search rankings – Editorial PR

13/Aug/2020

Refreshing old content is a great way to give pages a new lease of life and improve rankings for keywords and topics that you have already covered in previous blog posts.

Find underperforming content

Refreshing content works best when you target pages that have dropped out of SERPs and are underperforming for some reason. If the post is not ranking adequately for a specific keyword, was published more than a year ago, and is lacking in ‘link authority’, then you have found a prime target for republishing.

To find underperforming content, head over to Google Search Console and click on the ‘average position’ metrics in the ‘Search Results’ section and then select ‘filter by position’ in the dropdown menu beneath. You can input a ‘greater than’ position of your choosing here. Targeting pages that are ranked fifth or lower is a good starting point. Higher pages are already performing well.

The ‘Position’ metric here is not a definitive assessment of your pages, but it will give you a general idea about the performance of your keywords. Any viable older posts should be targeting an important keyword that is capable of driving search traffic to make your efforts worthwhile.

Finally, see whether there are any blog posts or articles from competitors that outrank you for this keyword. This means that it is eminently possible to move up SERPs with a refreshed piece.

Check for backlinks

Higher-quality content will boost your rankings, but copy is not always the primary factor that holds back pages from performing better. Some pages above you may just have more link authority and an excellent makeup of backlinks. You can use a keywords explorer to see the URL Ratings (UR) and Domain Ratings (DR) for each page.

If a page is ranking above you but has lower UR and DR, then that points to content being the problem. This makes it a great candidate for refreshing as just a few tweaks could push it several places higher in SERPs.

Informational queries are best

When updating blogs, you want to serve content to searchers who want information from blog posts. If pages that are outranking you are centred on product or service copy, then it is likely that searchers want tools and software and not advice. A refresh here may not have much of an impact.

Start updating

Now that you have identified a piece of content, you need to update it in a way that will give it the best chance of driving more organic traffic. Merely adding a sprinkling of new info or an editor’s note will not suffice if it does not serve any real purpose. For this reason, try to make sure that updated content aligns with search intent and includes basic components that have worked well for other high-ranking pages.

The format you choose to update with should be informed by search intent. People looking for information will respond well to how-tos and tutorials, for example. You can also find the basic building blocks that make up other high-performing pages by looking at the titles and headers used within them. Make sure to mention some of the common themes and then build on them to make your content better.

With all that done, you can now partner with an agency to update content or make changes internally before republishing it.

Annie

23/Jan/2017

Effective content marketing is increasingly being regarded as vital, with many brands seeing it as a crucial way to help develop presence and increase success. Done right, a campaign not only generates revenue and growth but can boost brand awareness. However, there are ways in which content marketing should not be approached, so it’s wise to consider all the facts before launching a new campaign.

Firstly, content marketing is not the easy and cheap solution that many believe it to be. For companies believing that to be the case, attempts to start campaigns can be fraught with difficulties and, in some cases, might even damage a brand’s reputation. Therefore, it’s important to think about why undertaking such a challenge might not be such a good move. Those without the proper in-house skills might be wise to outsource the work if it is to stand any chance of success. Alternatively, other forms of advertising can be used.

One mistake that brands make is starting a content marketing plan as a way to stay ‘on-trend’. Unfortunately, if content doesn’t actually offer a target audience any value, it’s unlikely to succeed. Before beginning any content strategy, consider whether the resulting advertising is likely to find appeal. It also shouldn’t be thought of as a quick fix because it can take months, even years, to carefully construct a strategy that will work. Most things take time to evolve before they give anything in return and the content marketing niche is no exception. For example, many blogs are quickly abandoned; however, when blogs are maintained in the long-term, and generate around 15 blog posts each month, around 1,200 new leads can be generated.

Another misconception is that content marketing will instantly improve search rankings. Though it may well help in the long run, it certainly will not yield overnight results. One expert in the content niche, Ian Lurie, says: “Content isn’t ‘stuff we write to rank higher’ or ‘infographics’ or ‘long-form articles.’ Content is anything that communicates a message to the audience. Anything.”

Finally, it’s important to recognise that content marketing strategies are neither a cheap form of advertising, nor a way to gain direct sales. With regard to the former, there are many reports showing massive return on investment. In fact, three times as many leads can be generated as traditional advertising, with a 62 per cent markdown in cost. However, investment is required. Meanwhile, not every piece of content will generate direct sales and, in fact, many pieces shouldn’t be aimed at doing so. Some will build brand awareness, while others will lead customers into the mouth of the sales funnel. In fact, almost half of B2B marketers agree that between three and five buying stages are required to make a sale.

Content marketing can be hugely successful when it’s done correctly, pushing companies to the next level and spreading positive brand awareness. It is not cheap and it is not quick to yield results, however, those going into it with their eyes open could reap huge benefits over the medium to long term.

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