How to do a Blog Content Refresh for Better SEO

When did you publish your very first blog post? Was it last year? Maybe you’ve been in business longer and it was way back in 2019 or even earlier. No matter when you started, I’m guessing at least one of your blogs could use a content refresh.

Doing a blog content refresh a few times a year can make a huge impact on your SEO. You’ll see more traffic and high-quality leads landing on your website because you provide up-to-date, valuable content. And who doesn’t want that?!

So here are seven steps to a content refresh and how to pick the first blog to start with.

Why Refreshing Content Matters

Refreshing old content is almost as valuable as posting an entirely new blog. Google values older posts that have been steadily earning search traffic. They have some credibility, so remember, quality over quantity. 

Google wants to see that you post new, fresh content, and that doesn’t necessarily mean a brand new blog. It absolutely means making sure all the content on your website is updated and current. Even if a blog is ten years old, someone is clicking on it TODAY, which means it needs to be relevant to TODAY. 

Things change so quickly. A few years ago, AI didn’t exist, but now it’s integrated into our daily lives. Your blogs should reflect changes in search engine algorithms and shifts in your audience’s needs and interests.

A content refresh is needed for user experience and search success.

How to Choose Blogs to Update

Use Google Analytics to analyze and identify posts needing a content refresh. I would start with the blogs that are performing the best and the worst. The blogs that are performing well are earning traffic from search engines, so you want to make sure these are up-to-date for the people discovering you from search engines. Badly performing blogs probably need an SEO update for better performance. 

7 Steps to a Blog Content Refresh

Let’s discuss step-by-step what you should update in a blog to ensure it remains a valuable resource for your audience.

1. Keyword Research

You might not even have a keyword identified for old blogs, and that’s okay! That’s why we’re here updating them 😉 Do keyword research to find a good keyword for the blog, or check your current keyword against new options to see if you can find something better. This blog walks you through how to do keyword research in Ubersuggest! Once you find a good focus keyword for the blog, include it in your SEO metadata, title, and copy. 

2. Update Content and Images

There are a lot of ways you can update the content within your blog. First, read through it to see if any information you provide is outdated. For example, mentioning old platforms like Vine or MySpace should be removed. Also, remove outdated statistics, links, and examples.

Next, see if you can add new sections with additional information or perspectives to add value. For example, old blogs might not mention AI, but that’s a highly relevant topic right now that would be good to mention.

Search keywords related to your topic in Google, and see what comes up in the ‘people also ask’ section. Add insight into those questions in your blog; you might just be featured there someday! You could add a whole new section for one topic or simply do an FAQ and answer multiple questions.

Finally, do your images need to be updated, or can you add anything new? Maybe you recently did a brand photoshoot—replace old brand photos with your new ones. Maybe you created a new freebie with a CTA graphic relevant to this blog topic—add that in there. Blogs don’t have to have images; when they do, ensure they’re up-to-date.

3. Optimize On-Page Elements

This includes your SEO title, meta description, headers, and alt text. If you chose a new keyword to target in step one, you must update these elements to include it. Even if you didn’t, new SEO metadata can improve rankings. 

4. Linking

See if there are areas within the blog where you can add new internal or external links. Internal links are other links on your website, and external links are links to other websites. Both are important for SEO, so see if there are opportunities to add new links. This can also include CTAs to new freebies or offers!

Psst… don’t forget to also check for broken links and update them. Use the free tool Broken Link Checker to identify broken links easily!

5. Formatting

There could be ways to make your blog more readable for users. People like to see a lot of headers (which are also great for SEO), bullet points, and emphasis. It helps them quickly get value out of the blog. Think about how you can restructure the content to make it more reader-friendly.

6. Manually Request Indexing

Now that your blog is updated, you need to let Google know of the changes! Login to Google Search Console and paste the updated URL into the search bar. On the right-hand side, you’ll see ‘Page Changed? Request Indexing.’ Click that button, and you’ll move your page up in the queue of pages to be reviewed and approved for appearing in Google search results.

This is just a bonus step, but it ensures your new content is out there as soon as possible!

7. Repurpose and Promote

It’s time to repurpose and promote your refreshed content! Share it with your email list and social media followers. You can even talk about how and why you updated it! Share the content in a carousel, Reel, story, or direct link.

How Often to Update Blogs

I know this is a lot of work, so I’m not going to tell you that you have to do this every week (unless that’s how you want to space out the work.) The blogs driving significant traffic to your website should probably have a content refresh every month. Since they’re already earning a lot of search traffic, you should keep these as up-to-date as possible. 

For everything else, a content refresh every six months is fine. There probably won’t be a lot of consistent updates, so you can just do one big update twice a year. 

Which Blog Needs a Content Refresh First?

Do you have an idea of which blogs need to be updated first? Follow this checklist to help you do a much-needed content refresh. If your head is spinning just thinking about updating old blog content, I have a service to help. With my Blog Optimization package, I’ll do all this for you. Your blogs will be up-to-date and a valuable resource for your audience in no time. Schedule a call with me to discuss your project!