Quick question for you! Are you neglecting your blog’s archives?
If you’re not updating these potentially valuable older posts, and no longer sharing them with readers, then I’d say you are.
The truth is, when we publish new blog posts, the older ones get pushed deeper and deeper into the archive dungeon. This makes it harder for people to discover the amazing content you’ve posted in the past. However, it doesn’t stop them from finding it altogether.
If someone is Googling a topic you’ve covered, it could lead them to one of your older posts. And don’t you want to make sure it’s giving them a good first impression? Absolutely!
How to Utilize Your Blog’s Archives
To ensure your older content shines just as much as what you’re publishing today, everything you need to know is within this post. I’m going to share some of my top tips for keeping your older content updated, plus ways you can promote those posts to gain more traction.
Keeping your blog’s archives in order is obviously a time-consuming process. It takes effort to review and update old posts. However, it’s so worthwhile because it helps you deliver the best content at all times.
My advice is to commit to updating a few posts every month so you can start making progress on this right away. Plus, it won’t feel so overwhelming when you tackle just a few posts at a time. Before you know it, the most important posts will have a complete facelift!
Keeping Your Blog’s Archives Updated
As bloggers, we are constantly improving. The posts we write nowadays are surely better than anything we published a year ago. And you don’t want to worry about those older posts sending people running away from your site.
You want people to love your older content just as much as your new content. That’s why updating them is so important.
To get started with this task, take a look at your analytics and answer the following:
- Which posts are getting a lot of traffic? Do you see any older posts that are attracting a lot of new visitors?
- Take a look at those posts. Are they on-par with your current quality standards? If not, it’s time to update them!
Once you find those posts that need an update, the following tips will help you get started.
1. Update the Copy
Ask yourself if the writing in the post is your absolute best. If the post is a few years old, there’s a chance that answer is no. As time goes on, our writing skills improve and the posts in your blog’s archives might not be a reflection of this.
You may also want to consider if the post is providing enough value. Could you elaborate on some of the points you made? Do you need to eliminate any fluff from the post, thus making it easier to read?
Sometimes the post could use just a few tweaks, while other times it may need a complete overhaul. If the latter is the case, rewrite the copy, update the images, and republish it as a brand new piece. (That’s exactly what I’ve done with this post!)
2. Create New Graphics
If the template you use to design your blog post graphics has changed since then, you’ll want to update those as well. Add a new featured image to your post, making sure you have one that’s Pinterest-friendly.
Then, determine if any other imagery in your post could use a refresh as well. If there aren’t any other images, could you add some?
Nothing grabs your reader’s attention like a great visual. Besides the blog’s featured image, you can add quote cards, infographics, or photographs for additional visual interest.
3. Check for Broken Links
If you’ve linked to any outside sources or other pages within your website, you need to double-check them. Sometimes those pages or posts can get deleted, meaning you’re now sending people to a dead end. That’s not what you want, especially on a post that’s still getting a great deal of traffic.
Take the time to check those links to ensure they’re all working properly. If not, delete them and see if you can replace them with an updated one.
4. Interlink Older & Newer Content
Wouldn’t you love for people to stay on your website longer? Well, there’s an easy way you can get people to continue reading, instead of exiting your site after reading just one post.
Interlink your blog posts.
When you’re updating your blog’s archives, use this opportunity to add links to newer pieces you’ve published that are relevant to the topic at hand. It gives people additional reading and provides them with a reason to stick around.
You’ll also want to link newer posts to your older posts now that they’re up to your current quality standards.
5. Double-Check Your SEO
And finally, my last tip is to double-check your SEO efforts to ensure your post has the best chance at ranking in search engine results. If you’re on WordPress, I highly suggest using a plugin like Yoast to help you with this.
You’ll want to make sure you’ve added a focus keyword, written a great meta description, and included alt tags on your images. There’s obviously more you can do, but those are just a few examples that you may have overlooked early on in your blogging days.
Promoting Your Blog’s Archives
Now that you’ve given your older content a much needed refresh, it’s time to spread the word to your audience. After all, you want them to check out all your hard work, right? Here are a few tips on how you can increase traffic to those posts:
1. Feature Posts in Your Sidebar
You can easily create a new section in your sidebar where you share a thumbnail and a link to some of your favorite content. It’s an easy way to help new readers discover other posts you’ve written. Plus, you can pick and choose what you want to promote based on what you’d like people to read.
2. Create a Round-Up of Posts
Do you have a lot of blog posts on a particular topic? Create a blog post with a round-up of all of those posts. This a great resource for your readers because it presents them with a list of content to consume. It’s also one that’s sure to land in many bookmark folders since they’ll want to save it for later!
3. Share Them on Social Media
And of course, the most obvious tip here is to share those newly updated posts on social media. It’s the simplest way to spread the word to your audience. Plus, it gives you plenty of new content to fill up your social media scheduler’s queue.
How would you like some help with that blog post copy?
I’m sharing all my tips to writing great blog content in my course, the Captivating Content Kit for Bloggers!
