Once you have a large collection of posts on your blog you are inevitably going have a lot of posts which do not rank that well and are essentially sitting collecting dust, as it were. This does not matter that much to be fair but there are a few problems which can arise from this as a result, as a blogger you do need to keep this in mind.

Problems With Older Posts

One of the biggest problems is that the posts become inaccurate and outdated. This will always be the case but even if a post you have buried in your archives gets the occasional view from your readers then it serves you well to update them with accurate information.

The last thing you want is for your readers to act on advice, which you gave in your obsolete blog post, thinking that it is up to date and relevant when in fact it is five years old and totally irrelevant in today’s world.

I believe it is our responsibility as bloggers to try and go back once in a while to make sure all our information is current and relevant. This is something which gets harder as your article collection grows, and grows but it’s something you need to tackle head on.

Google Loves Updated Posts

There is also an SEO benefit to updating your old blog posts. Google loves it! In a world where fresh content is king, it would do you good to update your posts in order to re-juice your rankings for any particular blog post.

Imagine if you have a post that is ranking at the bottom of page one, always has and it has never really moved from that location. Why not update it and see if there is a reaction in the SERPS. I bet you any money that Google will reward you for your efforts.

If you have and old product review, go back and update it with fresh and up to date information.

Be One Step Ahead Of The Competition

This one may not be so obvious but every single product or service evolves over time. A review you wrote about a certain Internet Marketing software may have undergone a drastic redesign and not many people have noticed.

If you stay one step ahead and become one of the first people to rewrite your review to keep your post updated then this will drastically increase you ranking within the search engines! Guaranteed!

If I were you , I would definitely go back and check out some of my old reviews to see if any of them needs a touch up – this could make the difference between getting 100 per clicks per month and getting 10,000!

There is a great article on Niche Hacks about reviving old posts as well.

Your Attitude Changes With Time

Another great aspect of revisiting old posts is the fact that your opinions and experience changes. As you gain more experience within your niche and your get a bit older, and wiser, your approach to your old post may change.

You may look at something you wrote two years ago and think – “This is not the message I want to portray at all!” – and this will enable you to rewrite it to a more fitting context.

The tone and drive of your whole blog might have changed in the time since you published the post. This is yet another reason to go back and read your old work!

The Best Time To Do It?

I find the best time to edit your old posts is when you get a touch of the old writers block. You know those days when you feel a bit uninspired and a bit restless. I used to find myself on YouTube or Facebook wasting time, now I go back and rewrite older posts.

This also helps a lot to de-clutter my thinking space and it often breeds new idea for follow up blog posts or a new angle on an old idea. These ideas come from my older posts when I reread them and this really inspires me!

All In All

Go back and update your old blog posts. There really is no sensible reason why you should not do it. I know it may seem like a bit of a drag and you may not be bothered but if you want to increase traffic to your site, then do it!

Not only that but you will please your readers and build your authority, not to mention improve your user experience on your website.

Think about it this way – if you read a blog post and you realized it was outdated and a bit crap, would you believe any of the other content that was written on the blog or website? Probably not. Don’t let that happen to you too!