Should you update old blog posts? How many blog posts have you published, 50, 100, 1,000, or more? I’ve published more than 5,000 on several sites. That’s a lot of content, more than two million words. Repurposed or not, the content helps with SEO (Search Engine Optimization), but why leave it at that? Why not update your old blog posts to maximize their readability and reach?

6 Ways to Update Old Blog Posts

  1. Create an eBook

“If you’ve been blogging about specific topics, posting one new blog per week, for one year—you already have an eBook or two just waiting to be published. For example, if over the last year, you’ve posted fifty-two blogs on four topics, then you’ve posted 12 to 13 on each topic. 12 to 13 posts on each subject can easily become an eBook. Here’s an example, The Fleet Managers Guide to Fleet Graphics. I compiled this eBook from previously published nineteen blog posts.” How to Write an eBook in 5 Easy Steps

  1. Rethink the Links

Creating a list or category post is an easy way to link multiple previously published posts. For example,  6 Event Networking Hacks links back to 3 previously published blog posts. But don’t stop there. Add new links and update old ones. Here are three types of links.

  • Outbound links – Links to other sites. It’s essential to vet outbound links. I find it best to stick with resources you’re familiar with.
  • Inbound links – Links to previous content on your website, such as older blog posts, images, or website copy
  • Backlinks – These are links from other content providers to your content. The best way to get others to backlink your blog is to offer quality content that answers questions, solves problems, and shows your expertise. Commenting on other blogs, guest blogging, asking for quotations, and conducting surveys are ways to get noticed, which can lead to backlinks.” –7 Keys to Keyword Success 

  1. Put it in a Guest Posts 

Okay, you don’t want to republish content on another blog site, do you? It’s not as frowned upon by Google as some would have you think, Google on Duplicate Content. However, if you’re uncertain you want to repost old content on another site, there’s a way to promote your archival content on another’s blog site without risking an SEO hit. Write 150-200 words of new content on the topic and then link to the existing post. Here’s an example, Is social media part of your marketing plan?

  1. Add Video

Another way to take a new look at your content is to find your most successful blog post and create a video. This post, How Much Do Vehicle Graphics Cost? began as a short blog post, copy only. It became one of the companies’ top posts garnering fifty or more visits daily. After adding video, it averaged more than one hundred views per day.

  1. Share and Promote Old Posts 

I promote archival blog posts five days a week on social media. I share old blog posts on Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn accounts. If I don’t have a new post that day, I share an archival one.

  1. Edit Old Posts

I edit and update blog posts weekly, on this blog, and for two organizations. Editing includes improving flow, correcting grammatical mistakes, fixing broken links, adding newer information, raising the SEO score, and on some posts, resetting the publishing date to current. I’ve taken old posts that were sleeping on page five and brought them into the light. I’ve also found posts that it was time to say goodbye to and deleted them.

Are You Using All of Your Ammunition?

Are you using all your content? Or is it sitting in a dustbin after being published on your website and shared once on Twitter, LinkedIn, and Facebook? If so, revisit your archival content and repurpose it. Find a way to reuse, reshape, and rewrite it to your brand’s advantage. Why wouldn’t you? Why did you write it, edit it, and publish it in the first place?

How Can I Help?

Let me know if I can offer any help or advice. If you’d like to learn more about business blogging, try How to Stay Ahead of Your Business Blog Forever. The book is full of action plans for creating a blogging/writing system that works for you.

If you enjoyed this post, you might also like, Is Content Really King?  

Photo by Kenny Eliason on Unsplash