Are you trying to find help on how to update old content to grow your blog traffic? Here are important steps to follow and helpful best practices in blogging.
You created your blog because at that time, you had something new and interesting to share with people. But what if after some time, the information in your posts becomes outdated?
The problem with blogging is that most people think about their blogs as a “set it and forget it” kind of thing; like put up content once and never touch it again. This sticks your older blog posts in Google’s index forever, disregarding whether or not they are relevant anymore!
If you want to update old content or add fresh updates to existing pages, here are some tips for doing so without breaking search engine traffic.
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How to Update Old Content to Grow Blog Traffic
First off, if you are writing about a product or service, you need to make sure that your post contains up-to-date information. For example, let’s say that you have an old post on your blog titled “5 Simple Steps to Start a Blog and Make Money”. So far, the article has contained helpful information about the how to start a blog and actually make money. But after two years, you’ve since learned about more helpful tips for growing a blog and increasing traffic?
If there are no other posts on your blog about creating a blog, simply create a new post entitled “(current year) UPDATED: 10 Steps to Start a Blog for Beginners”. Instead of rewriting everything from scratch though, update links and numbers in your original “5 Simple Steps to Start a Blog and Make Money” post by adding parenthetical notes like this: “Learn how to get started blogging in 2021 or the current year”, and then insert link to your updated post.
By doing this, you’re not only updating and bettering your original posts with up-to-date information, but Google will also be able to view these types of updates as a sign that you are still active and writing about fresh topics.
Furthermore, instead of having lots of outdated articles floating around in your blog’s archives, everything is neatly organized under one category. This makes it much easier for people interested in learning about creating a blog to finding the most relevant content for them without going through page after page of search results.
It’s important to note that you should not replace your original posts with completely newer updates, updating and adding new information is the correct way to go about this. If Google recognizes that older posts have been replaced with complete rewrites, it could result in a loss of traffic from your old articles’ search engine optimization (SEO).
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In general, Google ranks sites higher for having more frequent updates because they comply with Google’s best practices recommendation which is to keep freshness in mind when creating a content strategy.
So, if you’re worried about what to do with older blog posts, start by updating them! It will help keep your site looking relevant and provide readers who are interested in outdated topics a better experience.
How to Write a Post and Update Old Content for New Bloggers in 2021
In 2021, blogging is a legitimate profession and one of the highest paid jobs online. Internet users are spending thousands of hours every week reading articles from bloggers who have managed to earn a big bank roll by writing content that other people want to read. Becoming a blogger in 2021 means you’re going into a very competitive field, but with hard work and plenty of practice, you too can be a professional blogger before the end of this decade.
So how do you become an expert writer in just 5 years? Here’s what you need to know:
1. Write About What You Know Best
When it comes to blogging, there’s no such thing as over-expertise. Every blogger can add something unique and valuable to their blog, but you need to figure out what that “something” is. Do you have a passion for personal finance or other ways to make money online? Maybe you’re an expert on investing in stocks and can teach your readers about the pros and cons of investing in stocks, bonds and cryptocurrency. Whatever the case may be, make sure that whatever interests you most is also something that will interest other people enough to read it.
2. Proofread
People make errors, and there’s no shame in making typos or mistakes while blogging online. In fact, it happens a lot to most of us and it’s actually for the best. What matters more than anything else when you’re writing content however, is how willing someone is to forgive those mistakes based on how enjoyable the rest of your article was.
If you want people to keep coming back for more, you need to make sure your content is error-free.
3. Don’t Be Afraid to Experiment
The beauty of blogging is that everyone has a voice, and there’s no limit on what kind of writing you can do. It’s a lot like the early days of film where anything goes: animation, horror, or romance.
It doesn’t matter what category your blog falls into as long as your audience enjoys it! So don’t be afraid to experiment with different styles and genres… if something works, stick with it. But if you want to try something new, then see how people respond!
4. Get Help from Your Friends
In 2021, social media influencers are some of the most powerful people in the world; and when you’re trying to become a famous blogger, good relationships with these people can be invaluable. If there’s something you want people to see in your blog, don’t be afraid to ask your social media contacts for a favor!
5. Read Articles by Other Bloggers
Blogging is a skill that can’t be learned in isolation. The best way to improve at blogging is by reading other people who are better than you at it. Find out what they’re doing different from you, what makes their writing great and get inspired by them.
Learning how other bloggers use language will not only make you a better writer, but will also improve your natural vocabulary as well. Most importantly, never forget to give: Write a valuable article of your own for other people to indulge, and you’ll be on your way to becoming a rapidly growing blogger in 2021!
As much as we like to think that blogging technology is technology, the truth is that it’s really not. It’s more about how you can create a connection with your audience and fulfill their needs, serve them in some way, and make an impact on their lives.
Other Best Blogging Practices
Blogging is one of those things that still seems kind of mysterious. We don’t know what makes one blog successful and another flop after just a few posts (or in some cases, after just a few minutes).
We see successful bloggers like Neil Patel keep putting out great content week-after-week, month-after-month, so what kinds of best practices does he use? And why they work? Is there such a thing as a best practice in blogging? We’ll explore this and more.
First the bad news: The only way to define what makes one blog successful is to look at all of them together and figure out commonalities that cross nearly every single example.
Now for some good news: There are some universal truths about blogging, and they do apply across-the-board, every time. Find out what those things are by reading through this article.
One important thing to realize is that not everyone has the same goals in mind with their blog. Some people want to be able to work from anywhere on earth, others want to start a business and build an empire of affiliate relationships and offers, still others just want to share their knowledge or experiences with people that can benefit from it.
The thing is, though, there are certain things you should keep in mind if you want to have a blog that is effective. There are some universal best practices when it comes to blogging success.
One of the biggest areas where bloggers fail is being consistent with their blog posts and having an editorial calendar, basically, mapping out what they’re going to write about. Most people don’t think about creating one until they’ve missed several weeks of posting. By then it becomes hard to get back on track because readers’ attention spans are short.
So, take our advice: create an editorial calendar at the start (and stick to it!) and schedule all of your posts ahead of time for maximum exposure!
Blogging is all about getting the word out about what you have to offer or share with people, so you need to be sharing it consistently. Consistency might not be the best word because ‘consistent’ can sometimes mean posting once a week if that’s what your blog needs.
How Often Should I Post?
It really depends on your goals and how much you want to create content for your blog, but I highly recommend publishing at least 2-3 times per week at minimum.
The good news is that there are some universal best blogging practices when it comes to getting links back to your website or blog. There are even some techniques that will work in almost industry under the sun if you keep yourself educated on the latest news regarding them.
The first thing you need to do is find out what kinds of best practices are being used in your industry, industry-related industries, and beyond! The most important thing is to make sure that whatever you’re doing complies with Google’s guidelines. They don’t really tell anyone what they specifically care about when it comes to link building, but common sense should be enough for most people.
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Link Building Best Practices
There are two major types of backlinks: the editorial and authoritative. Editorial links are just regular blog posts linking out to another site somewhere on the web and these are great for helping build PageRank or trust in your website because they essentially help give more context around your content.
Authoritative links are links that come from high-quality websites, such as those designated by the Google toolbar or Moz’s toolbar. These links aren’t just helpful because they can help strengthen your PageRank and trust in your website, but also because it helps you get found by people searching for what you provide.
Both of these link types (editorial and authoritative) should be used in conjunction with one another to help make sure all your bases are covered when it comes to linking back to your site.
Bear in mind, too that every time you publish a new post on your blog, regardless of whether there is a link within it or not, always try to include at least one relevant link back to your own blog after the post is published.
Don’t Forget the Meta Data!
When you’re writing a new blog post or article, it’s important to make sure that all of the necessary meta data has been added to help search engines figure out and know what your post is about. This includes:
- Title tags (this should be 50 characters or less and include your focus keyword at least once)
- Meta descriptions (these should be 150 characters or less and make people want to click on your site from search results)
- Image alt tag s (never forget this!)
- Keyword density for your focus keyword within a given piece of content. For example, if my focus keyword was “blogging,” I would need to have that word within my content at least three times (more, if possible, but don’t go overboard!).
Don’t Forget the Images!
If you want people to click on your links, it’s also important to make sure that all of the images you use are optimized for SEO. This means making sure your focus keyword is in the file name and that they have alternative tag text included in the image itself.
Remember: every time you include an image into a blog post or article, always link back to where it came from using either regular text links or anchor text links. Even if there’s no editorial link included in the article, make sure there is still some form of link back to your website when appropriate. Optimizing footer links for SEO is also usually a good idea.
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Read the Entire Blogging Series
- How I Made $23K Blogging in Three Months
- How I Made over $2,000 Part-time Blogging Last Month
- Ultimate Free Blogging Course to Become a Professional Blogger
- Beginner Blogging Checklist: Daily, Weekly and Monthly Blogging Tasks
- 5 Income Streams to Make Money Blogging [How I Make $300 a day]