Keeping Content Fresh, Even When You’ve No Time Left to Write

One of the things we hear all the time from our clients is, “I’d love to start blogging and writing more.”

Hey – I get it.

As a writer, I totally understand how it feels when you complete a project that you’ve put a lot of work into. You do all that research and find all the right stats, and you make a solid argument. It’s cathartic.

It’s also time consuming, which is why legal marketing companies exist. Content is king, after all.

But when you’re working with multiple clients, building social media strategies, redesigning old sites, making sure all sites are mobile-friendly, updating profiles, building links… it’s a lot.

So instead of writing new content just to write it, you can refresh older pages and blogs that have thoughtful, detailed content. If your metrics say that certain pieces still have value, even a few years after you’ve published them, then that’s where you can start.

How to refresh old content to give it more value

Now that you’ve identified which pages or blogs you should update, it’s time to start refreshing them. But what does that mean? And what do you do? Here are 6 steps you can take to make old content new again:

1. Check your links. Broken links are killers. Make sure every link on the page still works, or hasn’t been redirected to a new, unrelated page. If you see a 404 message, get yourself a new link immediately.
2. Update your stats. It’s 2018. If you’re citing statistics from 2002, then it’s time to revise your numbers. If we’re writing a blog about, say, auto recalls, then we can use 2017 numbers. If we’re looking at something like highway fatalities, we might need to go back to 2016 to get complete data. As a general rule, we won’t go back more than 5 years, but we aim for the most recent data available.
3. Review your headers. Your older content could have outdated keywords. Today’s searchers are using voice recognition and mobile more than ever. Changing your titles and headers to reflect the questions they ask could give you a nice boost.
4. Add in relevant information. Let’s say you have a 2015 piece on upcoming legislation that’s lounging around. You might notice a spike in that piece if that legislation has finally passed, or if the topic is back in your local news – but if your piece doesn’t reflect the changes, the bounce rate will be higher. Updating the relevant information not only brings your content back to the forefront; it’ll keep people reading, to see what’s happening now.
5. Add in pictures, video or infographics. Readers respond to visual stimulation. Adding in short videos to landing pages, or an infographic to a blog, does two things: it gives readers a break from reading, and it adds relevancy to the content. You don’t want to sacrifice load time to 10 videos on a page (which, frankly, no one wants to see, anyway), but a strategically placed video or graphic can make your page more interesting.
6. Review your language choices. Our clients are professionals, and their sites should reflect that – but not at the expense of reader interest. Make sure the language used fits the persona, and allows readers to understand what it is clients are trying to say.

Refreshing old content to make it new will still take time, but it’s faster than writing the same page in a new way. If you have content that’s up-to-date and making headlines, leave it be. But if you find old pieces that need some new life, a refresh could not only help you, but save you some precious minutes, too.

Ready for a change? Digital Law Marketing, Inc. is ready to help

At DLM, your best interests are our best interests. If you’re ready to see results for your web marketing, we’re ready to dive in. To find out more about our services, or to schedule a meeting with a member of our team, please call 877-916-0644, or fill out our contact form.