It’s rare to see content teams in companies executing campaigns dedicated solely to refreshing existing content.
Brands will dedicate time and resources toward producing new content because it’s been proven to help boost site visibility and improve SEO–especially when algorithms change so fast.
But churning out new content isn’t the only strategy you can try. In my years as a content marketing professional, I can vouch for the efficacy of content refreshes as well. I’ve executed multiple content refresh campaigns for clients and when asked why I put equal emphasis on refreshing old content as I do developing new material, I always say, “It does more for you in less time.”
I’m not suggesting you stop producing new content altogether, but neglecting the existing content on your site could cost you valuable ranking, authority, and even damage your brand image. Below, I’ve outlined the benefits of content refreshes that I hope will inspire you to open that spreadsheet and start refreshing your old content strategically.
Benefits of Focusing on Content Refreshes Over New Content Creation
1. It Preserves the SEO Value
When you refresh existing content, you maintain the original URL and keep all the SEO value you’ve built over time. This is important because backlinks pointing to that URL continue to contribute to your site’s authority. Creating a new piece on the same topic would mean starting from scratch, which can be a slower and less effective process.
How to Do It:
- Audit Your Content: Use tools like Google Analytics and Ahrefs to identify which pages have accumulated significant backlinks and organic traffic. These are prime candidates for a refresh.
- Update and Expand: Refresh the content with new statistics, updated insights, or expanded sections. Ensure the structure is optimized for both user experience and search engines.
- Optimize for Keywords: Include updated target keywords and phrases, but avoid keyword stuffing. Instead, naturally integrate them where they add value to the reader.
2. It Revives Lost Rankings
Over time, even well-performing content can drop in search rankings. A content refresh can help revive these rankings by addressing the reasons for the decline—whether it’s outdated information, reduced internal linking, or increased competition.
“When we noticed some of our top-performing content slipping in rankings, we didn’t just move on to new projects. Instead, we revisited these articles, updated them with fresh insights and data, and saw a significant bounce back in our search rankings,” says Simon Bacher, Co-founder and CEO of Ling. “The key is to ensure your content remains relevant and valuable to your audience.”
How to Do It:
- Identify Declining Pages: Use your SEO tools to spot pages that have slipped in rankings. Focus on those that are still within striking distance of the first page.
- Update and Reoptimize: Revise the content to make it more relevant and competitive. This might involve updating old data, improving readability, or even adding multimedia like videos or infographics.
- Internal Linking: Ensure that high-priority pages are well-linked from within your site. Consider linking to them from newer, relevant posts to boost their authority.
3. You Can Easily Adapt to Algorithm Changes
Search engines regularly update their algorithms, and what worked well a year ago might not be as effective today. A content refresh allows you to adapt your existing content to align with the latest SEO best practices.
How to Do It:
- Stay Updated on Algorithm Changes: Keep an eye on updates from Google, such as the Core Web Vitals or the helpful content update.
- Align Content with New Standards: For example, if Google now prioritizes user experience, ensure your content loads quickly, is mobile-friendly, and addresses all relevant search questions in the FAQs.
- Update Metadata: Refresh titles, meta descriptions, and alt tags to align with new keyword strategies or to make them more compelling.
4. It Helps in Effective Resource Using
Creating new content requires substantial resources—time, research, writing, and design. Refreshing existing content is often faster and more cost-effective, allowing you to stretch your content budget further.
“As a growing business, we’re very conscious about stretching our team too thin. Rather than stretching than constantly creating new content, we try to balance workloads and see equally good ROI by refining what we already have. Dedicating campaigns to refreshing existing content has allowed us to maximize the impact of our content without overextending our resources,” Dominic Monn, founder of MentorCruise shares.
How to Do It:
- Prioritize High-Impact Updates: Focus on content that has historically performed well or targets critical keywords.
- Leverage Existing Assets: Use current data, infographics, and images from your original content. Updating these elements is much quicker than starting from scratch.
- Streamline the Process: Develop a checklist or a standard operating procedure (SOP) for content refreshes to make the process repeatable and efficient for your team.
5. It Can Improve Click-Through Rates
Updated content with recent dates in the search results often attracts more clicks. Readers naturally gravitate toward content they perceive as current and relevant.
How to Do It:
- Add Freshness Indicators: Make it clear when the content was last updated by including the **** in a prominent location.
- Optimize Titles and Meta Descriptions: Ensure they reflect the most current trends or questions your audience is asking. A compelling and relevant meta description can significantly boost your CTR.
- Improve Readability: Break up the text with subheadings, bullet points, and short paragraphs to make it more reader-friendly. This not only improves user engagement but can also lead to higher click-through rates.
6. It Helps Combat Keyword Cannibalization
When you have multiple pages targeting the same keyword, they can end up competing against each other in the search rankings—a phenomenon known as keyword cannibalization. This can dilute the effectiveness of your SEO efforts and confuse search engines about which page to prioritize. Content refreshes are a good way to prevent this.
“We were so focused on ranking for a specific keyword that we actually ended up using it across all our content, which diluted our SEO efforts,” shared Sarah Jameson, Marketing Director at Green Building Elements. “By consolidating and updating our content, we not only solved the issue but also increased the page’s authority on the topic. Our intent was to be strategic with our content and ensure that each piece serves a unique purpose.”
How to Do It:
- Audit Your Content: Identify pages that target the same or very similar keywords. Tools like Google Search Console can help you see which pages are ranking for the same terms.
- Merge or Differentiate Content: You can combine overlapping content into a single, comprehensive piece. If not this, you can also refine the focus of each page to target different aspects of the same topic, reducing overlap.
- 301 Redirects: If you decide to merge content, use 301 redirects to guide traffic from the old URLs to the new, consolidated page. This will preserve any link equity from the original pages.
7. Strengthening Website Authority
Refreshing content is an excellent strategy for maintaining and even enhancing your website’s authority. When you update your content, you’re also showing search engines and users that your site is a reliable, up-to-**** source of information.
How to Do It:
- Maintain Backlinks: By keeping content updated, you ensure that the backlinks pointing to your site remain valuable. If a linked page becomes outdated, those links lose their effectiveness.
- Build New Links: After refreshing content, reach out to sites that have previously linked to your page and let them know about the update. They may be more inclined to link to your refreshed, more authoritative content.
- Showcase Expertise: Update content with the latest research, expert opinions, and case studies to reinforce your site’s authority on the subject matter.
8. Better Targeting with Updated Buyer Personas
As your business evolves, so do your customers. Refreshing content allows you to better align with updated buyer personas, ensuring that your messaging and tone resonate with your current audience.
How to Do It:
- Revisit Buyer Personas: Regularly update your buyer personas based on new data, customer feedback, and market trends. Ensure these updates are reflected in your content.
- Tailor Content to Personas: Adjust the language, examples, and calls to action (CTAs) in your content to better meet the needs and pain points of your target audience.
- Segmented Content Refreshes: Consider creating different versions of the same content tailored to different personas, each optimized for their specific journey stage or interests.
9. Social Media Optimization
Social media is all about first impressions. Refreshing your content can improve how it’s perceived and interacted with across social platforms, leading to higher engagement rates and wider reach.
How to Do It:
- Revamp Visuals: Update your social media thumbnails, images, and infographics to make them more visually appealing and relevant to current trends.
- Rewrite Headlines and Descriptions: Craft new, compelling headlines and social media descriptions that are optimized for the latest trends or *** topics.
- A/B Testing: Test different versions of your refreshed content on social media to see which ones resonate more with your audience. Use the insights gained to further refine your content.
10. Improving User Experience
Refreshing content isn’t just about adding new information—it’s also an opportunity to enhance the user experience. A well-structured, easy-to-read article that’s relevant and up-to-**** keeps users on your site longer and encourages them to explore further.
How to Do It:
- Improve Readability: Break up long paragraphs, add subheadings, and incorporate bullet points to make the content easier to digest.
- Optimize for Mobile: Ensure that your refreshed content is fully responsive and provides an excellent experience on mobile devices.
- Include Interactive Elements: Consider adding quizzes, polls, or interactive infographics to engage users more deeply and improve their overall experience on your site.
11. You Can Produce Long-Form Content with Less Work
Long-form content is great for SEO and keeping your audience engaged, but it usually takes a lot of time and resources to create from scratch. By updating and expanding on content you already have, you can create detailed, in-depth pieces with less effort.
How to Do It:
- Find Related Content: Start by looking at the content you already have. Find shorter articles or blog posts on similar topics that you can use as the base for your long-form content.
- Combine and Expand: Merge these pieces into one comprehensive article. Add new sections, update any statistics, and include extra insights to make sure it fully covers the topic.
- Optimize for Search: Ensure your new long-form content is optimized with relevant keywords and includes links to other related articles on your site. This helps with SEO and offers a better experience for your readers.
12. It Enables You to Update Content for New Platforms
As new platforms and content formats emerge, updating your content allows you to repurpose it for these channels, helping you reach a wider audience. Whether you’re turning blog posts into video scripts or transforming articles into podcasts, refreshing your content makes it more adaptable.
How to Do It:
- Know Platform Requirements: Each platform has specific content needs, like video length for YouTube, character limits for social media, or audio format for podcasts. Make sure your updated content meets these standards.
- Repurpose Creatively: Think beyond just text. Could your blog post become an eye-catching infographic, a series of tweets, or a tutorial video? Refreshing content with different formats in mind can help you attract new audiences who prefer different types of content.
- Measure and Adjust: Monitor how your repurposed content performs on each platform. Use analytics to see what works best with your audience and adjust your strategy as needed.
Dmitro Sokhach
We work with many SaaS and outsourcing firms, and a common issue we notice is that while they publish 100-200 articles, they rarely update them. As a result, the content becomes outdated within 4-6 months.
A simple way to refresh content is by adding 1-2 new paragraphs or even just 3-4 sentences. We use data from Google Search Console (GSC) to find keywords that get impressions but aren’t generating clicks, and we update the content accordingly. GSC keywords provide a much more accurate picture of what people are actually searching for compared to third-party tools.
Additionally, even adding 1-2 sentences with updated statistics can help improve your article’s ranking.
How to Identify Which Content is Suitable for Refreshing?
When my team picks out which content requires refreshing, they go about it in three steps:
1. Conduct a Content Audit
Review your existing content to identify pieces that need updating. A content audit will help you spot outdated or underperforming articles that could benefit from a refresh. By updating these, you can provide more value to your audience and boost your site’s overall performance.
2. Check Performance Metrics
Look at key metrics like organic traffic, search rankings, and engagement rates. If a piece of content that once performed well is now slipping, it’s a strong candidate for an update. Targeting content with some existing traction allows you to make impactful updates with less effort.
3. Pay Attention to Audience Feedback
Monitor your audience’s behavior to spot content that may need a refresh. High bounce rates or short time on page indicate that the content might not be meeting expectations. Listen to feedback from comments or social media; if people point out gaps or ask for more information, it’s a clear signal that the content could benefit from an update.
Conclusion
Updating and improving what’s already there is a proven strategy that can help you enhance your site’s SEO. Bringing old content up to speed will help you reclaim lost rankings and stay in sync with the latest algorithm changes, which will keep your site competitive. It also helps prevent keyword cannibalization and strengthens your site’s authority. Plus, it gives you a chance to better target your audience as their needs evolve.
If you can take anything away from this it’s that refreshing existing content is a high-impact, low-effort strategy. Before diving into new content creation, revisit what you’ve already published—it could still provide significant value to both you and your audience if optimized correctly.
