A simple update cadence
- After anything that changes your positioning — new role, new focus, new results — update immediately.
- Every 3 months otherwise, a quick pass: add recent work, refresh numbers, cut anything outdated.
- Once a year, re-read it cold and ask if it still sounds like you.
Why stale pages quietly cost you
An outdated page undersells you to a human reader and gives a dated, less accurate picture to any AI tool summarising you. Both Google and AI answer engines favour pages that show real signs of being maintained — small, regular updates beat a page frozen in time.
Freshness is a signal both Google and AI answer engines weight. A page that hasn’t changed in years reads as abandoned to a crawler the same way it does to a person — regular small updates keep both search rankings and the picture AI has of you current and accurate.
FAQ
How often should I update my personal website?
Immediately after anything that changes your positioning, plus a quick refresh every few months — new work, current numbers, and cutting anything outdated.
Does an outdated personal website hurt my search ranking?
It can. Google and AI answer engines both weight freshness — a page that never changes reads as less current and less trustworthy than one that shows regular, real updates.
What should I check in a quick update?
Your headline still matches your focus, your most recent work is included, any numbers or results are current, and nothing on the page has quietly gone stale.