The Art of Republishing Old Content

It is not possible to publish very successful content every time. Sometimes a blog may not do so well even if the creator has followed all the guidelines and carried out keyword research. It is not always possible to get everything correct on the first attempt. A great way to not let hard work go to waste is to not be demotivated. The post which failed can be upgraded, rewritten and recycled into something great. Famous blog posts websites all over the globe republish articles. The feedback on those republished articles is very positive.

Three very simple steps need to be followed to republish old blog content:

SPOTLESS POPULAR POSTS

One thing that needs to be kept in mind is that not all underperforming posts are worth republishing. Certain factors should be kept in mind when considering republishing an old article:

A)Is the page underperforming for the targeted keywords? 

Posts that rank lower for their target keywords need to be spotted. An easy method to do so is to take help from Google search Console. It helps in filtering the search results for keywords with at least ranking of four. By spotting posts that have the most search traffic and skimming through them, we are able to find the posts ranking low for primary target keywords. A huge difference can be made in rankings by placing a keyword that makes more sense and had more meaning in the place of the underperforming target keyword.

B) How old is the post?

It takes at least 12 months to analyse the ranking of a post so there is no point in republishing a post that was published less than 12 months. The reason behind this is that the post has not reached its full potential of achieving rankings. This is why posts that have low rankings and have been published 12 months prior should be used for republishing purposes.

C) Do you have enough link potential to rank better?

The content quality is not always the culprit for low rankings. Sometimes, factors like the competitor’s quality of backlinks and link authorities being much better than the post also play a huge role in low rankings of posts. By searching for the keyword in keyword explorer and studying the ratings of the posts that outrank a content creator can give them an idea if it might be a content issue. If it is a content issue then the chances of getting a higher ranking after republishing a post are very high.

D) Are other posts outranking this: making sure the query is informational. If a category or product pages are outranking a post that is a sign that searchers are probably not looking for this kind of blog post. In this case, republishing the blog post will not do the rankings any kind of favour. This is because people probably don’t want to see that kind of content.

E) If the answer to any of the above four queries is NO then it is probably best not to republish the post. Find something else to work on, but if all the above four queries are yes then the post is worthy of republishing. 

 

FRESHEN UP THE CONTENT

After finding a post-worthy for republishing some simple steps need to be followed to make sure the post ranks higher this time.

  • The first thing to focus on is making sure the post lines up with the search intent of people. Search intent refers to the ‘WHY’ behind a person’s Google search. It plays a very important role because by being aware of the searcher’s expectations and desired content and providing that kind of information in the posts, the total satisfaction of the visitors can be ensured. This helps in getting more shares and likes which in return boosts the website rankings.
  • All kinds of information starting from How to’s to expanded definition should be provided. This ensures that the post will reach the search intent of anyone and everyone and be able to please any kind of queries on the topic. This requires in-depth research on the content of the topic. The more in-depth the post is the better it is for the rankings as more visitors with different queries will leave the website happy.
  • Making sure the post is helpful for all types of content angles, starting from beginners to advance levels. Most of the time when someone is searching a query the case is that they are beginners. A common mistake that content creators make is that they target their posts towards a more advanced audience. This results in the post being the least bit helpful for beginners. The characteristics of excellent content creation are that it aids towards all kinds of audiences. This ensures that nobody will leave the webpage disappointed.

REPUBLISH IT

The best and the easiest part comes in the end when the post is all set to be republished. All that needs to be done is to open the site’s CMS. The old post has to be deleted and replaced with the new post. There is no need to change the URL, only the title and publishing date needs to be updated so that it shows the new content and the work is done.

Another action can be taken to speed up the whole process.

By requesting reindexing, Google will reindex the post quicker than it would have if it would not have been requested.

Reusing old posts is a very clever move. It helps increase the ranking on websites and the hard work of the content creator also does not go to waste.

The motive to republish posts should not always be to achieve higher search traffic. It is crucial for a content creator to refresh their posts every now and then to keep them relevant and updated.

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