...you need better content.
Budgets are tight, staff is stretched. Instead of making new content, reinvest in what you've already got. Here's why and how.
That's not just me talking. Well-respected, data-informed content experts like Norma Gaffin and Andy Crestodina agree. As Andy has said and written many times, "You don’t need 1000 articles. You need 100 great articles." That's why they (and I and other savvy content consultants) have been investing in content refreshing for years.
It is, without a doubt, the best way to improve the ROI of content you already have and avoid sinking resources into assets you don't really need. Why?
You have data showing which topics were performing best (and which have the added benefit of having already been indexed by search engines). Those are our first targets. You can also resurface topics that are important to the brand or upcoming campaigns that have stagnated or declined. And the updates give you an opportunity to repromote the assets on socials and in newsletters and other outreach.
“When you create a new piece of content, search engines need to index it and getting rankings is a long game. By having refreshed content as a part of your content strategy, you’re starting at a baseline rather than at zero. With less effort and cost, you can likely boost up. And it gives readers who discover your refreshed content more current information."
Norma Gaffin, director of content marketing and communication for payment platform Payroc
How to update existing content
Back in the day when The Word Factory was one of the content agencies for Staples and Phillips Lifeline, about half our work for those accounts was updating what they already had in the CMS. Working with the internal lead, I developed a standard set of upgrades to zhuzh up posts and pages. As content strategy has evolved, I've updated the list, which now includes:
- Increase quality by with a focus on concision, clarity, word choice (especially verbs), sentence fluency and voice
- Removing outdated or problematic references and language
- Revising text to reflect current messaging
- Updating research and data
- Interviewing new internal and external experts for quotes and insights, citing underrepresented voices whenever possible
- Enhancing or creating lists, tables and infographics
- Improving, replacing or adding images with an emphasis on inclusivity and diversity; and tending to alt text and descriptions
- Upgrading search terms, tags, meta descriptions, excerpts and contextual links to new internal and external sources
- Addressing broken links
- Producing new social posts
This work does take care and time, but it's a reinvestment in something you already know works. To me, that's a smart financial and human resources move.
Bonus: It's an easy project to outsource. I'm not just saying that because I do this work! Handing this off to a trusted vendor or contractor frees up your team to manage tasks that require more internal interactions, deeper institutional knowledge, higher stakes or immediate delivery. If that's not an option, consider working with a strategist like me who can help you create a plan for rolling upgrades based on head count and marketing/corporate plans.
Read more in my super-big deep-dive on how to get more from existing content, complete with mini case studies and examples from big brands and small businesses.