Best Practices For Updating Old Website Content

While the main goal of refreshing a piece of content is to bump its rankings or keep it relevant, there’s way more you can do than optimizing for keywords. Whenever I refresh content, I also try to: - Fix link redirects (H/T to Nathan Ellering for teaching me to look out for this!) Use the Check My Links extension in Chrome to make it easy. It’ll also flag broken links for you to fix. - Check and update stats. If a stat is more than ~3-4 years old, consider replacing it. I also recommend making sure the stat links to its original source (NOT a roundup) and is good quality. You’ll hear more from me soon on the latter. - Update examples if necessary. You might still be able to salvage an example if the original link is gone if you have a screenshot, but make sure to credit the source by adding a link to their main page. - Run a general fact-check, too. Maybe a company you mentioned is out of business now or a software has different features. Make sure every word is accurate to what’s true today. - Update your calls-to-action. If you changed how you present your calls to action (such as adding call-outs here and there or at the end), add those, too. I also do a general look-over where I perform line edits and optimize the little things where possible, such as adding images where there are good opportunities to do so. Give your refresh the attention to detail you would if you were writing from scratch. Anything else you like to do when you refresh content?

Your ranking just dropped? Don't panic. Here's how to climb back up: 1. Check search intent Google sometimes shifts search intent with time, so make sure your content still aligns with what users (and Google) expect to see. If not, then modify your page according to new search intent. 2. Content refresh Update your page with new long-tail keywords and add new subtopics to fill the gap between you and what's ranking right now. Add unique photos and video content (keep it relevant and valuable) 3. Optimize internal linking You can boost the SEO of your most authoritative pages by linking to them from important pages. Link to these pages from relevant blog posts and include them in the main navigation of your site. 4. Strategic republishing Relaunching and prominently featuring it on your homepage and sidebar can give some good SEO boost to it (homepage typically has the most links and will pass some link juice to featured posts; don't forget to share it on social media and via your email list) 5. Complementary/Supportive content Create new, lower-competition articles within the same topic cluster and internally link them to each other for building strong topical authority in that particular topic. 6. Articles consolidation Merging related articles into your main page can boost its authority and comprehensiveness. Select pages which are closely related to your main page but don't bring lots of traffic yet have good relevant backlinks. 7. Proactive updates Don't wait for rankings to drop. Regularly refresh your content, even when it's performing well and make sure your page is providing the best results for that search query and users won't need any other page once they're there. 8. Isolate and measure When implementing changes, try to separate content updates from link-building efforts to better understand their individual impacts. 9. Update existing pages Balance your efforts. A mix of 30% new content and 70% updates to existing pages often works well for sustained growth. Remember SEO is an ongoing process and temporary setback doesn't define your long-term success. What strategies have worked for you in similar situations? Share your experiences in the comments.

Your website is a goldmine of untapped traffic. And you're ignoring it. I’ve helped several clients double their new monthly visitors by updating content they already had. Here's the exact process that you can do in a couple of weeks. ➡️ The Content Audit 1. First, identify your top 20 posts. 2. Not by traffic - by potential. 3. Look for topics where your competitors are ranking but you're not. 4. These are your hidden opportunities. ➡️ The 500-Word Rule 1. Each post needs fresh, valuable insights. 2. Not fluff. Not AI content. 3. Real, experience-backed information your competitors missed. ➡️ The Internal Link Strategy 1. Create a web of relevance. 2. Connect these 20 posts strategically. 3. Think like Wikipedia - every important concept links to a deeper explanation. 4. This signals topical authority to Google. ➡️ The On-Page Refresh 1. Rewrite those boring H2s and H3s 2. Craft an intro that hooks both Google and readers 3. Update old stats and examples 4. Add FAQs addressing new search intent The Math Is Simple: 20 posts × 25 daily visits = 500 daily visitors That's 15,000 new monthly visitors. Without writing a single new post. I've used this exact system with 50+ clients. It works in every niche. The best part? You already have everything you need. You just need to start.

Publishing more won’t fix your traffic problem. Updating old posts is 10X better, here’s the process: I’ve seen too many websites pump out dozens, even hundreds, of blog posts that get zero traffic. If you already have a decent content library, your fastest path to growth isn’t JUST more content. It’s better content. Here’s what to do instead: 1. Open Google Search Console. 2. Filter data for the last 28 days. 3. Export all keyword data. 4. Identify keywords ranking in positions 3–20. 5. Prioritize these, they’re your low hanging fruit. Now, optimize your existing content targeting those keywords: - Add missing sections or FAQs - Strengthen existing content - Improve your H1s and subheadings - Target snippets and AI overviews You’ll see more results from optimizing 10 existing posts than publishing 50 new ones. Try this consistently for the next 5 months, and watch your traffic take off. Let the algorithm work for you, not against you.

The old strategy of putting out more blog posts (and winning over Google's algorithm with a content library) isn't the answer anymore. AI search is dramatically changing the content strategy approach. But that also creates opportunity. If you're not updating past content, it's a huge miss to maximize the work and investment you’ve already made. The goal is to make your content so valuable that it becomes the source AI references (and of course so readers find it helpful!). Your content audit-to-do list to stay relevant with AI search: - Find your thin content and either build it out to make it more valuable. If AI can answer it in two sentences, your 300-word blog isn't adding value. - Add unique data, case studies, and real examples. This is what AI can't replicate and helps build trust and prove expertise. - Consolidate similar pieces into comprehensive resources. Instead of 5 short blogs, create 1 definitive guide. - Optimize for "yes, and..." moments. When AI gives a basic answer, your content should be the natural next step. Focus on bottom-funnel intent. Target people ready to make decisions, not just gathering basic info to help capture critical organic search traffic. The brands winning right now aren't the ones creating the most content. They're the ones creating content so valuable that both AI and humans want to reference it. #ContentStrategy #AISearch #ContentAudit #ContentThatConverts