If you’ve got a site that’s been around a while, it’s likely to have a whole load of old content on it. And this can raise some challenges. So, what should you do with outdated content? What about content that’s still valuable but is old and isn’t ranking well anymore? It can be annoying, to say the least, to have to revisit and rework old content just to satisfy the internet’s craving for novelty. And it can be tough to remove content that was the fruit of much hard work just because it’s slightly outdated. But we’re all slaves to the machinations of the web!
In this article, we look at what you can do with old content, how to make it relevant, and, sadly, when to let some of it go.
Old Content: To Keep or Not to Keep?
As we do, your content too will age. Some of it will remain evergreen, ranking high despite the passage of time, and can therefore be left comfortably in place, or amended slightly to maximise its relevance. Other content will begin to show its age, becoming outdated and sometimes even wholly incorrect. This is key for every online business to consider—which content has become irrelevant, and which is outright wrong?
When to Update or Repurpose
Sometimes, you’ll want to update or completely repurpose old content. At the very least, this will involve some tweaking, or a total rewrite or reinterpretation, even if the topic stays broadly the same. Here are some instances in which it’s worth repurposing old content:
- High Traffic: If a piece of content consistently drives traffic to your website, consider updating and refreshing it with new information, links, and graphics to improve its SEO still further. That being said, if it’s still performing very well, it is perhaps not the most pressing content to update.
- Evergreen Topics: Posts that cover timeless subjects can be kept, updated, or expanded. Putting a new spin on an old topic, or adding new information that makes it more contemporary, are viable ways to update and improve old but still relevant content.
- Good Engagement: If the content has a lot of comments, shares, or interactions, it might be worth giving it a new shine. You certainly don’t want to delete content that had (or has) lots of engagement, but if you update it, you can breathe new life into it!
When to Let It Go
There are some instances in which it might just be better to delete or archive content. Here’s how to spot content that’s best shelved.
- Outdated Information: If the information is no longer relevant or accurate and can’t be updated, it’s time to let it go.
- Low Performance: If the content has low traffic, no engagement, and is outdated, it might not be worth saving. If a topic never piqued anyone’s interest the first time around, it might not be worth the labour of revisiting it (though this isn’t always the case).
- Duplicate Content: If multiple posts cover the same topics, consider merging or deleting duplicates to avoid SEO penalties. Even if you’re not getting SEO penalties, the pages might be taking away from each other, so merging them into one drives all traffic to the same place.
Brands should evaluate old content by its performance, relevance, and SEO value to decide whether to keep, update, or delete it.
What Is Repurposing Old Content?
Repurposing content involves taking existing material and adapting it for a new format, platform, or audience. It can be an easier and more in-depth way to improve overall ranking compared to coming up with brand new content. By repurposing old content, you can bring it back to life and use it as an easy foundation from which to create new content. The ideas are already there, so you just need to figure out how to improve them and bring them up to date. This saves you from having to put in the effort of generating new ideas, and makes the most of old work.
For example, a blog post can be turned into:
- A social media video series
- An infographic
- A podcast episode
Repurposing ensures your content reaches more people in different formats, maximising its lifespan, increasing your visibility, and increasing the overall value of the content itself.
Repurposing content involves adapting existing pieces into new formats to reach a wider audience and extend their value.
Why Should I Repurpose Content?
Repurposing old content has manifold benefits. It saves time, keeps old work relevant and valuable, and often adds new, meaningful depth to topics already covered. If you have a blog, for instance, it’s no secret that its early days are usually its halcyon period, where the most interesting ideas are covered. So by revisiting and improving these, you make the most of the most valuable work and give yourself something better to do than dredge up new and often irrelevant content.
Saving Time and Effort
Repurposing content is a time-saver, allowing you to generate fresh content quickly from what you already have. Tweak a few facts and figures, add a heading and a graphic, and you already have a whole “new” blog post to show off on your social media channels! It’s a time-efficient way to earn back hours spent generating fresh content in the past.
Better Ranking in Search Engines
Updating old content and turning it into different formats can improve your SEO—every content maker’s dream! For better or for worse, search engines love fresh content. As a result, repurposing content allows you to revitalise old posts, add new keywords, and improve your ranking by making the Google overlords happy, feeding their never-ending desire for more.
Reaching More People
If you repurpose rather than just update old content, then you can potentially reach whole new audiences. Say you have an old blog that’s still performing well but you want to get more from it—what can you do? Rather than trying to tweak it, why not use it as a springboard to something new?
Use it as inspiration for, say, a podcast episode or some new social media content, such as a video. This expands your audience without inventing entirely new material, making the most of your time and capitalising on a good idea that has more potential yet.
Avoiding Duplicate Content
If you market on a range of platforms, then repurposing can help you deliver fresh, unique content to each platform. Rather than just posting the same thing on each platform, rework content specifically for that platform. This simultaneously avoids duplicate content and makes the most of all the platforms you operate on, improving visibility, engagement, and credibility.
Gaining Ideas for New Content
Repurposing old content can also help to provide inspiration for brand new content. Whether you stumble across new research, see a comment left by someone engaging with a video, or something else, working with what you already have can be a great way to come up with interesting new ideas. It’s certainly more stimulating than asking SEO websites what to write about.
Repurposing content saves time, improves SEO, expands your audience, and helps avoid duplicate content while also providing inspiration for new ideas.
How Do I Repurpose My Content?
As mentioned, at a minimum, repurposing old content involves updating it—though it can also be used to create something new using the same information. Below, find some inspiration for how to effectively repurpose content to make something engaging and relevant.
Updating Blog Posts
One of the easiest ways to repurpose content is to update old blog posts. Add new information, images, or statistics, and optimise them with current SEO strategies. Not only will this bring in new relevant and valuable information, but it will improve SEO simply in virtue of the update itself. It will show search engines that you are refreshing content and staying up to date, which will work in your favour.
Expanding FAQ
If you have a frequently asked questions (FAQ) section, consider expanding it into a detailed blog post or video series. This helps you address customer concerns while providing valuable content that can be shared across platforms, thereby increasing visibility. If nothing else, find new queries that you missed before and add them to an old FAQ section. This will help with ranking and may even help you to show up in Google snippets.
Creating Top Post Lists
Create a “Top 10” or “Best of” post by curating your most popular content. This is a quick way to repurpose existing material while providing value to your audience, as it will direct even more people towards your best-performing, and therefore most useful, content. This is a quick and very easy way to give new energy into old content that needn’t be changed but could do with some more publicity.
Building Infographics
Visual content is highly shareable, and infographics are a perfect way to turn a long blog post into a concise, engaging format. Use key statistics, tips, or how-tos to create an infographic that’s easy to share on social media. Not only will this increase visibility on those platforms, but it can also bring people back to the original article, helping to drive traffic towards the source. This not only makes new content out of old, but also potentially increases the value of the old content at the same time.
Making a SlideShare
Turn a blog post into a SlideShare presentation. SlideShares are an effective way to repurpose long-form content and can be shared across LinkedIn and other professional networks.
Creating Videos
Video content continues to grow in popularity (thanks, TikTok). If possible, consider turning a blog post into a short video or tutorial, offering another way for your audience to consume your content. In doing so, you’ll likely reach a whole new audience and massively increase your visibility while recycling old content.
Hosting Webinars
If your content covers in-depth topics, consider turning it into a webinar. This format allows for live interaction with your audience and provides a platform to showcase your expertise.
Adding Transcripts
For those already creating video or podcast content, adding transcripts and **subtitles can boost SEO and make your content more accessible to a wider audience. It also allows people who prefer reading to consume your content in text form. With a range of software out there, this is a very easy way to repurpose old content and create something new.
Making a Podcast
Turn written content into a podcast episode, allowing your audience to engage with your material while on the go. Podcasts are ideal for reaching new audiences who prefer audio content over the written word.
Repurposing content can take many forms, from updating blog posts to creating videos, webinars, and podcasts, helping brands extend the lifespan and reach of their content.
Deleting Content: What to Know
Sometimes, it’s best to delete content, especially if it’s outdated or no longer relevant. If it’s somehow incorrect, or even just low quality, keeping it will actually hurt your SEO rankings, and so it’s in your best interest to remove it. However, deleting content requires careful planning to avoid losing valuable SEO ranking or creating broken links.
Here are some important considerations before deleting:
- 301 Redirects: Always create a 301 redirect when deleting pages to ensure that users and search engines are directed to the most relevant active page.
- Consolidate Content: If you have similar posts, consider merging them rather than deleting them to retain SEO value.
- Back Up Your Content: Before deleting, always make sure to back up old content in case you need to reference or repurpose it later.
Deleting content should be done with care, using 301 redirects and consolidating similar posts to avoid a negative impact on SEO.
The Art of Giving Old Content a Revamp
As you can see, old content often still has plenty of life in it. Sometimes, it’s the content itself that needs a little polish to make it current. But other times, if the content is still top notch, it can be used as inspiration for whole new forms of content that use the original as a base. If you’re stuck for ideas, this is a very useful tool. But sometimes, old content is incorrect, out of date, and best removed. If you choose to remove old content, then do so properly to avoid annoying users and search engines!
