In the fast-paced world of digital marketing, optimising existing content can often be more cost-effective than creating new content. But, the task is often overlooked by business owners and SEOs alike. So, let’s take a look, is blog optimisation really worth your time?
Yes, optimising blog content is absolutely worth it. It often yields quicker and sometimes instantaneous SEO results compared to writing new blog content. Sometimes a blog just needs a few quick tweaks (a better structure, improved internal/external linking, and updated stats) in order to garner great results – so it is something you can do on a tight budget.
Read on to learn how to determine which existing blogs you should optimise vs which aren’t worth it, as well as how often they should be updated, and the benefits of optimising old content.
Why Should You Optimise Existing Blogs?
Blog optimisation is a task that is often overlooked by many business owners – but it can be the difference of hundreds if not thousands of visitors to your website. Here are just some of the benefits of blog optimisation:
- Quicker Results: Optimising an old blog will generally yield quicker results (sometimes instant results) compared to writing a completely new blog, which sometimes takes up to a year to rank on search engines.
- Improved User Experience: Updated, relevant content offers more value to your readers, meaning they are more likely to stay on your site for longer and visit in future.
- Maximised ROI: Content is expensive to create, so why wouldn’t you want to extend its shelf-life? If you’re a monetised blog, this may improve ad/affiliate revenue directly, or if you’re a product/service-based business, may improve click throughs and leads on more important pages of your website.
- Brand Authority: Regularly updating content ensures you remain a trusted resource in your industry through increased backlinks and a better Domain Authority.
Here’s a Real-Life Example Of Successful Blog Optimisation
Our client, yoursexualhealth.co.uk, is a market leader in private sexual health testing. Their SEO strategy relies heavily on their blog strategy, which helps them to attract new users across the UK and solidify themselves as experts within the industry.
In the example below, we optimised a blog that was a few years old, but had recently seen a dip in traffic. Now, this content didn’t perform badly as such. At its peak (before optimising), it gained around 140 clicks a day, which had dropped to about 80 clicks a day – still plenty of traffic, but we can do better!
We spent time optimising the blog, implementing:
- Better internal & external links
- A more SEO-friendly structure
- An optimised featured snipped section
- Some updated content & statistics where relevant
We saw an instant spike in results. Now the blog averages around 750 clicks per day and is one of the best-performing blogs on the site. For a task that took less than an hour – I think that is pretty good going!
Which Blog Optimisations Should You Prioritise?
There are a few easy methods you can use to determine which blogs are worth updating and optimising. We explore them in more detail below:
Content Decay
Looking at content that has shown a decay over recent months or years is one of my favourite ways to choose which blogs to optimise – and it’s seen me the most results too! The main sign of decayed content is articles that were once popular but have seen a dip in traffic. This doesn’t mean a dip month-on-month (this doesn’t account for seasonal trends), but rather year-on-year, or over the past few years.
Content that once brought in a lot of traffic shows that there is search volume associated with that topic, but that potentially the blog lacks freshness (which Google loves!). Decayed content often only needs updated stats, updated links, and a re-optimised structure to rank well again.
Current Keyword Rankings
Blogs ranking on pages 2 or 3 for targeted keywords have high optimisation potential and may just need a little extra content or E-E-A-T optimisation to reach the top of the results. However, this method has its downfalls.
Often, blogs with rankings on page 2 or 3 may not have been given enough time to reach the first page of the search results. On average, it can take a blog 6-12 months to rank at all, let alone in the top few positions, so it is best to let the content do its thing before spending time optimising it. It is only worth optimising blogs hovering around the mid-rankings if they are older than a year.
Outdated Information
Another crucial indicator for blog optimisation is outdated content. As the blog owner, you’re likely to have a good idea of old posts that won’t be that relevant any more. They might reference old statistics, expired trends, or obsolete technologies that can make your post lose credibility and relevance, both in the eyes of readers and search engines.
If your content is based on information that is no longer valid, updating these elements can make a significant difference in performance. Replace outdated stats with the most recent data, swap old tools or technologies with the latest alternatives, and ensure that any changes in industry practices are reflected in the post.
Competitor Analysis
Staying competitive in your industry means keeping a close eye on what others are doing. If your competitors have recently updated similar blogs that have gained traction, this could be a sign that you should revisit your content on the same topic.
Analyse what changes they’ve made; whether it’s expanding content, incorporating new keywords, or adding new links and use that as a guide to optimise your own post. Even if your blog is performing decently, competitor improvements can affect your rankings (they could end up above you!), so it’s important to stay ahead by regularly reviewing industry content.
Which Blogs Should You Leave Behind?
Whilst optimising most blogs will most likely see some form of SEO gain, this isn’t the case for every single bit of content on your site. Sometimes, reviewing and updating a blog can be a complete waste of time. Here are a few of the things to consider when deciding which blogs aren’t worth optimising:
- Low Traffic, No Growth: If a blog hasn’t received significant traffic in years and doesn’t align with your core goals, it may not be worth the effort to update.
- Irrelevant or Outdated Topics: If the topic has no future relevance (e.g., tech that no longer exists, or trends that have passed), the topic likely won’t have search volume any more.
- Content Overlap: If you have newer, more relevant content covering the same topic, it may be best to merge or redirect older blogs. Learn more about merging and redirecting content in our recent blog: What is Orphaned Content?
How Often Should You Update Existing Blogs?
As with many things in SEO, there is no hard-and-fast rule when it comes to how regularly you should update your blog content. It will completely depend on how new your site is, how much content you have on there, the topics of said content, and how much time you have to spend on it.
However, as a general rule, I like to plan my content strategies around something called a ‘content cocktail’. For every 3 new blogs I write, I optimise 1 older post. To learn more about how often you should update old content on your website, read our helpful blog: How Do I Refresh Old Content For SEO?
How To Optimise Old Blog Content
Once you’ve audited your existing content and decided which blogs would be worth optimising, then comes the hard bit! Here’s a quick guide on how to optimise your old content:
- Research current relevant keywords using tools like Semrush.
- Adjust your blog to include the new keywords and optimise for search intent.
- Update the content structure – using H1s, H2s, H3s, and so forth.
- Update outdated statistics, facts, and references.
- Add new sections, insights, or examples to improve relevance and depth.
- Optimise meta titles and descriptions with relevant keywords.
- Update internal and external links.
- Refresh & add new calls to action.
- Upload the refreshed content & request indexing on Google Search Console.
- Internally link your optimised blog elsewhere on your site to avoid orphaned content & improve link equity.
- Track changes in traffic, rankings, and user engagement.
- Rinse, repeat, and reap the rewards!
For a comprehensive step-by-step guide on optimising your blogs, read our helpful article: How Do You Optimise a Blog for SEO?
Comprehensive Content Strategies From Wildcat Digital
Ready to breathe life into your old blog content but aren’t sure where to start? We have a team of content specialists ready to guide you in the right direction. At Wildcat Digital, we offer bespoke SEO services, built to help you punch above your weight online. Get in touch with us today for a free initial consultation.
Jasmine Savery
SEO Account Manager
