Why You Need to Work on Bringing Traffic to Your Old Blog Posts
If you have been blogging for any length of time, you will have old blog posts. Some may be a little cringe-worthy but there are also others that are still great. Some might need a little TLC to bring them up to date while others still look good without a single edit. But if they aren’t getting any traffic then they aren’t helping your overall efforts. That’s why you need to work to bring traffic to your old blog posts.
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And here are some ideas about how to do it.
Why old posts matter
It’s easy to think that renovating old blog posts is a bit pointless. After all, you can just write some new ones and drive traffic to them instead.
But that’s not the point – you’ve already put the effort into creating the post and it might have been a success at first. A little effort can bring it up to date and it is ready for another circuit of promotion. Updating a post takes a lot less work than creating an entirely new one with graphics, images, quotes, and all the rest of it.
Then there’s another view to consider – 99% of your visitors won’t have seen the post the first time around, says Neil Patel. That’s because they have come to your site after the post was published and might not have gone back through the archives. So, to them, it is new content.
How to know what to update
Of course, saying this you don’t always want to update every single post on your blog because some of them don’t warrant the time. So how do you know which ones to give your time and effort to?
Look at what gets traffic
First one means jumping into Google Analytics and doing some digging into the past. Find your top-performing posts and make a list of the top 10 or 20 to start with. Then look to see which of these are six months old, for example – these can be the first ones to give effort to if they meet other criteria.
Look where content can be updated
Another thing to consider is if it is possible to add or update the content. They don’t call some stuff ‘evergreen’ without a reason – it is the type of content that remains relevant for many years because some fundamentals don’t change. The basics of SEO is one example of this – the specific elements might change but the basics are likely to remain in place for many more years.
Is it worth it?
Lastly, consider if it is worth updating the content. A classic example is a post I wrote earlier in the year on Instagram Shadowban. It was a big topic at the time and a lot of people read it. Now the ban is more a part of life on Instagram so while I could update it to include a conclusion about what we now know, it might be better to write a new piece on the latest algorithm rules on the site.
Trends articles are similar – last year’s new tech isn’t always worth updating and it is better to just create this year’s new tech piece instead.
Updating and republishing
Once you have a list of posts to consider spending some time with, the next step is to consider what you will do with them. Some things might stay the same, some things might change in specific ways while others might just need little amendments. Here are a few ideas to help you plan.
Same post, same URL
If you are keeping most of the posts the same, keep the URL the same too. If you republish it with a new URL, Google might view it as duplicate content and it won’t do you any good. Only change the URL if you absolutely have to as you will also lose that historic traffic and social shares.
And if you do, remember to redirect the old URL to the new one. A plugin such as the Redirection plugin is a lightweight, easy way to do this. This also means that if someone clicks an old pin to the old URL, they will end up at the new post instead. Better user experience!
Different title, same keywords
You can change the title on the post if you think that a new one might work better – just make sure you keep the same keywords or things won’t work. Remember your old posts will be building up SEO juice for that keyword so if you don’t use it in the title, you lose some of this.
Add an editor’s note
If the post doesn’t need a rewrite but there is something to add to it, why not use an editor’s note? This is just a little section added either at the end or next to the relevant part of the post where you can put in some new information. You can even put a date on it so that people know when the new addition was made.
Make sure stats accurate
For many blogs, stats are an important part of their posts, backing up the point you are making. But over time, these stats might no longer be relevant or have changed. So, when updating old blog posts, make sure you check the latest version of those stats.
Check the meta description
Meta descriptions have recently changed in length and best practice is often changing too. So, when updating your post, make sure the meta description is selling the post when it appears on those search engine results pages.
Add a table of contents
Having a table of contents is a big benefit for users and also for search engines. There are some good plugins to help with this – the one I use is called Easy Table of Contents. You can use various settings to automatically add a table of contents to every post, over a certain number of headings, or even put it in manually.
Other tips
Sometimes updating old blog posts is about more than just the content, the words. It can be a great time to polish up other aspects of the post including:
New Pinterest pin
Pin designs change over time so why not create a new pin for the post in your latest style? You can even use a variation of the headline so that the wording of the new post is a little different from the original one.
Check links to other posts
You will have written posts since that one and you can now maybe link to those new posts from the old one you are updating. This helps boost SEO and makes for a better user experience as people can easily navigate around your site
Add new images
There are some great stock image sites around now where you can find classy and relevant images to go with your content. Adding new images helps refresh the look of the content. And don’t forget to add ALT information including your keyword to the new images for SEO.
Check for dead external links
Authority websites don’t usually just vanish – Wikipedia is likely to be here forever. But it doesn’t hurt to check the sites you have used for reference and make sure they are still working. Dead links, either way, are negative for Google.
Make sure readability is good
I never worry too much about readability scores but if you want to look at tips on a plugin like Yoast about this, you can always make a few changes to improve this.
Resharing on social media
Once you have spruced up your post and have it ready to go, start sharing it on social media again. CoSchedule has a good idea for sharing old blog posts:
- Facebook – 1, 12, and 20 days after republishing
- Twitter – on the day, 9, 17, and 26 days after republishing
- LinkedIn – 4 and 27 days after republishing
This helps you get more eyes to the content and you can use a different headline for each update to further make it interesting and varied.
Keep a note of what has been reshared and when. I use Airtable to keep track of my blog posts, when I updated them, create a new pin, and if they are on a sharing calendar such as an evergreen one or a monthly share if they are seasonal.
Revive those old blog posts
Once your blog hits its 1st anniversary, you can start looking back at old blog posts and giving them some attention. Get a process in place that makes it simple to do and easy to decide which to concentrate on and you can start getting them in front of new eyes once more.
Do you have a system for your old blog posts? I’d love to hear any tips. And if you want to know more about on-page SEO, check out my simple cheat sheet to help you watch those key factors.
