How do you update and refresh your old content for SEO?

Instead of viewing your content as a relic, breathe new life into it. Identify your high-performing content from over 12 months older data. Map it to new research: current trends, user queries, and industry insights. Edit the content to keep your audience engaged and search engines recognizing your ongoing value. Here are 3 meaningful steps to consider: - Link it to relevant new content to boost website navigation and SEO. - Update the publish date and reshare on social media. - Consider adding a "last updated" section for ongoing content freshness. It's good for Algo. This way, you'll maintain a dynamic conversation with your audience, ensuring your content stays fresh and relevant.

I have blog posts that were created years ago that are no longer accurate. These are posts that list things that are linked. For example, the top 10 directories. These posts need to be updated to be sure the links have not changed or that the linked company is still viable. Dead links will effect your SEO. Keeping these updated is useful for your readers as well. Often there may also be new companies that can be added to your list.

Beyond using tools and metrics to update content, it's a good idea to review everything you've published, if possible, and see what is outdated or may need new keywords, links, etc. "Top 10"—type lists of software, trends, and similar aspects are often the first ones that need to be rewritten, updated, or scrapped altogether. The same goes for company content that is inaccurate or out-of-date. As an example, you don't want to publish a story about a company CEO who no longer works for the organization. Instead, write an introduction to the new CEO.

To understand which types of content benefit most from frequent updates, we need to look at those associated with: - Recent events (searches tied to recent happenings, for instance, information linked to media appearances or breaking news). - Recurring events: such as those that take place periodically (annual events, elections, sports results, television series, etc.). - Subjects that necessitate the latest updates, but aren't events or news, such as products that undergo regular updates (like the latest from Apple, for instance).

Consider the following: - Reassess your content against emerging keywords. A piece originally written for one term might gain more traction with another, now more pertinent keyword. - If you manage a blog, refresh the publication date to today after you’ve updated the content. This signals freshness to search engines and users alike. - Continually research your subject. When you update your content with the latest information, highlight these changes explicitly to show your commitment to accuracy and currency. - Eliminate broken links. They not only hinder user experience but also signal to search engines that your site may be outdated. Replace them with current links or apply redirects where replacement isn't feasible.

Numerous tools and solutions available in the market enable you to monitor your website's traffic progression from a specific date (for us, it's when you've refreshed your content with the latest updates 😉). The key is to visually track your website's traffic flow with your chosen tool, to observe trend line shifts and confirm that your site's content update is yielding results. A powerful, albeit paid, tool I use is Ahrefs. Semrush is another with comparable capabilities. I encourage you to explore which one best suits you and your strategy.

Don't forget to analyze the changing perspectives of your target audience while you're refreshing the content that's meant to provide value to them.