Content Refresh Services

How Updating and Re-Optimizing Your Content Can Improve Organic Traffic and Help You Rise on SERPs

If you are like many people who have a website, it's likely that you have a ton of pages that get little to no traffic. Did you know that you can take your existing content, refresh it with new target keywords, and start seeing better performance and traffic?

You can, and we can help you do it.

One of the best ways to get the most out of your content marketing strategy is to refresh content that is old and underperforming.

Refreshing content is a wonderful way to improve your page's position on search engine results pages, and by choosing different relevant keywords, you may even be able to bring in a totally new audience.

Let's take a deeper look at how refreshing existing content works, and how Sapphire SEO Solutions can help you do it.

What Does It Mean to "Refresh Content?"

A content refresh means that you are taking existing content that isn't performing well, and then updating, editing, and optimizing it to boost its performance on search engines.

Almost anything on your site can be refreshed. We can refresh old blog content, web pages that aren't getting traffic, knowledge bases, FAQs, landing pages, and more. Really, any type of outdated content you have on your site can be refreshed, even content that is "evergreen."

How we choose to revamp your content depends on a number of factors. We may simply add simple fixes, like adding more visual assets, removing broken links, and updating internal links, or we may have to rewrite full areas of your page to give it a boost in search results. Finally, we can also use the existing content and expand upon it, which is common, because these days, search engines tend to prefer longer, more relevant content.

Signs You Might Need a Content Refresh:

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Why Is It So Important to Refresh Existing Content?

You might be wondering why it's so important to refresh your content. There are actually many benefits that your site can get when you decide to revive decaying content. Here are a few:

• More organic search traffic

• Better position on Google and other search engines

• Higher click through rates

• More purchases

• Better conversions

Stop allowing old content to take up good real estate on your website. If it's just sitting there, it's not doing anything to bring value to your visitors. By refreshing content, however, you can strengthen your site's standing.

What is the Best Content to Update?

The best content to update depends on the goals of your company. Keep in mind, that it might also not be the best idea to update all of your content.

Let's look at a scenario:

You have an online store, and you have been in business for over a decade. You notice that the buyers who used to purchase your products just aren't buying them anymore. You are still getting sales, but the items that used to fly off the virtual shelves aren't selling like they used to. Instead, you are noticing that younger shoppers are buying more from your site, but they don't like the same items that people were buying 6 or 8 years ago.

Guess what happened? Over the years, your buyer persona has changed. The people who used to love your older items are now older and into different things, and the new buyers aren't interested. So, in this case, you probably don't want to put a lot of time and effort into refreshing the old content. Instead, you should start creating new content for your site that meets the needs of your new buyers. (PS. We do that, too!)

“I have been in the industry for a long time, and I only recommend a content refresh to clients if they have the same type of customer, or buyer persona, that they have always had.” - Christa Tintelnot, Owner, Sapphire SEO Solutions

Another thing that you should consider before making the decision to update content, or leave it alone, is the page's peak performance. If you have seen, for instance, the page doing well in Google Search Console, and then, over time, dropping several positions in search engine rankings, this is a good candidate for a page refresh.

However, if the page has never had a lot of traffic, it's probably best to let it be, or create totally new content.

Does it Hurt Your Rankings to Refresh Content?

It is always a possibility that your page may not improve following a revamp. Keep in mind that Google, itself, makes more than 600 algorithm changes each year. Other search engines do the same.

Also, Google doesn't necessarily explain how to optimize content for search engines. We have a good idea of what to do, but no one knows except for the powers that be at Google.

Keep in mind that if you content is already not ranking, it probably won't have a negative affect on your content. Also, new content can be volatile, and it takes time to see where it will settle. Generally, 3-6 months, if not up to 12 months.

Here are some things to keep in mind before deciding to refresh your content:

How Sapphire SEO Solutions Helps Client Refresh Their Content

Though we pride ourselves on giving every client customized service, we do follow a basic plan when we refresh content. Here are the main steps:

Step #1 - Identify Pages to Refresh

The first thing that we do is to identify pages that we can target. We can do this in one of three ways:

Content Audit

The first thing we can do is a content audit. We do offer free audits, but those are very basic. A full audit of a website is much more detailed, and it is time consuming. Essentially, this is an in-depth overview of every part of your page to see how the content is performing. To do this, you will need some type of research software like Semrush, Ahrefs, Moz, or similar. You can do some of it with Google Search Console, too. Thankfully, we have access to tools to make it an easier process, and we ask that clients give us access to tools like Google Search Console and Google Analytics for more insights.

Analytic Research

Another option is to use basic analytic research to find out which pages are ranking on SERPs and which are not. Remember, the top ranking pages are those that are in positions 1-3. Those in positions 4 to 10 are in a good place, but can be improved. Anything below 10 is likely not being seen.

Personal Preference

Finally, some clients simply want a specific page to rank for personal or business reasons. If this is the case, let us know and we can make that happen!

Step #2 - Review the Content

When we have identified the posts to target, we start reviewing them. Some of the things we may consider include:

• Can we break up large areas of text?

• Is it easy to navigate?

• Does it answer a question immediately?

• Does the post speak to your target audience?

• Are there statistics that are outdated?

• Are there enough visuals?

“Content refreshing isn't a one-off task—it's an ongoing process essential for long-term SEO success.”

— Sebastian Dziubek, SEO Expert

Step #3 - Do a SERP Analysis

The next step is to look at where the page is sitting on search engine results pages. We use tools for this, including Semrush and Google Search Console, but you can also simply do a search for your keyword, and then compare your page to the pages that are in the top 3 spots.

We use these sites as a guide, and then create a content plan that will fill in the gaps.

Step #4 - Check Keyword Intent

Finally, it's important to make sure that you have the correct search intent. Your page or post must align with your visitor's reason to search. There are four types of search intent: informational, commercial, transactional, and navigational. With this information, we can now create content that will target your prospects and drive conversions.

Work with Sapphire SEO Solutions for Your Next Content Refresh

Are you ready to work with our team to update your content to see better search results? We are ready to work with you!

• We can work with you to consolidate your content to avoid repetition

• We can repurpose your content if a refresh isn't the best practice

• We can add content to your current content to make it longer and ensure it aligns with your competitors

• We can make small changes and update the publication date to show search engines that you are publishing up to date content that is new and relevant

• We can target new keywords for each post/page

As you can see, every great content strategy should have content refreshing as an integral step. By simply updating content regularly, you can keep your website ranking higher, as well as gain valuable insights into what your target audience is looking for.

Frequently Asked Questions About a Content Refresh from Sapphire SEO Solutions