Updating old content is a powerful way to boost SEO. By making it more relevant, accurate and engaging, you can improve search engine rankings and attract backlinks and social shares.
But the digital landscape is incredibly dynamic, and keywords and user search intent can change over time. So, when is it worth revisiting old content to update it?
Repurpose
Repurposing old content, as is usually recommended by great tools like Rank Revival, is a way to get the most out of your existing content and drive new results in SEO. This can be done in many ways, but the best method is to identify your top-performing content and repurpose it in a way that will reach a new audience.
Start by identifying your evergreen content pieces, those that remain relevant to your audience for long periods of time. These are great candidates for repurposing. Once you’ve identified the most popular posts, consider turning them into a slideshow or video. These formats are more engaging than a text post, and they’ll also rank better in Google Image searches.
Alternatively, you could turn your evergreen blog posts into an ebook or guide. This can be especially effective for niche topics that you don’t have the reach to target with a single blog post. In addition, an ebook will have a much higher perceived value than a slideshare or video, which can make it more difficult for people to find and digest.
You can also update your old content to increase its relevancy. Publish an updated version with fresh keywords, updated images, and additional tips and tricks to make it more up-to-date. This will help increase traffic and click-through rates, as well as encourage search engines to index it again.
Be sure to promote your updated content on social media, email newsletters, and other platforms. It’s also important to link to it from other pages on your website so that the search engine spiders can find it and index it again. Finally, don’t forget to include a relevant alt text for all of your repurposed images so that they can be indexed by search engines and displayed in place of a missing image when someone conducts a related query.
Refresh
When content becomes outdated, it can lose its ability to attract traffic and search engine attention. This can happen to even evergreen content that provides value months or years after it was published. To avoid this, you should refresh old content to make sure that it is still relevant and follows the latest best practices.
This can include updating statistics, updating screenshots with the latest UI, adding/removing information to align with current SEO best practices and more. By doing this, you can ensure that your old content is up to date and continues to rank well.
Additionally, you can update your old content to incorporate new keywords and phrases that you are targeting for SEO success. This is important to do as search intent evolves over time, and an article that used to rank well may not rank so well today because it doesn’t fulfil the search intention.
Aside from boosting your SEO, refreshing old content also increases the user experience and boosts brand credibility and authority. For example, if an older post answers frequently asked questions about your industry, it can help readers find the answers to their inquiries. It can also demonstrate your expertise in the topic and further enhance user engagement.
Another advantage of updating old content is that it can save you time and money compared to creating new content from scratch. After all, your research is already done and your structure is established, which can make it easier to revise than starting from scratch. Moreover, you can update several old pages in the same amount of time it would take to create one new page.
Despite the benefits of refreshing old content, many marketers struggle to implement it. This is mainly because it takes time and specialized knowledge to refresh content. However, it is worth the investment as it can help your business get more out of existing content and improve search engine visibility.
Rebrand
If you have a piece of content that hasn’t seen much traffic, it might be time to refresh it. The good news is that this doesn’t have to be a complete overhaul. Instead, a simple update can breathe new life into old content and help it rank better.
One of the best ways to refresh an existing piece of content is to turn it into an infographic. This takes the research that you already did and turns it into an engaging visual asset for your audience. It also helps to attract links, which is a big part of SEO success.
Another option is to turn an old blog post into an audio podcast episode. This is a great way to reach a new audience and give your content more longevity. It can also be a valuable resource for your audience when they are on the go and need something to keep them entertained.
Finally, rebranding an old article by adding new keywords to the title and meta description can be a great way to boost search engine rankings. This is because Google’s algorithm is always changing, and adding new keywords to your old content can help it rank well despite any changes in the algorithm.
Updating old content can be a time-consuming process, but it’s worth the effort in order to see results from your efforts. Using tools like online content audits can help you identify underperforming posts that could benefit from an update. Then, you can rewrite them to improve the quality and relevance of your content, as well as update any outdated statistics or information. You can then republish the updated version and see the effects of your work.
Repurpose Again
A single piece of content can be used to create multiple content marketing assets, extending the lifespan and reach of that content. For example, a blog post can be used as the foundation for a series of tweets or Facebook posts. A video can be turned into a SlideShare presentation. And a PPC ad can be made out of a landing page. In this way, you can create a lot of new traffic to your site from one initial piece of content.
It’s not uncommon for a business to produce high-quality blog posts, web pages and other content assets. However, many businesses don’t realize that these pieces of content can be repurposed to drive SEO success. The best way to do this is by refreshing old content and optimizing it for search engines.
Refreshing old content means updating it with the latest information and happenings. This can be done in a variety of ways, including adding new data, facts and reader testimonies. It can also include answers to commonly asked questions. This is a great way to improve user experience and demonstrate your authority on the topic. It can also improve SEO by showing that your content is up-to-date and relevant to current searches.
The last method of repurposing old content is to turn it into different formats. This can be as simple as taking a blog post and turning it into an infographic or video. You can also take a blog post and turn it into a podcast episode or SoundCloud content. And you can even take a blog post and turn it into an e-book or physical book.
While creating fresh, engaging new content is important for your digital marketing efforts, you shouldn’t overlook the value of your existing content. By repurposing it and refreshing it, you can make it work harder for your business and drive more traffic to your website. So, before you trash any of your old content, try some of these techniques to give it a second life and drive more traffic. And don’t forget to optimize it for search engines so that it drives even more traffic.