Web Design and Development
4 Reasons To Update Old Blog Posts
Most bloggers follow a simple routine. They write a post. They publish it. And then they are off to start thinking about their next article. And they rarely — if ever — revisit and update older entries. And while this is pretty much the norm, this practice might be causing many bloggers to have decreased search engine traffic and page-views.
In the list below, you will find four reasons to consider updating your old blog posts.
1. Revise Errors and Inaccuracies
The first and most obvious reason for updating your posts is to correct any errors that have been made. For example, if you notice a spelling or grammatical error you should ALWAYS update your post to fix it. Similarly, if you’ve misquoted a source, or included an inaccurate figure or piece of advice, you should make the necessary revisions.
2. Make Updates and Add New Information
For those of you who write about the latest news in your industry, you will find that there are usually updates to each story. One way to tackle this is by updating each post with any new information. Or, you might decide to write a new post, in which case you should edit the old post to provide a link to the update.
3. Maintain Well-Linked Posts
Probably the most important reason to update your posts is so that they are always well linked with other posts. Not only does this ensure that your readers can easily find related information, but it also ensures that search engines can reach all content.
4. Keep Search Engines Happy
Search engines like regularly updated content. In fact, they have been known to drop old content from their indexes. So, to keep your pages well-indexed, be sure to keep them updated. It might also be a good idea to perform some basic SEO on old posts by revising headlines, page titles, and descriptions.
We think that updating old posts is crucial, especially if you have a lot of posts. And it is something that we regularly do to make sure that articles are well-linked and fresh for search engines.
Do you update your old posts?
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No, I don’t edit my posts because my blog is just a personal blog. Nothing changes on it.
Good point Jackie. On personal blogs or other blogs that are written for a narrow audience and not for search engines, then you do not need to update your posts.
I need to go back to my earlier posts and include links to later posts. I haven’t done that yet.
I find it’s nice even on personal blogs when people link back to older posts if the newer post is related. It takes me, sometimes, to posts I wouldn’t see otherwise.
Great tips! Been blogging for years and never really thought about that. Of course a lot of my stuff is now buried in antiquity. But I shall start implementing these 4 tips into my daily blogging routine. Happy new year!
Excellent points. I have a tendency to post-and-forget … the blogger’s equivalent of never calling back a one-night stand when what you REALLY want is a relationship that involves checking in once a while!
I think all of these things are great advice. As I now am getting a few more posts on my blog I am starting to go back and do some linking. It takes time but is well worth it for making your blog more accessible.
Thanks for the tips!
@Jodith, I agree. I like it when people link to other posts because if they didn’t its doubtful that I’d search their archives and find it.
@Susanne, thanks for visiting and happy new year to you too. Yes, you will find that these tips improve the likelihood that your visitors read your posts, because they will be able to easily reach them. For example, I am so lazy when I read other blogs and I don’t like searching. But if bloggers include links in their articles, I’ll follow the links.
@-Deb, nice analogy. hahaha. Yes, we all want more out a relationship than THAT! Thanks for commenting. That one made me laugh.
@Jen, nice to see you again. Yes, the more posts you have, the more important it is to link. Unfortunately, the more posts you have, the more work it is. But yeh, the work is definitely worth the benefit.
Because I am a lazy blogger, it’s not hard to review some if not all of my old posts, so I do it everytime I post something new. I’m always amazed that after careful editing and proofing I still find errors and/or inconsistencies. This is very good advice. Thanks.
Great points. It’s great to edit posts to include links to newer posts.
I need to get busy updating my old posts. I was doing real well with the task but have fallen way behind. I had a few posts become so outdated I just deleted the entire post. That’s probably not a great idea from an SEO standpoint but it’s easier than rewriting them.
@Carolyn, yes, I am also amazed and embarrassed when I find errors. Those are the times when I am especially quick to update a post.
@Tom, linking to newer posts is usually my main reason for updates. Thanks for visiting.
@Brian, Wow! You just delete posts?! I’m shocked. Yes, from an SEO standpoint, that’s probably not the best way to go about making site updates. haha. But yes, sometimes updating can be frustrating, because it can be a lot of work… I’ve been there too.
Styling is also another reason
For example, when I started blogging I didn’t have a clue where to place the ‘more’ tag and how to use H2′s and H3s effectively. When I improved (still not in the right shape 
) I actually edited several – at least most popular ones – posts.
(It’s a pity that the ‘content’ needs to have HTML tags as well)
The four reasons you mentioned are really the top reasons. This is in fact my favorite topic. I wrote two-three times about this
@Ajith, haha. Your favorite topic?! I’ll have to dig into your archives to see if I missed anything.
Yeh, I have done that as well. Many times I go back, not to change the content, but to restructure it with better headings.
Def need to visit and change older posts.because we dont know all the tips and tricks when we start blogging.
SO we might have missed many things like tags,H2 and all.I do visit some time often
We, bloggers, usually appreciate readers commenting on archived posts. It shows that we have some genuine readers and often puts the old posts in the limelight, especially if we have plugins which show recent comments and popular posts.
These tips are added incentives of revisiting the archives, and I liked your SEO aspect of this actions. Great post
@TechZoomIn, that is good advice. Over time, our writing style may change a bit, or we might use HTML tags a bit differently. So updating old posts is key for maintaining some consistency.
@Forsaken, thanks for your comments. Those are indeed good reasons to keep the archives well-maintained.
I agree with you re updating. I just updated a couple of posts yesterday when I realized that I hadn’t done a thing with the All In One SEO plugin. That plugin is great for going back and giving an old post some pizazz.
@Bryan Adams, indeed. That’s a great plugin. I see that you now have meta tags on all of your pages. Good updating!
Hello,
This is my first comment on your blog. My name is Ben. I blog over at Revenue Reservoir.
This is a good reminder. Updating old posts is very good. I do this very often. Sometimes it gets in the way of the more important, creating new quality content lol.
Ben Moreno’s last blog post..Twitter Community Questions: What is One Way Twitter Has Enhanced Your Business or Blog?
@Ben, thanks for visiting and introducing yourself. And yes, if you have a lot of updating work, it will definitely require some time. When I had a lot of updating to do, I’d often break the task up into several pieces and spread it out over a few of days.
I do, mainly because I am getting a lot of traffic to an older post. I feel the need to update it to reflect current information.
Great post by the way.
Will Buckley’s last blog post..Do You Suck At Making Money Online?
@Will: Indeed. Those ”pillar posts that keep on bringing in the visitors should be always be updated, especially if information is time-sensitive.
My current blog is just 6 months old but I’ll keep these tips in mind. The real trouble for me is my personal blog: http://blog.sachin-db.com, on which I have just merged my former blog to the new one. The images are of different sizes, the text might need updating and it looks as a mountain of work to me as there’s a whole year of blog posts to update
.
I just started blogging using Google, and then I changed my old blog name to a new name. However, the old blog still comes up on search engines with the old stuff that I did, and I dont know how to delete it out of the search engines. Is there anything I can do? I’d like it to just reflect my current blog, but its stuck in time.
I agree with the idea of keeping articles up to date. I do this often. The only problem with this approach is that your RSS subscribers will not get notified when you update an old post.
Jagath´s last blog ..Wall Street Journal reports a 5% jump in online sales (to $27 billion) for holiday season of 2009