But perfectly good content gets euthanized all the time. In the process of regularly validating and updating over 2,000 bookmarks on the companion Web site to our book, we've found links to hundreds of useful Web pages that have been removed without a trace. Earlier this year, they decided to blow away all their archived issues prior to July 1999. By removing this content, MediaMap cut themselves off from the qualified leads delivered by inbound links and the additional search engine referral traffic. Place it in an archive.
Content can be an expensive business.
Web sites can be more cost-effective by finding multiple ways to amortize their content creation costs. One way is to syndicate it. Another way is to extend its lifetime by keeping it accessible. Newspaper sites have long understood the value of archived content, frequently charging users' fees to access it. Of course, leaving old content on your front door isn't the answer either.