Is it possible to get new website traffic from old content?
If you’re a blogger or someone who create lots of content for their business, then I am sure you’re aware that blogging can take a lot of time & effort – and the last thing you want is your content to eventually shrivel up and dry out.
Sometimes you might even feel a little defeated a few months after you’ve worked through your blog content plan, only for it to start to lose traffic to your site.
But, just because this blog is ‘old news’, does that mean it has to bite the dust and become obsolete?
Of course not! You can always gain new website traffic from old content – and it’s really simple to do so.
When you breathe new life into your old blog posts and content, you’ll not only keep them alive, but you’ll also have the opportunity to re-share as new!
Related: 3 ways to plan 6 months of blog content
So, what constitutes as old content?
It will be different for everyone since we all have various blogging schedules and how often we post, but overall, let’s start with content from the very beginning of your blogging days if this is a new concept for you.
As a rule of thumb, strive to do this quarterly, or at the very least, 2 times a year.
Why?
Well, because our writing voice changes, our blogging style evolves, and we also have new ideas to share.
Not only this, but if you are an affiliate for new brands or have new posts & products to share on the subject, this is the perfect opportunity to add those links to your posts!
So, let’s get started.
First of all, if this is your first time updating old content, then head on back to your very first post.
This will be fun because you can read and soak up your very first topics and thoughts and see how your style has evolved.
Now that you’re ready, let’s follow this simple method of updating these posts quickly & efficiently without much fuss.
Disclaimer: Affiliate links are used in this post, so that means if you purchase anything through these links, we will get a small commission which helps keep this blog running. We only promote and share products we trust and love.
1. Reassess your formatting
I remember the first time I ever updated my old content – oh what a mess my formatting was!
I was horrified to find that most of my writing was clumped together into large paragraphs that difficult to read. I wondered right then if anyone had ever held the attention span to read this stuff – because it certainly bored me to tears!
As a rule of thumb, make sure your formatting is uniform to your new blog posts. And not only that, make sure it’s easily broken up into small bits that are easy to read.
Break up your paragraphs with headlines, bullets, and bold text like this.
This will make your content easier to follow along and read – and has a higher chance of being read all the way through.
The last thing you want is a boring blog, right?
2. Update photos or add them
Using high-quality photos is always recommended, so if you old content consists of mostly blurry phone shots, then consider swapping those out for something new and fresh.
Stock photos can be great and affordable if you don’t have access to high-quality photos.
When you are updating your photos, make sure they are named with the proper keywords you are targeting for your blog post.
Also make sure to add alt text with the keywords you plan on using. Don’t be scared of being detailed when it comes to adding your alt text – the more descriptive, the better!
This will give search engines (like Pinterest and Google) more information about what the photo is about, which will lead to better organic search results.
This is an SEO dream and will help boost your rankings and assist you in gaining new website traffic, so don’t skip this important step!
3. Add/delete blog and affiliate links
This is the part that absolutely brings more opportunity to optimize your site and your affiliate earnings.
Go through your entire post to see if you have other relevant posts that you have written that would compliment this post. Not only will this boost your SEO, but it will give your readers all the more reason to stay on your site – which only leads to a smaller bounce rate, score!
If you have signed up for new affiliate programs or created a new product yourself, make sure to add those links and graphics in as well.
The more places you can share your links, the higher chance you have for more sales, so don’t skip this important step!
4. Update old graphics
Has your branding changed? Or perhaps you just aren’t digging the look of your old Pinterest pins?
Refresh those graphics and add them to your posts! Don’t forget to follow the same rules for adding photos to your blog (title & alt text).
And you don’t have to be Photoshop savvy or a designed to create stunning graphics. I love using canva for all of my Pinterest and blog graphics, and it’s super easy and fun to do (and need I say FREE?).
This is personally my favorite part of updating my old content – freshening up my branding and making it look more cohesive with my website!
Don’t have time to create your own Canva graphics?
Check out these templates that are ready-made and easy to use for your personal brand needs!
5. Re-share!
If it’s been awhile since you first published your post, nothing can breathe new life into more than re-sharing.
You can go down the line and share your post on all of your platforms at once, or schedule them out over the next few weeks to constantly get fresh eyes on your content.
If you have updated your graphic for your post, now is the perfect time to re-share on Pinterest. What I recommend doing is creating 4-6 NEW Pinterest pins and share those on the most relevant boards.
Even better, spread out the pins over a 6-8 week period on Tailwind. This will definitely help you get new website traffic from these older posts.
Tailwind helps you manage your Pinterest schedule so you are on the app less while your pinning is being spread and published without thinking about it! Try it out and get your first 100 pins for free.
Not only should you re-share on your social media platforms, but sharing it with your email subscribers is also beneficial as well. Most likely, your current readers have never seen this content before, so it’s new for them and a double win for you!
So now that you understand WHY it’s crucial to update your old blog content to get new website traffic and HOW to do it, there’s no reason to not get started on it today!
Don’t forget to pin this post on Pinterest to come back and reference when you need a refresher – because this shouldn’t be the only time you update your content.
Did you find these tips helpful and inspiring? Tell us in the comments below – we want to make sure we are helping you in the best way that we can.
I’ve been going back and revamping some of my old content. completely feel you on the “what was I thinking with this formatting?!?!” lol. I also found that most of my pics didn’t have alt text or the titles were crap. but I still haven’t quite figured out the best way to do it. my titles and alt text tend to be very similar. any tips?
progress is a beautiful thing! For alt tags, I generally use the same title and also sprinkle in a few more descriptive words about the photo that pertains to the post. Hope that helps!