George Lucas famously went back and updated the original Star Wars movies.
This angered most fans.
Some content isn’t ideal for content updates.
On the other hand, some content is perfect for updating. Even certain aspects of Star Wars did benefit from updating. One example is music. Today, most music you hear on digital channels is remastered to sound better.
In blogging, some content is good for updating.
Here are some examples of content you can go back and update. For the benefit of readers, which in turn helps with things like SEO.
1. Lists
Lists are one of the most popular forms of blog posts around. Some sites have taken them too far. There was an era of the slideshow, which was a horrible user experience. But most people love a good list. Especially when it’s not full of ads or popups and that kind of thing.
Several years ago I had a blog about country music. I created a number of lists based on information country music fans were looking for. One, that still ranks well, was a list of sad country songs.
I went back every couple of years and expanded the list. I took more time to think about songs that I had overlooked. Or new songs would be released and I would add those.
Not every list is perfect for updating, but many are. It’s a good practice to set time aside each year to review past lists and see if you can add to them to give readers more of what they want.
2. Q&A
Question and Answer is one of the best forms of blogging. If someone has an answer and you have knowledge, provide the answer and everybody wins.
Sometimes a change will happen in the world. Maybe you figure out a better answer to the question. That often happens in our lives. There is no shame in going back and updating the answer.
You always want to provide the best answer you can. That’s good for readers and good for you. You don’t have to be stubborn and stick with your original answer in life. Things change.
3. High Word Count
You see this with books once in awhile. A book will come out. It will be a hit. Then after a few years the author learns more about the topic and goes back and adds a few new chapters. Then the book is released again and it’s usually a bigger hit than the first time.
This also happens in the music world. More in the last decade than in the coming decade, but it’s an example of the value in updating high word count content. Musicians will release, say, a 10-song album. It becomes a hit. Then they’re busy with promoting the album. They might have time to record a few more songs, but not a full album. So the record company adds 3-5 more songs to the original album and releases it as a deluxe version.
A recent example of this is country singer Luke Combs and his first album, This One’s For You.
Let’s say you have a blog post that is over 2,000 words. It’s a great post. People like it. There is consistent traffic to it. Now, after a few years, you have more to add. Go back and add a few more sections to the post. Now it’s even more appealing to the audience that you already know loves it.
4. High Traffic Content
Sprinkled in throughout the tips here is the idea of updating high traffic content. That’s an obvious type of content that has potential for growing even more if you add more great information to it.
Go into your analytics and look at the top five posts. Chances are good that you could add content to three of those. It might take some effort, but you could probably add content.
In terms of SEO, you might be able to take a good post to a great post and move from #3 on a big search term to #2 or even to #1. It’s not a guarantee, but you’re more likely to find a #1 ranking this way than doing it from scratch with a new post.
High traffic content is already showing potential.
5. Sagging Traffic Content
On a related note, let’s say that you have had high traffic content in the past. Maybe for one year a post was doing really well, but now you’re not getting the same type of traffic. Maybe you’ve moved down in the rankings a little.
Identify this content. Look at what is doing well for the competition. Then see if you can do something to bring your content back to the top of what’s out there.
It might take a lot of work. Research. Maybe even doing something like a video. But you know the potential and audience is there. If you’re willing to do the work to update you can win back your spot on top of the rankings.
Conclusion
Updating old content is a good blogging strategy. Not all content is a good fit for updating. Sometimes a new post on the same subject is the better approach. But the types listed here are great options for updating. It’s a great strategy to mix with your ongoing blogging efforts.