Optimising Old Content

Optimising old content is basically updating your old blog content to get more traffic and leads.

And if you want to grow and scale your blog then you need to know about this.

Optimising old content helps you get more value from content previously published.

This could potentially include:

• More monthly leads from old posts being optimised
• More monthly organic search views from old posts being optimised

So in this blog post, we will learn:

• What optimising old content
• Why it’s important
• How you can optimise your old content for better results 

Let’s get started.

What Is Optimising Old Content?

The name speaks for itself, basically optimise your old content on your blog, to:

• Make it fresh
• Make it up-to-date
• Get more traffic and conversions

Old content is basically posts that are already on your blog, which could have been published a month ago or three years ago.

And it’s the old content that generates blogs most of their monthly views and leads.

Optimising the Past

But that’s what blogging for marketing is all about.

The long term results and recurring organic search traffic from old content.

Now that you know the value of optimising old content, you can’t stop creating new content. 

Because eventually new content will become old and it will be this content that will generate you views and leads in the future.

So, instead optimising old content needs to be part of your current blogging strategy.

And you can start by:

Getting more leads from high-traffic but low-converting blog posts

Find the posts that get a lot of traffic but have low conversion rates and improve those conversion rates.

Getting more traffic to high-converting posts

Use search engine optimisation on the post with high conversions so they rank better and get more traffic.

Basically, split your attention between making new content and getting more traffic and leads from old content.

Why Optimising Old Content Is Important

The amount of content is increasing but the demand isn’t growing.

Basically, the audience, for whom all this content is being made, isn’t consuming it all.

So when it comes to growing and scaling your blog, increasing content production isn’t the answer.

That’s why optimising old content is important and will:

• Get more from the content you already have
• Get you ahead of competitors by updating content
• Give reader more value from your content

Because, after all, it’s better for searchers to find old content on your blog that’s fresh and up-to-date.

Old Content Conversion Optimisation

Start with conversion optimisation, which is getting more leads from posts with a lot of traffic.

Keyword-Based Conversion Rate Optimisation

First, start by linking your posts with your relevant offers.

Basically, this means putting relevant call-to-actions on related blog posts, which should be done on new posts as well.

Remember, don’t just guess, instead base this approach on data.

Do this by focusing on the specific keywords people use to find these posts.

Conversion Optimisation of Old Blog Posts Based on Keywords

• Find your highest viewed old blog posts

• Find the keywords search use to find your old blog posts using keyword research
• Then pick top two keywords most of the traffic for each post comes from
• Now use the target keywords you’ve found in your posts’ calls-to-action (CTAs)

Old Content Search Engine Optimisation

Next, use search engine optimisation on your old blog posts.

Doing so will help improve search rankings for posts that convert well but don’t get enough search traffic.

Because an increase in traffic to posts that convert well means more leads.

Remember, results on the first page of Google gets the majority of searcher’s clicks. 

And, the first top five places on the first page of Google also get the majority of those clicks.

So to get the majority of search traffic for your target keywords, you need to be on the first page of Google and at the top.

Update and Republish Old Blog Posts

Start by updating and republishing old content that’s outdated.

Target posts with a lot of organic search traffic to keep the content fresh and up-to-date.

Because one of Google’s ranking factors values freshness, your blog posts will do well if kept updated.

So improving the keyword rankings of your blog posts by updating and republishing them is a scalable solution because:

• You can update and republish a few posts every week
• You can do both optimisation of old content and creating new content
• It’s less work than creating a new post

Also updated content offers better user experience for organic search visitors. 

Remember to use views from organic search as your main KPI.

Because posts keyword rankings improvements show up as more organic search views.

And wait about 30 days before checking for improvements so Google has time to improve the post rankings.

Update and Republish Old Blog Content for Better Search Rankings

A few reasons why this method works includes:

• Google and searchers value fresh content. Content that’s quality, valuable and up-to-date is what Google shows to searchers and what searchers want.
• You’re building the post from the search authority it already has, instead from new
• New visits means social shares and inbound links which are both important search ranking factors because the more reach, the better your results.

Update and Republish Old Blog Posts Yourself

Do the following steps to update and republish old blog content:

• Find blog posts that need updating. Posts that are outdated or can be improved and can rank higher for keywords with high search volume.
• Update the posts content based on accuracy, freshness, and comprehensiveness. Remember to improve it enough so the post looks new.
• Start conversion and search engine optimisation on the post. Use the keyword-based method mentioned earlier in this post and on-page SEO with relevant keywords
• Republish your updated post and change the publish date so it looks like a new post. Then promote it like a new post using email, social media and other channels

Who Should Optimise Old Content?

Don’t optimise old content for new blogs that are a year or two old.

It’s for blogs that are several years old that have tried basic blog growth tactics and need new ways to grow, because:

• You need a lot organic search traffic because this tactic is based on search traffic data and doesn’t work without a lot of search traffic and decent search authority
• You need a lot of blog subscribers and social media followers because post updates work based on traffic from promoting to blog subscribers and social media followers
• You need a lot of old posts because optimising old content only works if you have content to optimise

Create New Blog Content Before Updating Old Content

Remember, optimising old content should be part of your main blogging strategy, not the main strategy itself.

So don’t stop creating new blog posts to optimise old blog posts. 

Because the old content you’re planning to optimise now was once new and all new posts don’t succeed.

So if you stop creating new content, you will miss out on the chance to rank for new keywords.

And you will miss out on new topics and trends in your industry.

So keep a balance between updating old content and creating new content.

And start by evaluating your old content to see how many need updating.

Conclusion

Remember optimising old content doesn’t stop.

And if it’s successful then make it part of your blogging strategy.

Now it’s over to you.

Tell me if you’ve started optimising old content and your experiences.

Let me know in the comment section below.