Why You Should Refresh Old Content and How To Do It

Let me tell you a little story about why you should refresh old content.

A post on my blog has driven the most traffic to the site since I wrote it about a decade ago. It’s nothing special, in my opinion. It’s a post about how to write a professional bio, which, apparently, many people need to do and aren’t sure how. All of the traffic to the post comes from search engines. But every now and then, I notice that the post’s traffic is declining, which causes a hit to my overall site traffic. So, I do a little content refresh it again and again. Just tweaking a few things here and there consistently causes the post’s traffic to more than double.

Wouldn’t it be great to double traffic on an “old” but relevant post on your website? That’s precisely why you should refresh old content. Just because content is older doesn’t mean it isn’t still relevant and important to your audience. This post explains why you should refresh old content and how to do it.

The Benefits of Refreshing Old Content

What happened with the post on my site is a perfect example of why to refresh old content. Refreshing a piece that’s performed well in the past will bring it back to life in search and keep it relevant to those who need the information. 

Benefits of refreshing old content include:

• Providing Updated Information. Chances are you included data and links in the piece that need to be updated to provide your audience with the most current information. A refresh allows you to republish the piece on your site while making it relevant again.
• Improving Search Engine Rankings. Improving a post often means it’ll rank better with search engines, which is exactly what you want for every piece of content on your site.
• Increasing Organic Traffic. Increasing traffic to your site from search engines is always an essential goal. Refreshing old content can make that happen by making the piece relevant again.
• Fixing Issues. When you refresh a post, you may discover issues you need to correct. For example, broken links, improper headers, or irrelevant photos. Some of these issues may be impacting your search results. Repairing them will help the post and your overall site in search.
• Applying New Knowledge. Your writing and understanding of just about any issue improves with time. Updating or rewriting content on your website lets you offer this new knowledge to your audience.
• Identifying Opportunities. Refreshing also gives you a chance to link to more recent posts on your site that are relevant to the piece, and it may help you think of ideas for content that your site needs.
• Following Best Practices. Best practices in search change often. Refreshing posts help you strategically update them, so they adhere to these changes.
• Extending Your Content’s Lifespan. Why not get the most bang for your buck out of each piece of content on your site? Refreshing content is just as beneficial to your site and much easier than always adding new, original content.
• Serving Readers. The most crucial reason to refresh blog posts, in my opinion, is to provide readers with the most up-to-date information they need to know in your content niche. After all, serving your readers is why you have a blog in the first place.

Factors to Consider Before You Refresh Old Content

Before you go in and start refreshing old posts, it’s worthwhile to do some research to determine which content is worth refreshing. Some posts and pages are likely still performing really well for you, making it unnecessary to refresh them yet. Others may not have as much potential as you expected when you originally wrote them, making them low contenders for rewrite success. 

Your goal is to choose the posts and pages that are going to make a real difference for your brand and refresh them first.

When choosing content to refresh:

• Check the Data. What topics are performing well with your audience? What post formats do they relate to? What content is almost on Page 1 of search results? By looking at the data, you can identify posts that just need an extra little push.
• Identify Opportunities for Expansion. When looking at pieces you think you want to refresh, consider what you would do differently this time around. Are there sections that are missing? Could the post benefit from a graphic or even a helpful video supplement? What can you do to help the piece level up?
• Consider Evergreen Content. Evergreen content is content that stays on your site and continues to work for you over time. The topics of evergreen content typically are closely tied to your business and provide ongoing value for your customers. Because they’re in it for the long haul, this type of content is often worth updating repeatedly through the years.
• Evaluate Relevance. If you wrote a post about a trendy topic, an announcement, or something with an expiration date, it’s probably not relevant for updating. You can mark those posts off your list and move on.
• Reflect on SEO Changes. The age of a page or post may make a difference when considering whether to update it. Older content may not reflect changes in your business or brand philosophy. It also may not adhere to the latest SEO best practices.

How to Refresh Old Content

As with most things, there’s probably more than one way to go about refreshing blog content. Below is my recommendation to ensure your refreshes are comprehensive and your valuable time is used effectively.

Perform a Content Audit

You can’t refresh everything on your site at once. You’ll want to mix refreshes in with releasing new content. So, to get the most from all your content, you must be strategic about which content you prioritize for refreshing. By performing a content audit, you’ll get a complete picture of what’s on your site, the data surrounding every piece, and the most strategic way to update posts to get the most out of your content.

Think Strategically About Keywords

When you log onto a post to update, the first thing to consider is the keywords. Do a little bit of research to determine if those keywords still serve you well or if you need to update them. If you update them, you want to make sure to refocus the content on the updated keywords. If you don’t, make sure you’ve used the keywords appropriately in the post.

Revise On-Page SEO

I would almost guarantee you need to update the SEO on any blog post you refresh. That’s because SEO practices change. Update your SEO title tag, meta description, post title, and subheading to adhere to the most up-to-date SEO practices. 

Update the Content

This might be the easiest part. Go through the piece. Make sure the examples are still relevant — update statistics with the most current data you can find. Ensure links work and go to the most relevant posts. And, of course, make the post clean and well-edited with updated examples.

Also, while updating the post’s content, don’t forget to revise the call to action, if necessary. Be sure to follow best practices for writing CTAs.

Refresh Images

I almost always change the image any time I refresh content. There are a couple of reasons. First, I want to ensure that the image is compressed and isn’t bogging down the site. Huge images bog down your site and make search engines ding it. Second, visual appeals change rapidly. People look at images first, so I want to ensure that they best reflect the content in a way they’ll relate to now.

In addition to updating photos, consider whether the post could benefit from a graphic or video. Adding this type of visual content will likely help a post perform better in search and make it more appealing to your audience.

And, with any image, be sure to have proper alt text, making it accessible.

Republish the Post

Once you make all the updates your post needs, it’s time to republish it with the current date. People look at the post’s date to determine if they’re still relevant, so you want to be sure not to just save the old post. I recommend a mix of post refreshes and new content. Do what makes the most sense for your site, but be sure everyone benefits from your older content.

Don’t forget to set redirects so any links to the old post go directly to the refreshed version.

Refreshing Old Content

Now you know why you should refresh old content and how to do it. Does it sound like a lot of work? It is, especially when you’re trying to run a business. You need time to do the updates and specialized knowledge on what to do. But it’s worth doing to get the most out of your site’s content and, therefore, your investment in content marketing. 

Want Content Journey’s expert writing, editing, and SEO team to help you revise your old content and write new stuff? We’d love to! Book a call today.