How to Refresh Old Content: A Step-by-Step Guide

Marketing Advice - 27.04.23

Are you struggling to drive traffic to your website? 🤔 Are your readers losing interest in your content? 😒 One of the most effective ways to keep your website relevant and engaging is by refreshing old content. Refreshing old content can bring new life to your website and help keep your readers engaged. 😉

In this blog, we will discuss why reviewing old content is important, how to identify old content that needs refreshing, and set out a step-by-step process. 

Content refresh strategy

Refreshing old content is important for several reasons. Firstly, it can improve your search engine rankings. Google loves fresh content, and updating old content signals to Google that your website is active and relevant. This can lead to higher search rankings, increased traffic, and more engagement.

Secondly, refreshing old content can help you reach new audiences. As you update old content, you can optimise it for new keywords or topics making it easier for new readers to discover your content. This can help you attract new readers, build your brand, and grow your website's audience.

Finally, refreshing old content can help you retain your existing audience. If your content is outdated, your readers may lose interest over time. Refreshing old content can keep your readers engaged, and show them that you're committed to providing fresh and useful content. 

How to identify old content that needs refreshing

It's so important to identify which content on your website needs refreshing, and here are some tips on how to do it:

  • Look for content that is outdated or no longer relevant. If your content contains figures, facts, or other information that is no longer true, it should be updated.

  • Check your website analytics to see which pages are underperforming.

  • Identify content that could benefit from new information, data, or examples.

  • Look for content that has social shares, but low engagement or traffic.

  • Check for broken links: It's important to fix broken links because they can have a negative influence on both the user experience and the search engine ranking of your website.

  • Above all, examine your writing from the viewpoint of your intended audience. Does your audience still find your material relevant? Does it satisfy their demands and ease their problems?

If you want to locate your oldest content, you can take advantage of Google Analytics' year-over-year feature. 

Here are the steps to follow in Google Analytics 4 (GA4):

  • Go to Reports

  • then select Engagement 

  • and choose Pages and Screens.

  • In the date range window, enable the Compare option and pick Same period last year.

So once you have identified the content that needs refreshing, here is a step-by-step process to refresh your old content:

Step 1: Conduct a content audit

  • Start by conducting a content audit to identify the pages on your website that need refreshing. 

  • Use a spreadsheet to list all the pages on your website and identify which pages need updating. 

  • Use categories like the title of the article, the date it was published, the page views and shares so you can prioritise your updating process.

Step 2: Update your content

  • After identifying which pages need refreshing, start by updating the content on these pages. 

  • Add new information, data, examples, or images to make your content more valuable and engaging. Update your metadata, check your keyword placement, and use internal and external links. It's important to ensure that your content is consistent and easy to read.

Step 3: Republish your content

  • After updating your content, republish it, and promote it to your audience. Share it on social media, use email marketing or conduct a press release.

  • It's important to get the word out, so your audience knows that you have updated your content.

Step 4: Monitor and measure your results

  • Finally, monitor your website analytics to measure the impact of your content refresh. Keep an eye on your search engine rankings, engagement, and traffic. 

  • Use this information to refine your content refresh process continually.

Gain inspiration from your competitors

While the word ‘stealing’ might sound harsh, the goal of competitive intelligence is to learn from one another and inspire each other to strive for excellence.

By closely examining the content of your higher-ranking competitors, you can gain valuable insights. BuzzSumo's URL Analysis Tool is a helpful resource in this regard. It provides a detailed overview of each piece of content, including:

  • Publication date

  • Author details

  • Top shares of the article

  • Evergreen scores

  • Pages linking to that content, and more.

This is an excellent way to develop your future marketing strategy by quickly evaluating who has helped promote that article and how your competitors have refreshed their content strategy. You can use this knowledge to improve your own content and stay ahead of the competition.