If I update a page using strike throughs on the old content will that hurt my indexing and SEO with Google?

[gruntfoce]

[Michael]

Hi.

First off, is the strike-through text necessary ? Is it important for visitors to see the content that is no longer valid ?

I doubt Google would penalize you for a style preference, unless it's determined the text is unreadable or serves to attempt to manipulate search results ( Black hat seo ).

Why not create a separate page, with the older content, place a link to it on your new content pages so that you could describe what the old content means to visitors ? That way, you could maintain your content in a readable way that will altogether eliminate the worry Google has penalized you, while at the same time enhancing your SEO prospects.