Let’s talk about your blog post archives. As a blogger, you’ve probably published a ton of blog posts over the course of your blog’s life. But what do you do with them once you’ve hit the publish button? Maybe you share them on social media from time to time, or link to them in newer posts, but odds are they’re otherwise forgotten.
The thing is, you put time and energy into those posts. They can still work for you and they likely will. But what if many of those posts are outdated? Should you simply delete them? No, of course not! Sometimes all it takes is a little refresh to make them good as new again.
Here are 5 ways to refresh your blog archives and give your old posts new life.
Update Old Posts
If you think you can simply publish a blog post and that’s the end of it, you’re missing out on a great opportunity to make your blog even better. Often times, we publish content that is good, but over time becomes outdated. This can be due to two reasons: 1) your content is no longer current or relevant; or 2) your content is not up to par with your current blogging standards. It might even be a combination of both.
Let’s first address content that’s no longer current or relevant. Depending on the nature of your blog, updating your old posts so they reflect current facts is probably a good idea. This is especially true if your blog focuses on informing people via tutorials, reviews, etc. I mean when people land on your blog, they’ll likely assume the information presented is true. After all, you’re the expert, right?
Rather than providing people with the wrong information, review your old posts from time to time to make sure the information provided is accurate and up to date. This will keep your old content evergreen, which only helps you!
Now maybe your content is current, but it’s not up to par with your current blogging standards. That’s okay. As bloggers, we’re constantly growing and learning new ways of presenting information. Not to mention the fact that as an expert in your niche, you are also learning new things each and every day. All this newly acquired knowledge can be put to good use in your blog post archives.
Let’s look at it this way. That 500 word blog post you published last year may have been your best work then, but now? Now you’re publishing detailed 1000+ word posts. Those old posts don’t even light a candle to what you’re now capable of. Rather than letting those posts sit in your archives and bring your whole blog down, why don’t you give them a much needed update so they’re on par with the rest of your content?
Add Links to Newer Posts
Over time, you’ve probably written blog posts that are related in some way. Most likely you’ve linked to an older post in a new post. But what about the opposite? Wouldn’t it be valuable to link to any newer related posts? Linking within your site helps keep visitors on your site longer, which means you’re increasing the chance that they’ll do whatever it is you want them to do, whether that’s subscribing to your newsletter or becoming a daily reader.
Go through your posts and see where you can link to newer content. A great time to do this is when you’re updating older posts. But if you’re short on time, a great way to make sure your old posts get updated with new links is to edit any posts you’re linking to from the new post.
So for example, let’s say you’re writing a blog post on “10 uses for baking soda.” Maybe one of those ways is to deodorize, which you happen to have already written a post on, so you link to that post. Now go to that post and link to your “10 uses” post. It makes sense that if someone were interested in one, they’d likely be interested in the other, which goes both ways.
Related: 8 Ways to Style Links So They Stand Out
Reformat Post Content
Ever scroll back in someone’s archive and notice that the formatting of their content doesn’t match their current site design? Maybe the photos are too small or all the text is center aligned and brightly colored. Because your site is part of your brand, you want to ensure that everything remains consistent. This means editing blog posts to fix any formatting issues.
Update graphics that don’t fit with the aesthetic of your site. And while you’re at it, make sure they span the full width of the content area (unless of course they’re left or right aligned). Break up long paragraphs into smaller, easy to read chunks. Add headings and bullet points to make skimming a breeze.
Make Your Posts Shareable
Want to increase your site’s traffic? You have to make sure that your content is shared! And while there are a bunch of factors that influence this, I’m only going to discuss one aspect here. If you want your content shared, you have to make it share worthy. Nowadays Pinterest is the leading referrer for many sites. Creating a Pinterest friendly image for each of your posts increases your odds that the post will get repinned.
If your blog posts have horizontal images or images without any text on them, take a few minutes and update them for Pinterest. Create a vertical image with a 2:1 ratio and add some easy to read text over top. Now your post is ready for Pinterest!
Related: How to Increase Blog Post Shares on Twitter
Check for Broken Links & Images
Did you know that broken links and images can impact your SEO? Not good. Luckily, you don’t have to go through all of your posts clicking on every single link. All you have to do is install the Broken Link Checker plugin. It will go through all of your posts and pages and notify you of broken links. When a broken link or image is found, you’ll then have the option to edit it or unlink it. And what’s even better is that the plugin will continue to monitor your site and let you know when broken images and links are found so that you can keep on top of them and update them as they appear.
Now I know doing all of the above can be overwhelming, but just keep them in mind. If you have some free time here or there, use it to tackle some older blog posts. You don’t need to make refreshing your blog post archives a big to do. A few minutes here and there will work wonders for keeping your content fresh and up to date.
Give your old blog posts new life with these tips.
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