Historical Optimization: New Life for Old Blog Posts

Blogging can be a tough commitment, but it remains an important part of a content marketing program. In a time of minimalism, I remind people that search engines need content to go to work, and good content is nonnegotiable. Blogs should be at least 300 words—longer is better. 

Go for evergreen–repurpose those posts that have an afterlife

• Do some reconnaissance. Identify blog posts worth updating. Think about whether the topic is still relevant. If so, it’s likely a good candidate. Your keywords probably need a refresh since they change all the time. 

• Google’s Keyword Planner: It’s free and you may as well use Google’s methodology. Key in some phrases and see what the Planner comes up with. Look for words where the competition is Medium and the cost per click at the high end is whatever you’re comfortable paying. I generally set this at $5.00. 

• Update your post, making it more comprehensive. If you’re not making noticeable improvements, don’t bother with this exercise. Provide some accountability with a quote from an industry expert. Provide an example of how this is being used, how it’s affecting users, how it’s making a difference. It may be that you could highlight a particular product or person. Be creative. Remember that good marketing tells a story. 

• Optimize your new post. Put your keyword research to work. Do the stuff that you may/not be doing. Identify a new image. Label the image with your business name and name of what the image is about. Create descriptive tags in the alt tag fields. Here’s a good way to think about alt fields: If someone pulls up your blog on a phone with limited bandwidth and the image doesn’t show up, the alt tag will describe the image so they’ll know how the image is intended to contribute to the story. 

• If there’s a field, fill it in! Identify your keyword focus and write a metadescription.

Promote your new content like any new post

Let’s face it, even for the most creative among us, the well runs dry, so here’s some good news. Historical optimization is a great way to freshen old blogs so they’ll generate more traffic in their second life. Old means just that—blogs you’ve already written—content that just needs a few tucks and it’s ready for primetime again.

I spent some time on my own website, where I have more than 250 blogs. Some of these are complete dogs, which I deleted. I didn’t turn this into a career, but within about 15 minutes, I found a few blogs are evergreen–they most definitely deserve another shot at life. 

When you publish your updated post it will show up as a brand new post on your blog. Promote your updated content just like you would any new post. Email it to your blog subscribers, post it across your social media network. Repurpose it in your newsletter and upload an excerpt to your Google Business Page. 

Could your content marketing strategy use a boost? 

Contact Top of Mind Marketing. We’re writers and digital marketing specialists.