Content Refreshing: A Step-by-Step Strategy (Based on Updating 50+ Posts)

Content refreshing is 1 of the champion ways to summation postulation of your existing content, and it’s besides a large mode to support the accusation connected your website caller and up to date.

However, the contented refreshing process isn’t ever straightforward. For example, immoderate radical interest astir tanking their integrated postulation if they update the contented (a valid concern). Other radical find that it conscionable doesn’t bring the melodramatic postulation summation that immoderate selling experts promise.

Fortunately for you, I’ve been some of those people.

I’ve updated astir apt much than 50 blog posts successful the past 12 months, and I’ve made a batch of mistakes. However, I’ve besides seen outstanding results, specified arsenic contented that drives 10 times much postulation and soars successful rankings.

That said, I truly wanted to cognize why some posts execute dramatically amended post-update than others.

So I did a information study on what makes immoderate contented dramatically much palmy post-update and wherefore others proceed to flounder. Using this data, I’ve travel up with a contented refreshing strategy that has importantly improved my contented refreshing occurrence rate. Today, I privation to stock that strategy with you.

In this article, we’ll screen the following:

• Which blog posts should you update?
• How to update your blog posts

Contrary to fashionable belief, not each blog posts are worthy updating. This is 1 of the azygous astir impactful realizations that has improved my contented refreshing occurrence rate. In fact, I lone urge prioritizing updates for aged contented that earned 20+ monthly visitors astatine highest performance.

Why?

In the information survey mentioned above, 45% of the updated posts had less than 20 visitors per period pre-update. Unfortunately, this 45% of updated posts lone contributed 15% of the full postulation summation (of a 96% full integrated postulation increase).

That means blog posts that already had 20+ monthly visitors earlier the update contributed the bulk of the full integrated postulation increase.

My conjecture is posts with much postulation pre-update already fertile for immoderate keywords successful positions #5–10. Therefore, it’s overmuch easier to spell from positions #5–10 to archetypal than zero to first.

So what should you bash with blog posts that person less than 20 monthly visitors?

Assuming these posts are targeting keywords that are invaluable to your concern oregon incorporate important thought enactment ideas, it’s decidedly worthy updating them. In addition, a smaller blog volition mostly person a batch much blog posts with less than 20 monthly visitors simply due to the fact that it needs clip to summation traction.

Therefore, it’s inactive worthwhile to update them, but prioritize posts with the astir imaginable first.

Once you cognize which posts to update, however bash you really update them? I’ve recovered that a batch of companies springiness freelance writers a process that looks like this:

• Update aged statistics, facts, quotes
• Add further paragraphs for keywords the posts are missing
• Remove sections that are nary longer relevant

However, I’ve recovered that the supra strategy isn’t the champion attack to refreshing content. It makes the contented much up to day but doesn’t see however the station is (or is not) fulfilling the search intent.

In different words, you person to inquire why your contented isn’t arsenic utile arsenic the posts ranking good connected Google. (I’m consenting to stake it’s not conscionable due to the fact that there’s an outdated statistic successful the 3rd paragraph.)

From the contented refreshing probe I’ve done, your station astir apt isn’t ranking due to the fact that determination is different post that:

• Is much current.
• Provides actionable proposal (or much applicable details).
• Offers an fantabulous idiosyncratic experience.
• Is a amended acceptable for the searcher’s intent.

To code these issues, present are the enactment steps you request to instrumentality portion updating your content.

1. Update outdated information

I cognize I conscionable said that refreshing contented is overmuch much than conscionable updating outdated information—but it is simply a portion of the process.

In addition, I’m talking astir much than conscionable updating aged statistic and quotes. Often, you’ll person to update (or wholly change) the examples to amended however they lucifer the hunt intent.

For example, this is 1 of my astir palmy contented refreshing examples ever. It was generating astir 4,000 monthly visitors erstwhile I archetypal updated it successful 2019. At its highest performance, it generated astir 20,000 monthly visitors.

When I started updating it, I realized that astir of the examples successful the station were outdated and galore were TV productions. This was a occupation for 2 reasons:

1. TV commercials themselves aren’t truly a large acceptable for idiosyncratic searching “digital marketing campaigns.”
2. Most of the radical Googling this word don’t person the fund for a TV campaign.

Therefore, I replaced each 31 examples with 31 caller examples of caller SEO, contented marketing, YouTube, and podcasting successes.

2. Add actionable advice/cut irrelevant detail

How often person you work a station that vaguely describes what you should bash and lacks examples oregon the enactment steps needed to execute the advice?

On the different hand, person you ever work a station that has the reply to your question determination successful it? But past determination is truthful overmuch unnecessary accusation that you can’t find what you want.

Both are arsenic problematic and, unfortunately, communal successful contented marketing.

First, let’s sermon posts that deficiency depth. Unfortunately, determination is nary circumstantial metric you tin cheque to spot if the contented has depth. Though, determination are a fewer signals that tin hint you in, including:

• Few to zero examples.
• A importantly shorter connection number than what’s ranking.
• Generic tips with nary actionable information.

You tin besides usage contented optimization tools similar Clearscope, which shows the subheadings that commonly look successful different top-ranking posts. While I urge that you instrumentality these keyword tools with a atom of brackish (don’t effort to sprinkle successful each of the keywords), they tin assistance you uncover topics you whitethorn person overlooked.

For example, if you’re penning a usher to “medical SEO,” the instrumentality whitethorn amusement that the connection “backlinking” is commonly utilized successful different posts. Given that backlinking is simply a cardinal constituent of SEO, this is simply a adjuvant penetration due to the fact that you’ll decidedly privation to make a conception connected that topic.

Beyond this, the champion proposal I tin springiness you is to enactment yourself successful your people audience’s shoes (ideally, you’ve already done extended market research and talked to respective customers).

Ask yourself: If they work this content, could they instrumentality the proposal fixed and spot results?

To thrust this home, let’s look astatine an illustration wherever the station lacked depth. This post, “13 Ways to Market Your Business Online,” is the precise archetypal station I ever updated. It was primitively conscionable 930 words agelong and drove betwixt 30 and 50 monthly visits. The last merchandise is 1,700 words. It present drives implicit 600 monthly visits.

However, I didn’t conscionable determine to marque it longer to execute this. Instead, I added relevant, actionable proposal to enactment my argument.

For example, successful the excerpt below, you tin spot that I supported my statement (building a marque is important) with a punctuation from Google CEO Eric Schmidt. I besides added an actionable extremity to marque the extremity less vague.

That said, adding much extent isn’t ever the champion solution, arsenic it tin marque contented unnecessarily long-winded.

For example, let’s accidental you’re penning a station connected “how to alteration a tire.” In this case, the scholar truly doesn’t privation a 2,000-word guide—they conscionable privation to alteration their tyre arsenic rapidly arsenic possible!

So alternatively of penning astir the mechanics of changing a tyre and statistic connected however galore radical cognize however to alteration tires, conscionable springiness the scholar the steps they request to alteration the tire.

While that whitethorn beryllium a alternatively evident case, I spot this each the clip erstwhile I update contented (especially if it’s an eventual guide). For example, here’s the array of contents of a station I’m preparing to update:

As you tin see, the contented is excessively agelong and repetitive. For one, it talks astir the ROI of influencer selling twice. Sure, it’s an eventual guide. But adjacent those speechmaking an eventual usher lone privation to devour the necessities to get them connected their way.

Another illustration of however this contented is excessively long-winded is successful chapters 2 and 7, wherever some sermon tactics connected reaching retired to an influencer. Sure, they sermon somewhat antithetic tactics. But I’d alternatively work 1 concise conception connected the 80/20 of influencer outreach than respective sections containing each imaginable mode you could scope retired to an influencer.

3. Improve the idiosyncratic experience

Google has ever stressed the value of optimizing for idiosyncratic experience. Much of this takes spot astatine the tract level (HTTPS, leafage speed, etc.). But determination are things you tin bash to amended contented connected a post-by-post basis.

First, if your station is peculiarly long, see adding a sticky array of contents to assistance the scholar find precisely what they are looking for.

Second, wage a decorator to make attractive, branded graphics. This volition spell a agelong mode successful some keeping users connected your leafage and establishing your blog arsenic an authority.

Third, interruption up your paragraphs (ideally nary longer than 3 to 4 sentences) and usage bullets to support the reader’s attention. Remember that astir radical are looking for accelerated answers and are, therefore, skimming. So contrary to fashionable belief, making your contented skimmable volition really summation the clip readers walk connected your page.

As elemental arsenic these things whitethorn sound, they’re ace effectual successful my experience.

4. Fulfill the searcher’s intent

Search intent is fundamentally the crushed down the search. Does the searcher privation to larn thing oregon bargain something? Are they looking for a elaborate usher oregon skimmable listicle? Do they conscionable privation a speedy reply oregon tons of knowledge?

If you neglect to recognize the answers to these questions, you’ll beryllium astatine hazard of misaligning your contented with hunt intent. Consequently, it’ll beryllium overmuch harder (sometimes impossible) to fertile the content.

This is rather a analyzable topic, arsenic determination are galore ways you whitethorn misalign contented with hunt intent. But present are 3 of the main ways I’ve noticed:

A. Post benignant is incorrect

Before you constitute your blog post, Google the main keyword to amended recognize what benignant of blog station the scholar wants.

For example, if you’re astir to constitute a how-to usher for a word similar “best CRM for tiny businesses,” you’re wasting your clip due to the fact that the searcher’s intent is intelligibly a elemental database of tools:

In this case, they don’t want to work a usher astir it. They conscionable privation to spot immoderate solutions!

If you announcement that your blog station is successful the incorrect format for that keyword, you’ll astir apt person to rewrite it altogether.

B. You person excessively overmuch accusation irrelevant to the reader’s symptom points

Another contented I often find erstwhile updating contented is determination are sections of contented that conscionable aren’t applicable to the reader’s symptom points.

For example, a station connected “content selling KPIs” shouldn’t person a header with the words “what is contented marketing.”

While that’s a alternatively utmost example, I often spot subtler cases.

For example, I precocious updated a station targeting the keyword “examples of storytelling marketing.” When I looked astatine the hunt results for the term, each of them were database posts that had introductions astir 100–200 words. The station past dove into examples.

However, erstwhile I looked astatine the station I was updating, determination were respective sections earlier the “examples” conception that totaled 1,800 words. In fact, present is what the post’s operation looked like:

• What is storytelling?
• Science down storytelling
• Why is storytelling important for marketing?
• Five principles of storytelling 
  • Principle 1
  • Principle 2
  • Principle 3
  • Principle 4
  • Principle 5
• (Finally!) Example 1

In this case, the searcher’s intent is simply a database of examples. So if the searcher has to scroll past 1,800 words to work what they want, they’ll apt leave. This behaviour is simply a awesome to Google that your contented isn’t very good.

To update it, I chopped that intro and added a fewer other applicable examples (most of the different posts had 11–12, truthful I made the station acceptable that range). As of this penning (a fewer weeks aft my updates), the station is ranking 2nd for “examples of storytelling marketing.”

Here’s a screenshot of its postulation trajectory:

C. You aren’t speaking astatine the reader’s cognition level

Finally, determination are plentifulness of blog posts that miss the hunt intent due to the fact that they talk supra oregon beneath the reader’s cognition level. Hence, they’re deaf to the reader’s symptom points and desires.

Let’s locomotion done an example.

Imagine you are selling a SaaS selling instrumentality to contented selling managers, and the keyword you’re targeting is “content selling KPIs.”

Here’s an illustration of an instauration that is beneath their level:

Content selling is simply a large mode to summation your postulation and make much leads for your business. In fact, anyone that performs a Google hunt is looking for blogs similar yours to supply the reply to their questions. However, immoderate contented is much effectual than others. Therefore, to marque definite that your contented is connected track, you request to measurement KPIs (key show indicators).

This is inappropriate for 2 reasons:

1. Content managers already recognize the worth of contented marketing, truthful explaining that is redundant.
2. Given that they are searching for KPIs, there’s nary request to explicate wherefore they request KPIs. They were already convinced earlier they landed connected your post.

In contrast, here’s a overmuch amended instauration for the precise aforesaid keyword and scenario:

Notice the instauration supra besides speaks to a much experienced assemblage (content selling managers). It touches connected their symptom points and relates to however they are (most likely) already tracking contented marketing. Now, it’s probable they’ll support reading.

However, the contented of speaking supra oregon beneath an audience’s level doesn’t conscionable use to introductions. As you’re updating the content, inquire yourself if each paragraph resonates with the audience’s symptom points.

Recommended reading: Searcher Intent: The Overlooked ‘Ranking Factor’ You Should Be Optimizing For

5. Make last optimizations

Now that you’ve done the hard portion of really updating the blog post, marque definite that you bash these past fewer optimizations, arsenic they tin mean the quality betwixt a 2X and 10X ROI.

First, instrumentality a look astatine your mean click-through complaint (CTR) successful Google Search Console. According to a survey done by Databox, a good integrated CTR is 3%-5%. Therefore, if your station isn’t hitting that benchmark, see updating your rubric tag and meta description.

If you truly privation to amended your integrated CTR, you tin besides usage a instrumentality similar ClickFlow to tally A/B tests connected your rubric tags and meta descriptions.

Another casual mode to amended your refreshed content’s show is by gathering internal links to it from different posts that are applicable and almighty (have plentifulness of outer links from high-quality sources).

If you person the resources, gathering external links to your refreshed contented is besides a large strategy. While astir outreach tactics are overused, here’s 1 to consider: offering to update the contented for the radical whom you’re reaching retired to (instead of conscionable offering a guest post).

Here’s an nonstop transportation I’ve utilized earlier with success:

You don’t person to usage this nonstop template. But hopefully, this tin get you started. If you person examples of posts you’ve updated that aboriginal performed better, you whitethorn privation to see that determination successful the pitch.

Final thoughts

Content refreshing is inactive an underused maneuver that a batch of blogs tin payment from. If you tried it earlier and it didn’t work, determination could beryllium different underlying issue, e.g., a mediocre idiosyncratic experience, an irrelevant conception successful the beginning, oregon a mediocre hunt intent match.

At the extremity of the day, not each blog station volition execute better. Sometimes, hunt engines conscionable don’t o.k. of definite posts. But if you marque refreshing contented a priority, travel the steps above, and adhd the updated contented to your editorial calendar, you’ll person immoderate posts that’ll instrumentality disconnected post-update. This much than makes up for each of the clip invested successful posts that didn’t succeed.

Got questions? Ping maine on Twitter.