Your website’s content, like any other product, has a shelf life. The value of your content to your business will inevitably decline at some time. Among the many Search Engine Optimization (SEO) benefits of regular content updates is higher search engine rankings. But how does updating old blog posts help with SEO, and when is the best moment to refresh previously published material?
In this article, we will explore some of the benefits of updating old blog content and how to best update old content for maximum effect.
Why Updating Old Content Helps SEO
The posting time is of little relevance if you don’t know why you should keep refreshing content like previous blog posts.
There are a lot of site owners who put a lot of fresh content out there and then just forget about it. Once something gets published, it typically sits there with no further revisions.
This makes total sense in a few specific scenarios. But what if you put out a piece that entirely misses the mark? In that case, it will generate no traffic and provide no additional value.
Sometimes it’s best to just accept the defeat and move on.
High-quality content, on the other hand, is a proven way to boost your brand’s visibility, authority, and value. You may breathe new life into old content that took you hours to create by giving it a facelift.
In the majority of cases, the time spent updating new content is trivial compared to the benefits gained.
Evergreen content is a concept that you’re probably familiar with. The term refers to material that will continue to be useful for a long period of time. If you want to get the most out of an evergreen piece of content, you’ll need to update it.
Search engines like Google, in particular, prioritize information that is updated frequently. After all, up-to-date information is generally found in recently published content, and such content often provides additional details to searchers.
What Are The SEO Benefits Of Old Updated Content
We can all probably guess that updating content helps with search engine optimization in several basic ways. The search engine traffic you receive will increase after you have updated and improved the quality of your material.
Increased visibility in SERPs is another benefit (SERP). The obvious benefit of this is increased foot traffic. This is a perk, but it’s not the only one.
You may improve the likelihood that visitors will come upon your material by putting it higher on the search result page. The added bonus is that this will lead to more backlinks being created for your site. As of 2020, backlinks are still crucial to increasing your domain authority. Semrush is a tool you may use to see how authoritative your domain is.
Updating content helps with search engine optimization in several basic ways.
Website Traffic Increase
The search engine traffic you receive will increase after you have updated and improved the quality of your material.
As your content becomes more visible in search engine results pages (SERPs), you will naturally see an uptick in the number of visitors to your site.
More visitors mean more opportunities to convert leads into customers or subscribers.
It’s also worth noting that increased website traffic can have a positive effect on your brand’s overall visibility and authority.
If you want to increase the chances that your target audience will find your content, you need to update it regularly.
Not only will this help improve your SEO, but it will also ensure that your content is aligned with Google’s Helpful Content update.
More Backlinks For Your Site
An added bonus is that this will lead to more backlinks being created for your site. As of 2020, backlinks are still crucial to increasing your domain authority. Semrush is a tool you may use to see how authoritative your domain is.
Updating your content on a regular basis will also help increase the number of backlinks pointing to your site.
This is important because backlinks are one of the key ranking factors that search engines like Google use to determine the authority of a website.
The more high-quality backlinks you have pointing to your site, the higher your site will rank in SERP results.
Google has made it abundantly clear how crucial Expertise-Authority-Trust (E-A-T) is. Increased authority and trustworthiness are two components of EAT that benefit directly from higher placement in search engine results.
You may increase your domain authority by gaining backlinks, and Google will reward you for doing so.
Increased Brand Authority and Thought Leadership
Turning your old, underperforming content into relevant and valuable information will also help increase your brand’s authority and thought leadership.
When you become known as an authoritative source of information in your industry, people are more likely to visit your site, link to your content, and share it with their social networks.
This increased visibility can do wonders for your brand equity and lead generation efforts.
Being In Line With Google’s Helpful Content Update
One of the best things you can do for your SEO is to make sure your content is helpful.
This may seem like a no-brainer, but it’s worth mentioning because Google has recently made changes to its algorithm that favor “helpful” content.
The goal of the update was to ensure that searchers were presented with the most helpful and relevant content for their needs.
If you want your site content to rank well in Google search results, you need to make sure it is helpful and aligned with searchers’ intent.
Updating your old posts is a great way to ensure that your content is still relevant and useful for your target audience.
Not only will this help improve your SEO, but it will also help you build trust and authority with your audience.
In addition, any content on your website that Google deems as “unhelpful” to its readers can, and probably will lower your ranking in SERPs.
So, not only is it important to create helpful content, but you also need to keep it updated.
Tips On How To Update Old Blog Posts
So, how can you go about updating your old blog content? Here are a few tips:
- Start by auditing your existing content. Use Google Analytics to see which of your old posts are getting the most traffic and engagement. These are the pieces that you’ll want to focus on first.
- Once you’ve identified which blog posts need to be updated, take some time to research your topic. See what’s changed since you last wrote about it, and make sure you are including the most up-to-date information in your post.
- Fix any existing grammar and spelling mistakes, and add new images or videos to break up the text.
- Update your post’s title and meta description to ensure that they are accurate and align with your target keywords.
- Create a new publication date or simply save an update in WordPress to increase the longevity of your site content. Once Google crawls your site again, you’ll notice an increase in search engine traffic.
- Remove any broken links and, if necessary, add new external links to high-quality, relevant sources.
- Don’t forget to update your SEO through keyword research! Make sure you are using the latest keyword phrases that people are using to search for your topic.
- Keep in line with Google’s Helpful Content tips and guidelines, as these are always changing. By following these tips, you can easily update your every old blog post and improve your SEO at the same time.
Takeaway
Updating old blog content is a great way to improve your SEO, build trust with your audience, and ensure that you are providing helpful information. By following the tips above, you can make the process of updating your content easy and painless.
So, what are you waiting for? Start updating your each relevant old blog post today! If you need any help with your content creation, search engine optimization, or website best practices, feel free to contact us directly!