How to Update Your Old Blog Posts for Better SEO

Want to make more $$ from Google leads in 2025, but don’t quite have the time to write brand new blog posts just yet? I got you—I’m going to let you in on my secret FAVORITE way to drive fresh traffic to your site without writing a single new post:

Revamp + refresh your old ones! 🙌

Back in November 2024, I revamped a client blog that was published 2 years ago and wasn’t driving much consistent traffic anymore.

Here’s what happened:

Within the span of a week, this blog that had been getting zero clicks + impressions was now up to sometimes 400+ impressions in a single day. 

And since the end of November, it’s driven over 100 potential clients to her website that it wouldn’t have before if we hadn’t breathed some new life into it. 🤯

This is the magic of updating your old blogs and letting Google know “hey, I’m still providing relevant, up-to-date info!”

So if you want to start driving new clients to your website but don’t have the capacity to write entirely new blogs, here’s how to get the most ROI out of what you wrote months/years ago.

12 things you should do every time you update an old blog post

1. Update old dates + outdated info

If you have any dates in your title, intro, meta description, or anywhere in your copy (e.g. “Full Guide to X in 2025”), make sure the year is correct! I don’t know about you, but I’m much more likely to click on a website in the Google Search Results if the year in the title is correct—rather than being 2-3+ years behind.

This is also a great time to update information that may now be outdated, such as any processes, fees, locations, addresses, etc. that might have changed since you first wrote the post.

2. Do a little fresh competitor research

Times change quickly, especially in a world where technology seems to literally evolve at the speed of light. This means that certain types of content may perform well one year, and go downhill the next—or vice-versa. As trends, culture, society, and technology change, so must your content to make sure it matches what people are actually searching for at the time. And not just what they’re searching for, but what they’re clicking on! So it never hurts to do a little bit of fresh competitor research to see what’s performing well, and where there be new gaps that you can fill with your content.

Pro tip: You can do this via simply looking up your topic on Google to see what’s at the top, or you can use a tool that gives you a more detailed analysis—like one of the tools I mention in this blog post.

3. Swap old images for new ones

If it makes sense to add new images that are more relevant today (in a different style, following a different trend, etc.), consider optimizing a new set of images to replace the current ones. Be sure to rename your new files to a variation of your target keyword, and add new alt text!

4. Add new, relevant content

Now that a few months or years have gone by, you likely have new stories, experiences, and reflections that are relevant to this topic! Add in any new information that you feel you’ve gained since first writing it, or connect it back to modern society/pop culture as it stands today.

Need help coming up with relevant new topics + content ideas? Check out my #1 favorite topic research tool for blogging in 2025 👀

5. Update internal + external links

Got any new blog posts that would be relevant to include in this one, that didn’t exist at the time you originally published it? Add in those new internal links as well as any external ones that readers might now find helpful. You’ll also want to double check all of the external links that you originally added in, and take out any that are now broken/don’t lead anywhere, as having broken links can take a hit on your SEO.

Important note: do NOT update your blog post permalink/URL slug unless you absolutely have to! This could impact your current SEO and keyword rankings. If you do change your URL, be sure to create a 301 redirect to avoid breaking links, and update any links to this blog post that you may have in other blog posts to be safe.

Confused about what internal + external links are? Download my free SEO guide to get a better handle on the key SEO and blogging terms you need to know!

6. Restructure for readability

If you’ve noticed you’re not getting inquiries from a post despite it getting a good amount of organic traffic, try rearranging your content for better readability.

A few quick ways to do this:

• Make sure the most important + desired content is near the top
• Break up long paragraphs into shorter sections
• Separate topics into smaller subtopics, with more headers, for quicker reading
• Add more clear calls to action (links to your shop, pricing page, contact form, etc.)—not just at the end of your post, but near the top so they’re accessible to anyone who doesn’t read the full blog post

7. Format for SERP features

Have any SERP features on Google changed since you wrote this blog? Add in new sections that are formatted as FAQ’s, to optimize for SERP features and AI overviews.

No clue what SERP features are? Go back to download that freebie, orrrr go all-in and grab my Blog Bible, where I break down exactly how to use them to your advantage to boost web traffic.

8. Update pricing

If you mention any specific numbers related to your offers/services, make sure they’re up to date and accurate.

9. Remove irrelevant sections

Just like you’ll want to add new information that may be relevant, you’ll also want to remove anything that isn’t! If you have a section in your blog post about COVID, for example, and the policies you put in place at the height of the pandemic—you can take that out if it doesn’t make sense with the rest of the post anymore. Removing irrelevant information that visitors won’t care about is JUST as important as including the right information that they will, as it shows Google that you know what your audience is (and isn’t) looking for.

10. Re-promote on social media/to your email list

The more eyes you can get on your blog post, the better, even if they’re not directly organic from Google! Let your social media audience & email list know that this blog post is new & improved, and tell them what they’ll get out of reading it now. All website traffic is good website traffic, and helps to show Google that you are a trusted source that provides people with quality content.

11. Rephrase your title and/or meta description

If your blog post is getting a high amount of impressions, but low clicks, try rewriting your title and/or meta description. Play around with a different phrasing to see if you can “hook” people in better, and convince them to click as soon as they come across your post. Be sure to read these 10 tips for writing better blog post titles before you start!

12. Resubmit your URL to Google Search Console

Once you’ve published the new version of your blog post, you need to let Google know that it’s gotten a little makeover! Resubmit your blog post URL to the Google Index via Google Search Console to tell Google that it’s worth taking a fresh look at your post; otherwise, it may take a while for Google to realize that you’ve got new info, updated SEO optimization, etc. and you might not see the benefits of it.

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See what I mean? The EASIEST way to start improving your blogging game and drive fresh traffic to your site is to give your old blogs a little boost!

Especially if you’ve written blogs that weren’t optimized for SEO, or that you’re just not happy with anymore—this is the perfect opportunity to keep your work consistent, provide your clients with up to date info, and show Google that your older blogs are still relevant. Win-win-win!

Once you’re done revamping your old blogs and have the time + energy to write new ones, you can steal my list of 12 easy blogs to write over the next 12 months. Happy blogging! 🎉