Do you want to refresh and resurrect old blog posts? Do you want to strengthen your blog with updated content?
Since switching from Blogger to WordPress, I’ve been refreshing blog posts. It’s a tedious task, but having attractive and relevant content is critical. Today, I want to share some great tips on how to refresh and resurrect old blog posts. Follow these suggestions, and I’m certain you’ll be bringing some new traffic to your blog.
Check out these helpful tips on how to refresh and resurrect old #blog posts! #bloggingtips #blog Share on X
Determine which posts need refreshing
Take a look at your analytics to determine which posts are getting the most traffic. Are any of them in need of updating? Start with those posts first. If they look prettier, they may get more traffic and social media shares!
Proofread
Read the post and evaluate it for spelling and grammatical errors. Make any necessary corrections.
Add links
As you proofread your post, check to see if there are any other posts that you can link to. While you’re at it, is there an affiliate link or two that you could also pop into the post?
Update the photo
Beautiful images catch readers’ attention. Pinterest is currently a huge social media outlet, and you have to make a good impression when creating images for your blog posts.
I recently took an exceptional two-week-long Pinterest course (Pinning Perfect). I was in awe when I learned about all the facets of a skillfully crafted pin.
Take your time, choose a beautiful photo, and make a killer description for it. Think about SEO as you write your pin descriptions too.
Take a look at (and improve) SEO
Evaluate all of the SEO strategies you’ve used in the post. What’s the keyword/keyphrase? Is it in the post several times? Do you have at least one subheading with the keyword/phrase? Is the keyword/phrase included in the photo descriptions and photo titles?
Are there any other extras you could add?
Are there any other extras you could add to the post? Could you add a tweetable link or have a related Pinterest board at the end of the post? Now is the time to make this post the best it can be.
Promote your refreshed post
Here’s the fun part: It’s time to take your new look out for a spin. Promote your refurbished post on all of your social media networks. Pin, tweet, share, stumble… share it everywhere!
Link up
Another way to resurrect old blog posts is to link them to blog hops. Some blog hops allow participants to link up old posts. Just imagine if your post ends up being featured?! That could drive a lot of traffic to an old post!
Cross-publish
Since you made your post look pretty, consider submitting it to larger websites for cross-publication. BlogHer, SITSgirls, and The Huffington Post are my favourite places to cross-publish posts. Just make sure to mention that the post was initially shared on your blog (include a link back to the post as well).
Document
Make sure you document that you refreshed your post. My gorgeous Ultimate Blog Planner has a section specifically designated for recording archive updates.
Are there any strategies you use to refresh old posts? Make sure to tell us all about it!
Want to read more about Blogging? Blogging tips are my favourite posts to pin! You can follow the Deliberate BLOGGING board on Pinterest right here.
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Some great tips here and when I have time, I need go back to some of my earlier posts and do just this. So, I appreciate any and all advice. Thanks and have a great weekend xoxo ;)
I’m glad you enjoyed this Janine.
It’s been a huge task refreshing my old posts… but I’m sure it will be worth it.
Very informative, Jennifer. I love that I am always learning something new from your posts :D
xoxo
Sharon
I’m so thrilled that you’re finding my posts helpful! Yay!
Great tips! I love refreshing my old posts and seeing more shares as a result of it. Thanks for great reminders!
I love it too! It’s so cool to see something that’s getting no action get loads of action simply from refreshing and resharing it!
Great tips! I know that I need to go through my posts and refresh. My question is: Do you ever delete posts? I have so many deal posts that are no longer relevant, as well as, posts that no longer reflect my brand. Suggestions?
I think I’ve deleted 2 really unnecessary posts but I read that it’s not a good idea to delete them – so I stopped. The concern is that you would lose any possible traffic you could get from those posts and perhaps break links within your own site.
However, on WordPress Yoast SEO, there’s an option to exclude posts from your sitemap. If you’re on WordPress you could always do that.
Thanks for the response. I’ll look into excluding the posts then.
Great tips! I am starting Perfect Pinning this week! I hope it is helpful!
Be prepared to be AMAZED by Pinning Perfect. It was one of the BEST blog investments I’ve ever made. I learned so much! I’ll probably see you on their secret Pinning Perfect board and their Alumni Facebook page!
As always, you are a wealth of blogging knowledge. I need to go back and refresh some pictures and add some links. I also need to add some great pinable graphics to my older posts.
Have a GREAT weekend!
I’m so glad you enjoyed this Anne Marie! It’s a big job refreshing old content but the efforts are worth it!
Those are really all great tips Jennifer. I’ve just recently found myself sharing a few of my old posts on Twitter and Facebook lately and have seen a surge in readership because of it. I have to say though that I’m completely lost on Pinterest and very rarely use it. I have to take a course in it myself to really learn the ins and out of it. I don’t post on weekends and very rarely visit blogs but just had to come and read this one since it popped up on my blog reader. Here’s to a fabulous weekend.
The Pinning Perfect course was AMAZING!!! I can’t say enough good things about it. I learned so much and I’m already seeing increased traffic!
Thanks for stopping by my friend.
Such great tips! Just followed your blogging board. Have a great wknd!
I’m so glad you enjoyed this and thank you for following my blogging board on Pinterest.
One of my New Year’s resolutions was to go back to my earliest posts, choose those that are evergreen, and spruce them up. Much of my early work has yet to be shared on Pinterest, so I have had such fun with it! Thanks for sharing your suggestions- updating my photos is now at the top of my to-do list. #SITSBlogging
It’s a bit of work but the increased exposure for “old” posts is sooo worth it!
Thanks for visiting.
I’ve been doing this to my recipe posts and updating the pictures. It has been a great way to bring in traffic and Pinterest loves my new images!
Pinterest is definitely the place for recipes posts – and they do need to look good too.
I’m glad you enjoyed this!
Yes! This is one of the things I’m planning to do during our staycation!! I have A LOT of old posts that need refreshing, especially with new photos. I’m going to have a lot of baking and cooking to do, haha!
Great tips Jennifer!
xoxo
Tiffany it is sooooo worth the work. I’m getting loads of traffic on old content because of it. Make sure to cross-link too. Plus, if you’re making any blogging investments, I highly recommend the Pinning Perfect class. It was so informative!
Fantastic tips! I have been working on revamping old posts after taking the Pinning Perfect course (such a wise investment!) and fixing some broken links since I switched to WordPress last year (a bit behind on that one…woops!) It’s been interesting to see what old posts have suddenly be getting more traffic and working on making them more current and adding in some more Pin-worthy images.
I’ve been telling people that if they make any blog investment, Pinning Perfect is the one to make. It was PACKED with so many useful tips!
These are awesome. I need to sit down and find time to start doing this to some of my old posts.
Thanks for sharing your wisdom with us!
I’m glad you enjoyed this! The effort of refreshing old posts will be worth it – for sure!
I think you nailed it!
I hope I did! I wanted to make sure to share every possible step to refresh and renew posts. I did this recently with one of my posts and two days later that post was getting 100 views a day!! Definitely worth the investment of time.
Thank you! Finding this post on Saturday Sharefest today was really well timed. Coming up on a year of blogging, I have been thinking that I need to find a way to increase the value of old posts. I have also been wondering about how to re-share some of them on my own blog. Do I need to rewrite them, or can I publish them again just as they were? I don’t want to plagiarize myself, but I would really like to republish some of my early content again, now that I have readers! Thanks!
I would encourage you to not rewrite them. Keep their former URL and just tweak the content in the post. If you make dramatic changes to the post, then just add a note at the bottom saying it was update on xx date.
You don’t want to have duplicate content on your blog.
However, once you refresh your post, share the heck out of it! Plus the practice of refreshing content might motivate you to write a related post – then you can link back to the refreshed one.
Great tips here. Definitely saving this!
(Love your blog design, btw. So clean and easy to read/navigate).
I’m glad you enjoyed these tips!
Thank you for the compliment on my blog design… it means a lot to me to get that kind of feedback <3
Have a great weekend.
Great ideas, Jennifer!! I have done a bit of this, but I really need to take a Pinterest class to figure it out. I’m still at a total loss about using it effectively!
If you take a Pinterest Class, I highly recommend Pinning Perfect. They provided so many useful resources, there was a Facebook group, and private pinning board for alumni.
I learned so much and my traffic has boomed… I can barely keep up!
I’m glad you found this helpful.
I know I always say I need to do this, and I truly do. I love your idea to keep a record of posts too; I never considered that but it makes lots of sense. I’ll have to add this to my editorial calendar!
Maybe that will be just the thing to get me started–I hate looking at blank pages in there!
I’m glad you enjoyed this – you should definitely add this to your editorial calendar. It’s truly worth the investment of time.
On my previous blog, I used to love resurrecting old posts I thought were epic! I’m starting all over again, and am resurrecting those ideas (I lost my posts, my own bad). Sometimes you just write something amazingly awesome and just need to keep sharing!
It’s a lot of work but worth it.
It sounds like you had quite the blogging ordeal!
Thanks for stopping by Steph!
I found your post through #SITSBlogging and I want to share that I recently discovered a plug-in in WordPress that automatically shares my old posts on my Facebook and Twitter. It’s awesome! Of course, as you’ve mentioned, it makes me review my past blog posts to make sure that they are still relevant. Thanks for sharing this!
I’ve heard about that plugin! I haven’t installed it yet but I might look into it. TO be honest, I would be kind of nervous that something old which hasn’t been cleaned up yet would be shared.
Thanks for sharing your thought on refreshing old blog posts.
Great ideas! I have a lot of blog posts that people have probably never seen since I didn’t go public with my blog right away! These are great ideas to help me! Thanks
Yes! Unless you bring content forward from long ago, most likely those posts will remain buried!
I’m glad you enjoyed this Caroline. I hope it helps!
Awwwwwesome!!! Just pinned and stumbled this, GREAT tips!! I need to do this, asap. I think if I choose one post a night or every other night to update, I’ll hit all of them within a few months. I’m going to have this post pulled up as a guideline and checklist to go over while doing it! Seriously thank you for sharing what you’ve learned in your class and telling us your process for updating your posts!!! xo
I’m so glad you liked this Jessica.
Yes, make a plan to refresh posts. I’m planning on doing a lot over my blog staycation.
Thank you for pinning and stumbling! Your generosity is greatly appreciated!
I need to work on my images and pinterest.
Images and Pinterest drive a lot of traffic to blogs. That’s a good place to invest your time Gail.
Hello Ideas Tank, I love to read your blogging tips. You know why? they are very useful and easy to implement.
Thank you Jennifer. How is your family?
Blessings to you.
I’m so glad you enjoyed this Ifeoma. I love sharing any tidbit and information I’ve learned (it must be the teacher in me).
We are well – thank you!
These are all wonderful tips! I need to remember these, I have refreshed in the past.
I need to consider cross-publishing.
Thanks for sharing your tips with us at Mommy Monday!
XOXO
I’ve got a lot more posts to refresh but I like the process at least! It will just take a while to get through all!
Thank you for being a lovely host. I know those hops are a lot of work… so I appreciate it!
Me too.
I truly appreciate that, thank you!
I always think about doing this but haven’t, for some reason. I blogged for so long with no audience and there may be posts there that will be useful now. I’d love to revamp them with everything I know now about blogging and SEO and sharing on social media!
There are some blog posts I honestly wish I could delete because they were so pointless but I have a few oldies that I would love for people to “discover”.
Hi Jennifer, since taking up blogging twelve months ago I have learned so much. I have started to update some of my older posts, but as much as my older posts make me cringe I kind of like them the way they are too, a sort of reminder of how much my posts have changed, but they are a bit of a dead weight.
I also have an old HubPages account (something I did before I had the confidence to take the step into blogging) that I want to close and update and move my articles from.
I’ll definitely be looking into cross publishing though, never thought about it before.
I wouldn’t refresh many of my older posts – but there are a few that I would love to be “discovered”.
Cross-publishing is really neat and I love the extra traffic it brings to my social media sites and blog.
Hi Jennifer,
You ALWAYS have the BEST blogging tips! I recently changed the theme on my site and have been forced to “resurrect” ALL of my old posts as they do not look right with the changes I made. I haven’t even tackled half of this huge project yet. So glad you wrote this post talk about perfect timing!
I don’t have any other tips to suggest as you covered everything I’ve been doing and then some. I think the Click to Tweet’s, SEO, and Pinterest images are the most important ones that I have found lacking in the older posts. That and spelling/grammatical errors.
Thanks so much for sharing these tips with all of us. Heading over to check out that Pinterest board too! ;-)
Wishing you a fabulous evening!
Much love always,
Lysa xx
I’m so flattered… thank you Lysa! I’m glad my blogging tips help you out!
Thanks for checking out my blogging board on Pinterest!
Old posts are useful and drives good chunk of traffic to your blog. I need to work on some pictures. It can be very time-consuming but it keeps the old info fresh. Thanks for the great tips.
I’m so glad you enjoyed these tips! Yes, pictures are critical and are usually what lead people to click links, pins, etc. to visit your posts on your blog. They’re definitely important to refresh and renew.
Great tips – never thought about linking content up to link parties. I hardly ever participate in them and sorta get overwhelmed by them (even though I used to do them a lot like 5 years ago, haha).
Tell me about that pinning course… totally new info you’ve never heard? I am intrigued!
Well Meg, you need to come back here on Thursdays to reacquaint yourself with link parties. Our SHINE Blog Hop selects the 3 top-viewed posts and 1 random post to feature every week. Then those featured posts are shared on all of my social media sites. We also don’t have many “rules” other than only 1 link permitted/per blog and family-friendly posts only.
As for the Pinning Perfect course… it was amazing. I thought I knew everything there was to know about Pinterest – I was wrong. Loads of new information. The class curriculum, once purchased, is available for lifetime use/reference. They give oodles of free/helpful printouts (including a content planner based upon Pinterest research so you know what pins are best for what time of year). Amazing resource! Plus you get added to a private Pinning Perfect secret board – which is very active and an amazing place to distribute your pins. There’s also a class-Facebook group and an alumni Facebook group. I could go on and on. Other than my WordPress transfer, it is the best investment I ever made in my blog. I took the class last month (it started on Feb. 16). I’ve already gained over 100 followers since then and I’ve never seen my Pinterest traffic this high before. To make things even more exciting, the course instructors said not to see huge gains until about 2-3 months AFTER the course! If that’s the case, I can’t wait to see what this does for my blog!
I’ve rambled – sorry… do you wish you never asked?! LOL
There are several posts I want to do this on.
How did you hear about the Pinning Perfect class? I visited the site and like the cost, but how did you hear about them?
Sorry for the Q & A :)
I plan on updating a few big posts during the blog staycation.
I honestly don’t remember how I heard about the Pinning Perfect classes. It was sometime last year and then I began following Blog Clarity and signed up for Blog Clarity updates. I planned to take the class this year and made the purchase. It is seriously worth the investment Jen… and I’m not just saying that because I’m an affiliate. I’ve seen major gains in Pinterest and I was in the class from Feb. 16 – 28. The instructor also said that a big change in numbers usually isn’t apparent until 2-3 months after the class. If that’s the case, I can’t wait to see what my Pinterest traffic/following will be like in June!
These are all incredible tips! I’m definitely pinning this one for later!
I don’t know what it is, but ever since I’ve switched to WP I’ve too been obsessed with fixing up old posts, I have a lot of great posts that I wrote before I even had much of a following, so i feel as though they could bring a lot of traffic with a little sprucing up ;)
Same here!! I’ve been so focused on updating posts! How long were you on blogger before you made the switch? I was on for over 3 1/2 years. I really wish I had switched sooner.
I’m glad you find these tips useful Tawnya.
YEARS! I’m not sure exactly how long, I only seriously started blogging when my daughter turned a year :) So I only have a years worth of posting to follow up on! ;)
This post is so helpful! I’ve often wondered about going back into the archives and refreshing posts. I’m going to be using these tips. Thank you!! xo
I’m thrilled you found this post to be helpful Ailee! I’m sure you have a lot of hot real estate in your archives… you next viral post could be one you’ve already written! It’s definitely worth the investment of time.
I saw this graphic on Pinterest and I had to click through and come and read it!
Great ideas – I have 3+ years of posts that I’ve been working on. This gives me some great ideas to accomplish this finally.
Thanks,
Sue
I’m so glad you stopped by Sue and I’m delighted you found this helpful.
It’s a big job but it’s so worthwhile. Who knows… maybe you’ve already written the EPIC viral post?!
This is definitely a keeper! I have been meaning to go back and fix up my old posts. I NEED to update some photos and stuff, for sure! And, go back and promote my posts and link them up again!
I will be keeping this post for later!!! Thanks for the tips, Jennifer!
I’m so glad you enjoyed this Alycia! I hope it helps as you refresh and renew your older content.
I have a LOT of posts from my early days of blogging that need to be refreshed. Thanks for the tips!!
You’re so very welcome Lauren! I have 4 years of stuff to refresh. I’m not doing everything… thankful I had some posts that do not need refreshing… but oh my… what a task!
I really need to do this! Awesome tips. I’m going to try to incorporate a few of them into some old posts this weekend :). Pinned!
I’m delighted you found this helpful Candace!
I try to refresh 2-3 posts a week (I have about 4 years of oldies that I’ve been working through). It will be worth it when it’s all done.
Thanks for pinning!
This is very helpful. I know there are a few posts from the first few weeks of blogging that could use some TLC…I just haven’t got around to fixing them. I think it’s partly because I don’t feel like my blog is old enough to start re-hashing the “old” stuff. But…since it’s on my mind I may as well do it! After all the other pressing matters, of course!
I think if you think it warrants refreshing, then go for it but there’s no rush. You have a lot on your plate right now!
Great suggestions! We are still pretty new, but if we make it long enough I will definitely be referring back to this post, thank you!!
I’m glad you enjoyed these suggestions Christina! I hope they help you out if there is a time to refresh posts (or use it as a reference now so you don’t have to refresh posts later on)!
Thanks for sharing your thoughts on this.
Good tips! I have some old ones from when I first started that need to be freshened up.
I’m delighted you enjoyed these tips Melissa!
Very helpful!! I love it. I thought that I was organized with everything. Wow! You are so super organized with every single thing. You blow me out of the water, lol. I love that! I really do. So awesome Jen. I have really missed your blog posts. Out of sight, does not mean, out of mind. xoxo
I need to be organized (desperately)… without it I am so lost!
I’m glad you enjoyed these suggestions Cindy!
Love this so much! I feel like I have so much work to do! :) I definitely need to revive some of my old content. Pinning and sharing this all over the place. ;)
That old stuff always needs work, doesn’t it. I have four years of content I need to refresh. It’s a daunting task!
Thanks for sharing my friend!
I’m working on reediting and updating my old posts. I’ve been blogging almost a year. Now that I know so much more, I want to go back and clean up my old posts.
I guess I’m lost on cross-posting. What is that? Thanks so much for your help.
Cross-posting is simply submitting blog content to other sites for them to publish. Just make sure to include a back link to your blog’s original post. It basically expands your reach and makes you more visible to a broader audience.
Thanks. It makes sense when you put it that way. I may start with BlogHer. :)
Thanks for the great tips! I need to start sharing old posts on social media! Good idea to give them a second look and a bit of a clean up too!
I’m glad you enjoyed these tips Karen. Sometimes when we give our “old” content some spotlight time, our readers devour it. Often with our earlier content, we had less of a following. Who knows… you could have already written your next viral post!
Thanks for these fantastic tips. I’ll definitely be using some of these to refresh some of my older stuff.
I’m so glad you enjoyed these tips. I hope it helps you through the process of refreshing old content.
Ok, you’re right, I need to do this. But the ppaaaaiiiinnnnn!!!!
I’m sorry…. Take it one post at a time and only do the ones that you think are worthwhile doing. Cheering you on!
Amazing post! Saved me from deleting old post I was sick of! Instead I will rework them. The thing is that I’m wondering how they can get the visibility of a new one?
When I post I get traffic from people who follow my blog by email, how will they know about the changes?
One of the things to do after you refresh your posts is to share them to all of your social media sites once again (Pinterest, Facebook, Twitter, and anywhere else you can think of).
You can also feature refreshed posts in your sidebar and share them in your newsletter (if you have one). You can also add a line at the end of new posts “If you like this, then why not check out…. (name of refreshed post).
There are so many ways to give old content new life!
I hope this helps!
I know just what you mean, Jennifer. I switched from Blogger to WP in October 2013. I am STILL updating posts. It’s time consuming, but I feel it’s important to update links and fix screwy formatting. Visiting from Mommy Monday Blog Hop.
It seems like a never-ending task doesn’t it Kimberly?! I’m stunned at how much work it can be! It’s so worth it though. I’ve had a number of posts take off since I’ve refreshed them.
I need to do this, I have some older posts that I really loved but the graphics could be better.
I have heard SO much about this Pinning Perfect course, I really need to just take it!
I’m so glad you enjoyed these tips Lauren.
I’ve been steadily refreshing posts and I’ve had a number of them take off since I fixed them up. It’s really worth the effort!
Pinning Perfect is amazing! I would say if you’re going to make any kind of blog investment or take a blog-related course… this one is it! They said in the class to expect results within 2-3 months. I’ve seen results within a couple weeks of completing the course! I highly recommend it to ALL bloggers.
Great tips! I’ve been doing some of this myself too, mostly focussing on the SEO, increasing the size of great images and removing any not so great ones.
I haven’t done much old post pushing at all!
Love the cross publication suggestions too…I need to get onto that one ASAP! :-)
I’m glad you enjoyed these tips Steph. It’s been a lot of work for me but it’s so worth it. I’m already seeing my refreshed posts getting a lot more action on Pinterest now that I’ve added new images.
Thanks so much for sharing these tips with us, Jennifer.
I haven’t even been blogging for a year yet, but I have already started going back and updating my earlier posts because I have learned so much.
One thing I need to get a better grasp of is SEO and pins. Thanks so much for reminding me of that. Now if only you could grant me more time in the day. :)
Blessings to you and yours, my friend!
I’m glad you found these tips helpful Heather. More time definitely would be a bonus wouldn’t it?!
Great tips, thanks! How do you create the tweetable link?
The tweetable link I use is from a WordPress plugin called “click to tweet”. I use it quite often in my posts.
Good article, glad I found it in Thoughtful Thursdays. How do you post to the Huffington Post? Is it kind of like Examiner.com?
I love summer homework! Thanks again. #SITSBlogging
Thank you for stopping by! You love summer homework? That’s great! I hope this helps you refresh and resurrect old posts.
Um, wow. I am learning so much here! I seriously never pay a second’s notice to SEO, and I have certain enduring posts that get more traffic in a day than anything new that I write. Those definitely need a face-lift. Thank you for sharing your expertise! I’ve been blogging publicly for 2 years, and yet I still have so much to learn!
Shame on me for missing this lovely comment that you left! I see you posted it on my book launch day… I think I was a little swamped.
Regardless, I’m so delighted this post gave you some useful information April. It really helps to take a closer look at how we use keywords to optimize our posts. It makes a huge difference to the amount of traffic you get from searches in search engines!
Thank you once again for stopping by – I swear, I usually respond to comments faster than this.
Wishing you a wonderful weekend.
Hello, Jennifer ;) I am new here and I want to tell you that this article is one of my favorite, you gave so many good tips! Thank you!
Have a great day,
Moni
I’m so glad you enjoyed this post – it was one of my favourite ones to write… I love sharing helpful tips!
Hi Jennifer, I have to tackle one old post at a time and replace some of the images with fresh ones. I have considered cross publishing, but am concerned that it will be a negative move for my blog as I thought that posting duplicate content gets penalized by search engines. I did get as far as signing up with Blogher, then got cold feet.
Blogging is relentless, there is always something new to do or learn!
Thanks for the tips.
xx
So here’s the trick to that Debbie… change the title of the post and also include a link at the end of your post saying:
This post was originally published on “Debs Random Writings” (and include your link to the actual post there).
When you go this, you are telling Google that your site deserves the ranking for the post, not BlogHer or whatever site you’re cross-publishing to.
I hope that helps.
Thanks for the tip. Will look into it again xx