If you have been blogging for a while then it’s likely you are sitting on hundreds of posts that could now be a little stale. You worked hard to put the post together, so there is no reason why it shouldn’t continue to work hard for you.
Some believe that once a post has been published, it is destined to remain deep in the depths of your blog for all time. Yet one of the biggest advantages of blogging is that someone could stumble across your old post at any time, bringing with it new traffic and prospects. Google SERPS display the date content was last revised, which will help readers assess how fresh and relevant the content is and give your post a well-deserved organic boost.
If you are unsure how to breathe life into a long-forgotten post, we have come up with some tips on how to extend the life of your content.
Selecting a post to revive
• Metrics
Use analytics to see which posts bring in the most traffic. Analyse your inbound links as this will give you an indication of search authority. See which posts are a hit on social media, LinkTally is a great tool for showing you how many times a post has been shared.
• Keywords
Once you have selected your posts then have a look at your keywords and see how they align with your current keyword strategy. There may be new keywords that could bring fresh traffic to your post and improve its ranking position.
• Is the post still relevant?
While one post doesn’t gain a lot of traffic it could be relevant to what your current readership is looking for. Rather than duplicate content, tweak the post so that search engines pick the post up and present it to your readers.
How effective are your images?
The style and imagery of your blog will have changed a lot since it first started. If you use Pinterest then you need to start using images that are vertical rather than horizontal so they are shared more easily. Once you have updated the blog post with new images, pin it to your board to maximise traffic potential.
If you used screenshots as part of a step-by-step guide then make sure these are still relevant and accurate.
Related Posts and Deep-Linking
As your blog grows, it provides ample opportunity to supply your readers with added value by directing them to posts they might also be interested in. Keep people clicking around your site by adding related posts and deep links.
Refresh copy and eliminate mistakes
Google loves high-quality content so when refreshing your post, be sure to go thoroughly proofread your copy and get rid of links that go nowhere. Make long posts easier to digest by breaking them down into smaller paragraphs.
If the original post had statistics, then undertake a fact-check and replace anything that is out of date with more timely ones. And finally, don’t forget to delete any spam comments that will bring down the credibility of your blog.
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