Blogging may demand new ideas, but this doesn’t mean a post becomes worthless once it’s a week, six months or even a year old. By refreshing old posts you can bring them back to life and benefit from your past efforts. Here’s how.
You first need to decide which posts you want to refresh, and a good place to start is by looking at what content did well in the past. Take a look at your analytics and make a list of which posts attracted the most views, likes, comments and social shares. Next, consider the relevance of the topic or point of view today. Ask yourself if it can and should be updated to deliver value to your current audience, which will most likely have changed since the original post was published.
Prioritise your keywords
After deciding which posts to update, complete some keyword research to check that the primary and secondary keywords are still relevant. This also enables you to highlight any words that weren’t included originally but should now be weaved into the copy to attract the desired audience. Be careful not to over-optimise keywords or your site will be punished with a lower search engine ranking.
Rewrite
Now you can start to rewrite the content with the focus remaining on the primary keyword and the desired outcome. Rewrite as much of the content as possible, remembering to adjust the structure as well as the actual words. Pay particular attention to any conclusions drawn, statistics used and opinions expressed. Are they still accurate, appropriate and/or provide the reader with value? Now is also a good time to check links to other pages within your website or to external sites. Once again make sure the content your reader lands on is still valuable, and that the link works in the first place. Once the content has been rewritten you should also adjust the title and update the meta tag to make sure both match the revised copy.
Add a new image
Blogs that include images generally do better than those without. If one wasn’t used before, search out a high-quality image that represents the topic or helps to reinforce a point. If a visual is included, make sure it suits the refreshed copy but is also in line with the styling theme of the blog or website.
Publish, share, comment
You’re now ready to publish the post and share it through your usual social channels to drive traffic, boost engagement and generate new links. Get involved in any discussions that start as people visit the blog and voice their opinion. This is a great place to show your expertise and potentially generate some new leads.
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How to refresh old content for future value
