This isn’t my usual style of blog post here on Blue Jay of Happiness, but every now and then I really like sharing tips about blogging. I know quite a few of you reading run your own blogs and I personally love reading these types of posts, so I thought - why not?
I wanted to tell you about something I did a couple of months ago when I had a run of plan-less weekends and well, got a little bored one Saturday.
Normally I keep the weekends work-free, but I felt inspired to open my laptop and do a job I had on my list for ages - update my top performing blogs.
This is something I do a lot in my day-job for the brands I work for, so I know the impact refreshing content has on SEO performance (SEO = search engine optimisation).
Doing just a few simple tweaks and updates to content that is already performing well can give it a boost SEO-wise, meaning it’ll be more likely to come up when people use search engines. It also means the content is in the best shape, making it more likely for visitors to stick around and explore the rest of your site.
After I updated my posts, I saw an increase in traffic pretty quickly and was honestly a little surprised at the impact it had. So I thought I would tell you what I did, in case you too find yourself with some time on your hands and some content you want to boost.
1. Read through and edit content
Read through the blog post and check you’re still happy with the content that’s there. Check for typos you may have missed at the time, tweak the style of writing if you’re not happy with it (our writing evolves with us over time) and ensure it’s as evergreen as possible.
When I say evergreen, I mean not timely. So if you started the post with a reference to something that happened at that specific time or something seasonal for example, and the reference isn’t necessary for the post to make sense - take it out. This makes it relevant whenever anyone comes across the post.
2. Refresh the format
Once you’re happy with the wording, take a look at how it’s formatted. Have you changed style since first writing the post? For example, I’ve changed the way I use H2s, dividers and quotation boxes here, so I updated these on old posts.
I would also recommend checking the content is nicely broken up. Long paragraphs can be intimidating, so if you haven’t already, break up your paragraphs, add subheadings and include imagery to give the reader mini-breaks.
3. Add new links
Chances are, since you first wrote the post you’re editing, you’ve written more content that could relate to it. Go through and see if there are any opportunities to link to other content you’ve written or even external resources and check all of your current links in the post are working.
Links to your content helps readers stay on your site and learn more about what you have to offer, and relevant links to external sources helps you be seen as trustworthy and helpful.
4. Update images
Some of the images I used in my early blogging days here on Blue Jay of Happiness were… not my best. We all learn and develop skills in this area, so if you find a post that has imagery you’re no longer happy with, remove old images and add in new ones.
The aim is for you to look at this blog post and feel proud of it. It’s already being discovered by people, so, aim to put your best foot forward.
5. Add/update pinnable image
I didn’t add pinnable images to my blogs when I first started Blue Jay of Happiness, so when I came across a top performing blog without a pinnable image, I made one, added it and pinned it! A simple thing that can make a big difference to your traffic.
If you already have a pinnable image, you could create a new one for that post and pin again to get it back on Pinterest’s radar.
(If you’re looking for more Pinterest tips, I would recommend checking out Trona’s content at Aye Lined and her Pinterest coaching services - I love her Pin Pals newsletter).
And there we have it - a few steps you can take to give your most popular blog posts a little extra boost. I hope it was helpful and do let me know if you try this and whether or not it makes a difference.
I know there are plenty of other tips and tricks you can do to boost your SEO, but these are some relatively easy ones you can do when you don’t have an ocean of time to dedicate to it.
And if you’re finding that you’re struggling when it comes to blogging and you think a lack of self-belief could be to blame, take a look at my coaching page and get in touch if you’d like some support - I’ve been blogging for 11 years and know the ups and downs that can come with it.
I’ll be back on Wednesday with a podcast about the brain’s negativity bias and then on Sunday there’ll be a blog about the impact cutting back on caffeine had on my anxiety. Until then, take care.
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The advice on updating images is great stuff indeed. I had great results with it in the past.