How to Update Old Blog Posts

Wondering How to Update Old Blog Posts? I’m going to teach you how I’ve gained thousands of pageviews simply by refreshing and republishing old content.

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Let’s get into one of the topics I’m most passionate about with blogging.. Updating Old Content/Blog Posts. When I hear that content creators aren’t updating their old content, it seriously breaks my heart. 

If you’ve been blogging for even a year, chances are… you have old content that could be refreshed and turned into almost an entirely new post. You’re pretty much sitting on a goldmine of potential page views!

I’m confident that updating old content helped bring my pageviews to a point where I could quit my job and blog full time. You can click here to read How I Quit My Job + Became a Full Time Food Blogger

Maybe you’re curious about updating old content and not completely sold on it. Here’s why I love it so much.

Excuses you might have about updating your old content…

I get it, I get it. Maybe you think you have some special unicorn audience and that…

• Your audience will know they’re not new posts
• You have to post 3 new recipes every week or the Google gods will unrank you
• You have too many ideas
• It’s boring to you
• You don’t like that post or recipe

Let me just set the record straight… you have to get over all of that. Updating old content is key to keeping your sanity as a blogger, and getting more pageviews!  Let me just show you the data behind it. 

Reposting Your Own Blog Content

Here’s a screenshot of my google analytics over the past few years.

• In 2018: Published 123 blog posts, 41 were updated posts ~33% = Updated Content
• In 2019: Published 98 blog posts, 47 of them were updated content ~48% = Updated Content
• January 2020: Published 15 blog posts, 10 were updated posts ~66% = Updated Content

January of 2020 was my highest traffic month ever, and 66% of the content I published was old content that had been updated! If this isn’t proof that you need to be updating your old content, I don’t know what is!

Updating Old Content Example

This Healthy Blueberry Baked Oatmeal is a great example of how you can update old content. This post was originally shared in March 2016. The photos.. not so great. The writing.. also not great. 

So I updated it in May 2018 and actually pitched it to a brand for sponsored content because it was so popular.

In 2020, I decided it needed another refresh – so I updated in January. It’s now on the first page of google and climbing!

How do you update a blog post?

I’m going to tell you step by step how to go about making a plan for updating old content. You can download my free pdf + spreadsheet tracker below.

How to update old content:

• Download the free spreadsheet template + create a spreadsheet with all of your posts. (See above!)
• Look in Google Analytics. Behavior > Site Content > All Pages.
• In the top right – select the 12 months for your dates, and in the bottom right select 50
• Make note of your most popular posts in the spreadsheet under the ‘Popularity’ header.
• Use the filters to sort by popularity, and look at each of your most popular posts starting at #1. Ask yourself the following questions:
  • What can I add to make this a better piece of content?
  • Is the recipe ok? Does it need to be retested?
  • Does this need new photos?
  • Can I create a new pinnable image?
  • Can I shorten my stories and add more helpful information instead?
  • Are there links in this post to other blog posts, and do other posts link out to this post?
• If your post looks great, and there’s nothing you can update – check it off and move on.
• Analyze posts 1-20, and see where you stand with your content. Once you’ve determined what you need to update – make a plan for the coming weeks and months.
• Try to incorporate updating 1 old piece of content for every new piece of content you want to publish. Example: If you publish 2x a week, do 1 old + 1 new.
• Download the Revisionize plug in, or make your updates while the post is live on your site.

What to do after you update old content?

Once you’re done updating.. you’re not actually done! There’s more to do to make sure this post is successful!

• Change the date and hit republish if you’d like to. I always make my updated posts pop to the top of my website!
• Check it off in your spreadsheet
• Submit it to google search console and click ‘Request Indexing’
  • Submitting this into Google Search Console is super important because it basically is saying ‘hey google – I just updated this and it’s way better than it was before – check it out!’. Google will reindex it and hopefully push it to the top.!
• Pin it on Pinterest
• Share it to Facebook
• Share it on Instagram
• Send it to your email list
• Make a video
• Share a tutorial on Instagram Stories
• Wait for it to climb in the ranks on google 🙂

Do you update old content? This is one of the things I attribute to my success in building a 6 figure business. Click here to read how I did it!