Overview: Google loves “fresh content.” It’s no secret that blog posts popular one year lose their bloom as time goes by. Even if you think the information is still relevant and useful, Google assumes that the older it gets, the less relevant it is. Sound unfair? Maybe so. But there are many easy ways to keep your content fresh by reposting, recycling, reframing, and/or building on popular topics from the past.
- Update a Post
- Check Your Links
- Make a Video
- Host a Podcast
- Do an Interview
- Run a Contest
- Give a Sneak Peek
- Post a New Angle
- Create a Survey
- Develop a How-to
- Cast a New Light
- Find a New Keyword
12 Ways You Can Keep Your Content Fresh
Here are 12 ways you can keep your content fresh:
1. Update a Post
Probably the best thing you can do to keep your content fresh is update old content so that it’s new again. That can mean anything from minor tweaks to complete rewrites. But whatever you choose to do, you’ll boost your SEO rankings tremendously vs. just leaving it. Here is one article that illustrates just how much of an SEO boost you can get. Pro tip: sometimes all you have to do to get a boost is change your publication date and meta tags, which can take as little as three minutes per post. Feel free to add mention of the update, such as “Updated November 2022” at the top of the post.
2. Check Your Links
If your blog has been around for a while, it pays to check your links to make sure they’re all working. Websites come and go, and even web pages can be culled from websites from time to time. (You can use this online Broken Link Checker tool to quickly find any broken links you may have.)
3. Make a Video
Making a video has never been easier. We all have video recorders built in on our phones – it is literally as easy as pointing and shooting! Well, okay, you might want to invest some money in a dedicated mic and perhaps some video editing software. But you don’t have to be Warner Brothers to shoot a solid video. Start with a blog post you’ve already written and just read it verbatim. You’ll be surprised at how much your audience will grow!
4. Host a Podcast
It’s also getting easier and easier to host a podcast. Although it’s worth investing some money in quality equipment, you don’t need thousands of dollars to set up – or rent – a studio anymore. Some good mics, some good sound editing software, and a couple sets of headphones, and you can be off to the races!
5. Conduct an Interview
People love a good interview. And if you can land a fairly famous person – at least famous in your field – all the better. Interviews are also good ways to cross-promote with other blogs/brands that you admire. Your interview with so-and-so could result in you providing a guest post to their blog, in turn helping you attract more readers.
6. Run a Contest
Contests are a great way to engage your customers and to give something back to your listeners. Contests also build excitement, and that excitement will automatically transfer to your brand. And, of course, contests can help you promote specific products or services by giving one (or more) away.
7. Give a Sneak Peek
If you’re a small business or non-profit with a new product or campaign coming up, give your loyal blog readers a sneak peek. These are probably your core group of customers anyway, so they are ultimately who will be most interested in what you have to sell. Not only will you get them thinking, it also makes them feel special that you’re letting them in on your secret plans before the general public.
8. Post a New Angle
If your readers have reacted strongly to one particular topic, give ‘em more! You can take the same idea and approach it from a different angle, you can do a follow-up post with any new developments, or you can explore different ways that topic affects different people. They’ve basically asked for more on this topic, so it pays to give them what they want to read.
9. Create a Survey
Surveys are a great way to get feedback from your readership. But they play another important role. Surveys are also interactive (as opposed to passively reading a blog post, for example). They engage your readers and literally ask them to give input back. This interactive engagement makes your readers feel closer to your blog and makes them more invested, both of which create a stronger bond with your readers. Any actual content ideas you get from them are bonus!
10. Develop a How-to
Jell-O was famously a big bust when it came out in the 1800s. But when the inventor sold to a neighbor and salesman, things took off. The new owner printed a free recipe book with tons of Jell-O ideas and gave them away free, door to door. This how-to suddenly made Jell-O more appealing. Once people could envision what Jell-O desserts could look like and how to make them, they were much more likely to buy Jell-O powder.
11. Cast a New Light
If you make or sell products, show how it works in an unusual – and compelling – way. For example, Blendtec has a whole YouTube series called “Will It Blend?” The blender brand, famous for blending marbles, now blends other things too such as glowsticks, a crowbar, and “iPhones.” Who doesn’t want to see what happens when you blend a Bic lighter in a Blendtec?
12. Find a New Keyword
Similar to Post a New Angle above, except the emphasis here is on changing up the keyword. For example, if you have a popular post called “Samsonite luggage” then maybe you can write a new one focused on “Samsonite carry-ons.” The idea here is that you’ll attract even more people to your site using a topic that’s already proven a hit with your readers. (And don’t forget to link back to the old post while you’re at it!)
Need Help Keeping Your Content Fresh? Elite is a Call Away…
These 12 ways to keep your content fresh are relatively easy to do, but if time is a factor, sometimes it’s easier said than done! Elite Marketing + Promotions can help you keep old content fresh and even generate new content with blog posts, social media marketing ideas, and more. Call us right now at (215) 491-0400 or use our email form. We can do it all from editing/reposting old posts, writing new ones, sourcing images, and adding to your blog or website. Contact us today – and keep your content fresh!