Our website has just a few pages and blog posts that have driven the majority of traffic to the Alan Aldous site since we launched in November 2019.
A few service pages, a review of “Have a Nice Trip” on Netflix, and a post about how to fix your on-site SEO are among the top traffic magnets. All the traffic to the posts I’m mentioning comes from search engines.
But in March 2024, we noticed that the post’s traffic was declining, which affected my overall site traffic. So, we did a content refresh, tweaked a few things here and there, and added more relevant links and new images. We’ve found that this practice consistently increases the traffic on those posts and pages, up to double what it dropped to.
Wouldn’t it be great if you could double traffic on an “old” but relevant content on your site?
That’s precisely why we’re telling you your old content is past due for a rewrite.
What happens with the posts on our site is a perfect example of why we need to refresh old content and sometimes even delete content that’s not serving us and isn’t worth refreshing. Refreshing a piece that’s performed well in the past brings it back to life in search and keeps it relevant to those who need the information.
Just because the content is older doesn’t mean it isn’t still relevant and essential to your audience. We asked clients and colleagues why they refresh old website content.
From a business’s open hours to standard procedures, information on a company’s website always goes out of date. Don’t risk confusing your customers with ancient details on a post from five years ago. Keep the pages of your website updated regularly. Every page passes a check every so often, and data is kept more accurate than without such a system.
As you run your business, you become more of a subject matter expert. Instead of writing all new content based on your evolved wisdom and risking having incompatible information on your site, introduce what you know today into content due for renewal.
Like an evergreen tree stays green all year round, evergreen content is supposed to stay relevant. While inherently timeless, evergreen content still requires periodic rejuvenation to remain relevant. By refreshing such content, your business serves your audience effectively and contributes to your customer engagement and brand authority.
Evergreen content stays on your site and continues to work for you over time. Evergreen content topics relate to your business expertise and provide ongoing value for your customers. “How-to” articles and “best of” lists are good examples of evergreen content. Because it serves an ongoing purpose, evergreen content is worth revisiting and updating on occasion.
Is refreshing old content giving you new content ideas? You can add the information to the old content as a new section with an optimized H2 heading. However, you could start a list of content ideas for new posts so that you are putting out a healthy mix of revamped blog content and brand-new stuff.
How you speak to customers through your website is part of how you provide customer service. The most crucial reason for a website to update is to provide your audience with the most up-to-date information about your content niche.
What does a business owner do when they know their site has old content but lacks the bandwidth to refresh it?
One of our clients was so busy putting out new content on their Canadian and (new) USA sites that when Google’s core update occurred, the client’s SEO team manager didn’t know where to allot their resources to regain some of the domain authority they lost because of old content.
They hired us to refresh old content (published in 2022 and earlier) while they created new content for both their pillar websites and the sites for all of their franchisees.
We researched their different service locations and relevant keywords and phrases and chose ten pieces of content that would benefit the most from a refresh. We started there. The results were speedy because we chose items that performed well in the past and decided which provided information that people care about now.
Some elements of your site and blog pages will benefit the most from a content refresh. Those are:
If you tackle these elements throughout your website, including old blog posts, you’ll already see an improvement in search rankings.
Refreshing old content is not just a trend but a strategic necessity in the digital landscape of 2024. The case of our SEO and communication agency website client’s experiences highlights this practice’s tangible benefits. By breathing new life into older but valuable content, businesses can witness a resurgence in traffic, relevance, and overall site performance.
The importance of providing updated information cannot be overstated. In an era where data becomes outdated quickly, keeping content fresh and accurate is crucial for maintaining customer trust and preventing confusion. Moreover, leveraging new knowledge and experiences enriches the substance of content, ensuring it remains aligned with evolving industry standards and insights.
Additionally, the process of refreshing old content often sparks new ideas for future content creation. This dual benefit optimizes existing assets and fuels a continuous cycle of innovation and relevance, keeping the content ecosystem dynamic and engaging. Outsourcing content refresh tasks can be a strategic solution for businesses facing bandwidth constraints. By entrusting SEO experts and wordsmiths to revitalize your site’s old content while focusing internal resources on new initiatives, companies can achieve a balanced content strategy that maximizes impact and efficiency.
In essence, refreshing old content encompasses far more than mere upkeep—it’s a proactive strategy that aligns with the demands of modern digital audiences, fosters continual improvement, and ensures sustained relevance in a rapidly evolving online landscape.