Here are the five ways that you can update your blog content for that SEO boost:

1. Link to updated sources

If you've included visual examples or references to other companies and influencers, consider updating them. Linking to new sources is helpful to your audience because you will be providing them with the most up-to-date information. Google notices that newer, more relevant pages have been linked, suggesting a change in the post, and this is what you need.

2. Add new visuals, examples and references

Consider updating visual content, screenshot examples or references to other companies and influencers. Over time, the examples that you have shared may be outdated or common knowledge for your readers.

Updating any examples you may have used provides value to both new and old readers. It's also another signifier to Google that your content has changed and is more relevant. You might be relying on stock photos for blog headers, or images to break chunks of text — You don't have to do this.

You can personalise your choice of photos by creating your own. Featuring team members or your own office space can go a long way. It's a way to connect with your readers, rather than using impersonal stock photos to fill up space.

Set up a photoshoot to create your own library of stock photos. Another suggestion is to visualise some of your tips, quotes or statistics for emphasis. Custom images capture people's attention and they double as neat social media graphics that you can share as posts.

3. Update broken links

Unfortunately, other sites often remove blog posts or restructure their sites, breaking links in the process. If your page has a number of broken links on it, Google ranks it lower because it looks like a poor user experience. You can use browser extensions, like Check My Links, to quickly scan your page and identify any broken links.

Broken links and other factors (like 301 redirects) impact the user experience and how Google values your post. If you've noticed some blog posts dropping, look closely at what they're linked to and see if you can fix it. Clearing up those kinds of problems can lift up your content, impact rankings and increase blog traffic.

4. Apply SEO best practices

All your blog posts should be SEO-optimised. This requires following a blog format that reassures Google that you're providing a great user experience. Many blogs follow different formats as there isn't just one perfect format. 

These are some easy, impactful ways to optimise your blog post for SEO:
  • Use the primary keyword consistently throughout the post
  • Use headings and subheadings often and consistently to break up your post
  • Use a variety of visuals
  • Use bulleted or numbered lists
  • Apply descriptive alt-text to your images
  • Update the publish date

5. Double-down on organic keyword rankings

Even though your blog post focussed on one specific keyword, you might be ranking for a ton of other keywords. Capitalise on that! Doubling-down on these keywords can increase the organic traffic to your page.

You can check that with tools like Ahrefs. In Ahrefs, for example, you can paste the blog post URL into the search bar and a list of terms that you currently rank for will come up, as well as the position that you’re holding on them.

You can order them by position and see what's ranking within the first 20 to 30 results. Then take a look at the search volume for each term, the keyword difficulty and relevance to your post. If the search volume and position justifies the effort, include that term into your post update.

Decide on a few keywords. Then you can dedicate entire sections to each term, briefly mention them, or just include them throughout the post.

Additionally, if you want to scale up your updating process, check out Jonas Sickler's post on thin content. It's a guide on how to audit your site (very simply), identify all the pages you need to either update or remove and prioritise them.

For more information, visit www.venngage.com.