow more sophisticated in competitive niches.

How to Apply These Insights

These strategic approaches provide multiple ways for publishers to strengthen their informational websites:

• Develop a content calendar that balances timely news with evergreen resources
• Regularly update high-performing evergreen content with fresh information
• Conduct quarterly content audits to identify and address outdated materials
• Set up topic interest monitoring using Google Trends and social listening tools
• Experiment with authentic content formats that differentiate your site from competitors

Traffic sustainability ultimately depends on actively managing content quality, maintaining topic relevance, and making deliberate choices that distinguish your site as useful and credible in an increasingly competitive landscape.

As Montti concludes, "Sustained performance depends on actively managing content, balancing evergreen coverage with current events, pruning what's no longer useful, and making deliberate choices that distinguish the site as useful, authentic, and credible."

Enhanced Content Suggestions:

To further improve the effectiveness of these strategies, consider implementing these additional tactics:

1. Data-driven content prioritization: Use analytics to identify which content types generate the most engagement and conversion, then allocate resources accordingly. According to Content Marketing Institute, organizations that document their content strategy are 313% more likely to report success.

2. User feedback integration: Implement mechanisms to gather direct user feedback on content usefulness and relevance, using these insights to refine future content development.

3. Content distribution optimization: Develop channel-specific distribution strategies that extend the reach of both timely and evergreen content beyond organic search, including email newsletters, social media, and content syndication partnerships.

4. Competitive gap analysis: Regularly analyze competitor content to identify underserved topics and questions within your niche that present opportunities for differentiation.

5. Content refresh calendars: Establish systematic schedules for updating evergreen content based on performance metrics, industry changes, and search trend evolution.