5 Reasons Why You Need To Update Old Blog Posts

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Updated 4 years ago

So I just spent better part of my day today, going through my old posts on one of my sites(it's a habit that I have adopted). There is one particular post that has been getting a good number of clicks especially from Pinterest. I wanted to take a look at it and see if it had internal links. That is what inspired me to write this post here, and share reasons why you need to update old blog posts.

The post is about a year old now, and when I wrote it I was still not so good at writing although I did manage to write 2800 words. When I scanned through the post I could see that it did not have any external links and it only had one internal link.

Internal Links Link To Your Other Posts, External Links Are Linking To Other Websites

For the new members who may not be familiar with the terms I just used, internal link is a link that links to another blog post on your website that can add value to your current blog post. For example Let's say you are writing a blog post about how to lose weight, and Let's say you had written another article about the best weight loss diet.

You can link to that post, or any other post that touches on the subject of your current post.

Then external link is a link you find on Google usually an article on a very reputable website, and you must check the article to make sure that it adds value and compliments your post.

You do external linking because it helps with SEO

Remember when adding the link to check the open in new tab box, so you don't lose the visitor.

Number One Reason Why You Need To Update Old Blog Posts

Google Loves It, when you update your old posts, especially those that are already ranking well, Google will boost them even more, which means more traffic to your website. Also, by updating your posts you are adding more value to your audience by providing them with more and fresh information.

Number Two Why You Need To Give Those Old Posts Facelifts

You Probably have more articles that are relevant to those old posts and you want to link them, also you probably have product reviews that you would like to link to those old posts, so you can get more eyes on your money maker posts.

Also, when I was going through the post I mentioned at the beginning of this post, I noticed that I had not formatted it properly, I had not put enough subheadings, and I had not written in small bites as we are taught in the training.

My paragraphs were too long, so I had to edit and shorten my paragraphs and also add subheadings. Also, I had not used images and the post was not looking nice at all, it was just one long post with no images apart from the featured image.

Reason Number 3 It Keeps Your Website Current And Fresh

Have you ever clicked on an article just to find information that is outdated? I have clicked on articles that were written so long time ago and they haven't been updated, so the information is not even helpful anymore, and do you know what I do in such cases? I hit the back button.

You don't want people hitting the back button after landing on your website, They need to stay longer and read not only the article that brought them to your site, but also other articles.

Reason Number 4 To Fix Some Mistakes You Might Have Made

By going back and reading and updating your old posts, you will be able to fix some errors you might have made. Besides your writing style is probably more polished now, so you will be able to give your old posts a better tone.

My old posts are not written the same way I write now, I think I have now developed my own style of writing and that is why going back to my old posts is very important, because I get to polish my work so to speak.

And Reason Number 5 Why You Should Update Old Blog Posts

Its a good practice, I know we are always working hard to release new and fresh content but updating old content is also important because the visitors who are coming to your website, they are being brought by your old posts because your old posts have earned their place in search engines.

Meaning those articles are already ranking so by giving them a boost, you will be helping the new content you push out, especially if you link your new articles to your old articles.

So How Do You Update Old Blog Posts?

Its very easy just login to your WordPress Dashboard, and click posts, and then choose the post you want to edit. Once you finish editing, click update. When I am editing I only edit the body of the posts, I don't usually touch the title.

Some themes will show when the post was last updated but I usually put a text in the post indicating that I have updated this post on this date. Then I usually log into my Google Search Console, and then I go to Inspect URL, I paste the URL and requests index.

This step is important so Google can have the updated version of your post in their records.

And Then I Usually Give The Post A Boost On Pinterest

After that why don't you head over to Canva and create a pin or two for the article, you can also use Canva to design a Twitter post, and give it boosts by sharing it on Twitter, or any other social media, that you are using.

Conclusion

I think updating our old content is as important as creating new content. So I have made it a habit to go through my old posts and give them a fresh look, by either adding more information or by adding link or two if there were none.

Anyway, that's it for now, I just wanted to share this post because I think it could help someone. Please share your thoughts with me, how often do you update your old posts? what kind of updating do you do?

Thank you for your time.

Rose.