If you have a website or a blog, you know that creating fresh and relevant content is crucial for SEO. But what about your old content? Does it still rank well, attract traffic, and convert visitors? Or is it outdated, irrelevant, and hurting your SEO performance? In this article, you'll learn how to update and refresh your old content for SEO, and why it's important to do so regularly.
Updating your old content for SEO has many benefits. First, it can improve your rankings and visibility on search engines, by aligning your content with the latest algorithms, user intent, and keywords. Second, it can increase your traffic and engagement, by providing your audience with more accurate, useful, and timely information. Third, it can boost your conversions and authority, by enhancing your credibility, trustworthiness, and relevance in your niche.
- TURN OLD INTO GOLD. All content more than 2 years old should be listed to be updated. This is smart SEO. - GIVE IT FRESH EYES. Approach an old article like you're writing a new one. This will reduce overlooks. - IDENTIFY AND PRIORITIZE. Target content that needs updating first. Use tools like Google Analytics or Search Console to find the pages that have lost traffic or rankings. - CHECK FACTS. CHECK DETAILS. REMOVE OBSOLETE Improve old, add new information, update outdated, enhance readability and add relevant images or videos. - OPTIMIZE META TAGS. Write catchy titles, descriptions and headings with your target keywords and search intent. - REPUBLISH. You can change the publish date of your content to make it appear fresh.
Instead of viewing your content as a relic, breathe new life into it. Identify your high-performing content from over 12 months older data. Map it to new research: current trends, user queries, and industry insights. Edit the content to keep your audience engaged and search engines recognizing your ongoing value. Here are 3 meaningful steps to consider: - Link it to relevant new content to boost website navigation and SEO. - Update the publish date and reshare on social media. - Consider adding a "last updated" section for ongoing content freshness. It's good for Algo. This way, you'll maintain a dynamic conversation with your audience, ensuring your content stays fresh and relevant.
I have blog posts that were created years ago that are no longer accurate. These are posts that list things that are linked. For example, the top 10 directories. These posts need to be updated to be sure the links have not changed or that the linked company is still viable. Dead links will effect your SEO. Keeping these updated is useful for your readers as well. Often there may also be new companies that can be added to your list.
Prior to updating your old content for SEO, it's important to identify which content requires attention. You can use various tools and metrics to analyze the performance of your content, such as Google Analytics, Google Search Console, and SEO software. These metrics include traffic, rankings, engagement, and conversions. Based on these factors, you can prioritize your content update into three categories: high-performing content (which ranks well and converts visitors), low-performing content (which ranks poorly and has low engagement/conversions), and outdated/irrelevant content (which is no longer accurate or useful). For high-performing content, you want to maintain and optimize it; for low-performing content, you want to improve and refresh it; and for outdated/irrelevant content, you want to delete, redirect, or merge it.
To understand which types of content benefit most from frequent updates, we need to look at those associated with: - Recent events (searches tied to recent happenings, for instance, information linked to media appearances or breaking news). - Recurring events: such as those that take place periodically (annual events, elections, sports results, television series, etc.). - Subjects that necessitate the latest updates, but aren't events or news, such as products that undergo regular updates (like the latest from Apple, for instance).
When updating old content for SEO, you should review and update your keywords, taking into account current search trends and user intent. Incorporate long-tail keywords, semantic keywords, and natural language in your content. Additionally, create a catchy and descriptive title that includes your main keyword and matches the user's query. Write a compelling meta description to summarize your content. Improve the quality and readability of your content by correcting spelling, grammar, and punctuation errors, rewriting vague or redundant sentences, using active voice, short paragraphs, and transitions. Add subheadings, bullet points, images, videos, or other elements to break up the text. Verify that your facts, data, and sources are accurate and current by updating any outdated or incorrect information. Cite credible sources to back up your claims and link to relevant external and internal pages. Finally, add a call to action to encourage visitors to take the next step after reading your content. Use clear and persuasive language and place the call to action in a prominent location.
Consider the following: - Reassess your content against emerging keywords. A piece originally written for one term might gain more traction with another, now more pertinent keyword. - If you manage a blog, refresh the publication date to today after you’ve updated the content. This signals freshness to search engines and users alike. - Continually research your subject. When you update your content with the latest information, highlight these changes explicitly to show your commitment to accuracy and currency. - Eliminate broken links. They not only hinder user experience but also signal to search engines that your site may be outdated. Replace them with current links or apply redirects where replacement isn't feasible.
After you update and refresh your old content for SEO, you want to measure the impact of your changes on your content performance. Utilizing the same tools and metrics that you used to identify which content needs updating, you can compare the results before and after your update. Indicators to track include traffic, rankings, engagement, and conversions; these will help you evaluate the effectiveness of your content update and determine any areas for improvement or further optimization. Specifically, you should consider how much organic traffic the updated content receives compared to the previous traffic, how well it ranks for target keywords compared to the previous rankings, how visitors interact with it compared to the previous engagement, and how it contributes to goals compared to the previous conversions.
Numerous tools and solutions available in the market enable you to monitor your website's traffic progression from a specific date (for us, it's when you've refreshed your content with the latest updates ??). The key is to visually track your website's traffic flow with your chosen tool, to observe trend line shifts and confirm that your site's content update is yielding results. A powerful, albeit paid, tool I use is Ahrefs. Semrush is another with comparable capabilities. I encourage you to explore which one best suits you and your strategy.
Updating and refreshing your old content for SEO is a continuous process that requires regular monitoring and maintenance. Track your content performance using tools and metrics, and review it periodically to identify any issues or opportunities for improvement. A content calendar can help you prioritize and schedule your updates. Additionally, use different formats and channels to repurpose your content and reach new audiences. Lastly, test and experiment with different aspects of your content, such as headlines, images, layout, tone, or length to determine what works best for your audience and goals.
Don't forget to analyze the changing perspectives of your target audience while you're refreshing the content that's meant to provide value to them.