How often are you guys updating old content VS just publishing new stuff?

SumbalLinkBuilder

SumbalLinkBuilder

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Curious what the actual split looks like for ppl getting good results- like do you spend more time refreshing old posts ,
or is it better to just keep pushing new content out.
Feels like updating old stuff gets less attention but seen some ppl say it moved the needle more than new posts did.
What's actually working for you guys right now...
 
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A few times a year. Especially changing 2025 to 2026 and so on around January.
 
SumbalLinkBuilder said:
Curious what the actual split looks like for ppl getting good results- like do you spend more time refreshing old posts ,
or is it better to just keep pushing new content out.
Feels like updating old stuff gets less attention but seen some ppl say it moved the needle more than new posts did.
What's actually working for you guys right now...
Click to expand...
I think updating old posts works better for me.
New content is good too, but old posts can bring better results.
 
there's no fix formula. but keeping your content updated with right intent and interlinks will always get you better results. but you should also post new content if that content are providing some real value to your audience.
 
In my experience updating existing posts tends to deliver better results. Publishing new content is still important for growth

but improving older posts can often generate stronger results
 
Rarely update old content, does it really work that well? Update how, change/add to the text, or just change the "date of publishing"
 
refreshing old content that’s already got some traction is higher ROI than most people give it credit for. that said new content is still necessary for expanding topical coverage and capturing kws you’re not targeting yet.
 
At least once a year sometimes more, it depends on what the site is actually about.

Some niche sites of ours then we’ll sometimes do “seasonal updates”..

..for example coming into the start/end of summer and in the new year, lots of people search with seasonal intent “the best summer xyz” “the biggest xyz for the new year” - with specific niches (especially commercially intent ones) this just makes sense and is a very easy game changer with minimal effort to get it going, I’m sure you’ll get the idea.
 
@SmTasker just changing the date doesnt really cut it anymore, google is getting smarter about spotting fake updates. what actually works is opening gsc, finding pages that sit on page 2 for decent keywords, and adding those specific terms into the text. rewrite the intro a bit, maybe add a quick FAQ section to target some long tails, and then change the date and request indexing. it is way faster to push a page from position 12 to position 4 than it is to rank a brand new post from scratch. i usually do like a 70/30 split favoring updates if the site already has decent authority.
 
I usually do a mix of both but I tend to spend more time updating older posts that already get some traffic in my experience improving those can some times bring better results than constantly starting new posts form scratch.
 
uild topic clusters by updating related old posts and add new articles only when there is a topic or information missing.
 
I will suggest to update old contents which already has good impressions and ranking positions rather than only creating new content. Don't think I am asking to forgot about adding new contents in your website.
You should also add new contents but put more effort on updating the old contents. But keep in mind that don't waste your time on updating the old pages which has nearly no values like no impressions and no rankings. It's almost waste of time since we are not going to get anything from it. So my conclusion is BOTH are important but updating old content is more important than adding new content.
 
Voxlane said:
@SmTasker just changing the date doesnt really cut it anymore, google is getting smarter about spotting fake updates. what actually works is opening gsc, finding pages that sit on page 2 for decent keywords, and adding those specific terms into the text. rewrite the intro a bit, maybe add a quick FAQ section to target some long tails, and then change the date and request indexing. it is way faster to push a page from position 12 to position 4 than it is to rank a brand new post from scratch. i usually do like a 70/30 split favoring updates if the site already has decent authority.
Click to expand...

thanks for the advice, sounds quite interesting, I will definitely give it a try!
 
New content gives the algorithm fresh data to work with. Old posts can be updated, but their initial performance often sets the ceiling for how much they can improve over time.
 
For any site over a year old, I run roughly a 60/40 split favoring content refreshes, pushing decayed page 2 articles back into the top 3 gives a vastly better ROI than waiting months for fresh posts to gain traction.

Pushing new content is still crucial for expanding your topical coverage, but updating pages that already have baseline trust and link equity is almost always where the easiest traffic gains are sitting.
 
SumbalLinkBuilder said:
Curious what the actual split looks like for ppl getting good results- like do you spend more time refreshing old posts ,
or is it better to just keep pushing new content out.
Feels like updating old stuff gets less attention but seen some ppl say it moved the needle more than new posts did.
What's actually working for you guys right now...
Click to expand...
I has gotten better results from up dating pages that were already getting traffic but are just out of the top ranks.
Creating new content is important but in my opinion, it is better to optimises 5 good pages than to create 20 more without even knowing.
 
SumbalLinkBuilder said:
Curious what the actual split looks like for ppl getting good results- like do you spend more time refreshing old posts ,
or is it better to just keep pushing new content out.
Feels like updating old stuff gets less attention but seen some ppl say it moved the needle more than new posts did.
What's actually working for you guys right now...
Click to expand...
I'm generally at a 60/40 ratio for updating old posts, especially if there are already impresions on them. I think that new content is valuable but old posts with some authority might be more effective imo.
 
I’ve seen old posts move the needle more than expected, Especially when they already have backlink's and some rankings. I usually refresh those first, then publish new content around gaps I still need to cover.
 
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