3 Ways to Improve Your Content Metrics by Updating Your Blog

There’s nothing more satisfying than writing a great new blog piece and seeing an immediate bump in your success metrics. 

Followers share the article on their feed, and you like and respond to their comments. You see an increase in page sessions not only on the new article but on the related pieces you link to internally. Fresh leads roll in because more people download a content upgrade included on the blog.

But then a week passes and your metrics plateau — in some cases, they even decrease.  

It can be tempting to say, “Oh, well. That’s all I can get out of that piece of content.” However, nothing can be further from the truth. By making strategic updates to your older content, you can see a consistent improvement in your metrics, ensuring you get the most out of every piece you create.

Here are three simple ways to update your old blog pieces and see a bump in meaningful results:

1. Update Stats for Increased Social Media Engagement

Right now is one of the hottest times for research-based content. As big data and machine learning become more integrated with our lives, so do the resulting trends and statistics. No matter what your industry, new surveys and reports pop up every day to help you — and by extension, your customers — make more informed decisions.

And readers love a good stat. Whether they see it in a headline or a nifty graphic, a relevant statistic will grab their attention. 

But as research is created at a higher volume, it also becomes outdated more quickly. By regularly going through your older content and updating the stats, you can give it new life. In addition to changing the copy, use new data and research to earn a second wave of social shares on your content. Try the following:

• Creating new images and graphs to share on social media.
• Rewrite Click-to-Tweets so readers can share up-to-date stats from your blog.
• Take social media polls comparing the old and new stats to see what followers think of the trends.

2. Rethink Intros for Longer Session Durations

You only get one chance to make a first impression. 

Personally, this is a cliche I loath, but without going on a tangent, I’ll just say because it’s not an absolute with content marketing.

Yes, if your introduction doesn’t resonate with a reader, they will quickly leave the page before giving the meat of the content a chance. But that doesn’t mean you can’t have a redo. If you notice certain older pieces have shorter session lengths or higher bounce rates, try a new intro.

Rethink the hook you use or try leading with a story instead of a general overview of the piece. Get creative and look for signs that a different format is working to improve overall dwell time. You’ll see trends in what draws your readers in so you can rework other intros on your blog and write better ones the first time in the future. 

3. Move CTAs for More Conversions

There’s a psychology behind Calls to Action. The verbiage has to be spot on, the ask has to be clear, and the pay off to the reader needs to be valuable. But don’t forget about the placement of your CTAs as well.

Most marketers think the best place for a CTA is at the end of an article. You’ve wrapped up your case, so logically, when else will the reader be more primed to take action?

The truth is, in many cases, you’ve convinced your reader much sooner than you’ve realized. Depending on what you’re asking, it could make more sense to put your CTA in the middle or even the intro of a piece.

The key is identifying in which part of the content you have the highest level of authority and the copy has the most valuable solution for the reader. This is when you have the most leverage to ask for something. 

Re-read your older content and look for new places to include CTAs. These are all good signs of where a CTA can be more successful:

• Chances to learn more. Sometimes a piece of content isn’t designed to go into more detail on a specific topic. But if you have an in-depth, related piece of gated content, include a “Learn more” link to drive their interest to your landing page.

• Clear-cut better solutions. With organic traffic, most visitors are looking for better options. They want to save money, time, or energy. The moment you can show your business can give them that, include a CTA.

Just because a piece of content is old doesn’t mean it can’t still help you reach your content marketing goals. By knowing how to refurbish your blog content, you can get a fresh wave of social engagement, increase the amount of time people spend on your site, and improve your conversion rate. It just takes a little time and willingness to try new strategies with your content.