Historical optimization is the practice of updating and reposting old blog content. Yes, it is a technical word for something pretty simple, but there are some details you need to know to do it right. Why is this a great thing to do with your website blog? Let’s discuss.
Historical Optimization How-To
As mentioned earlier, historical optimization is a little more than simply reposting blog content. The keys are to choose the right content to optimize and then update it for a fresh read.
Begin by reviewing your website statistics and choosing a blog that is at least 6–12 months old. Older blogs perform even better, especially if they are more than 1–2 years old. Choose a blog that also had decent traffic at its first publishing.
Another thing to consider is the current monthly search volume for the keywords in that post. (at least 1000 monthly searches for that keyword are recommended.) Are people still searching for the information that the post provides? If so, it is a good candidate for historical optimization.
Once you have identified the blog you would like to use, then it is time for a little updating. Is there a statistic that could be updated with new data? Have you learned something new since you first wrote it that would offer new insight? Is there a graphic that could be added or updated? Look over the content and update for accuracy, freshness, and comprehensiveness.
Be sure to optimize the content for on-page SEO if you did not do so in the first round. Then add a disclaimer at the bottom that says something along the lines of “This post was originally published on DATE and was updated with SHARE A GENERAL UPDATE OF THE CHANGES YOU MADE.”
Once all of the updates are made, you are ready to re-publish your post. Don’t just hit “update post” though, be sure to change to the current date. Voila! You have completed historical optimization!
How is Historical Optimization Helpful for Search Engine Optimization?
Search engines reward fresh content. One of the best things you can do for search engine optimization is to keep your website up to date with a steady stream of fresh content. One way we do this is through consistent blog posting.
Search engines like to see that you are still active in maintaining your website and will encourage that by showing your site higher in search results. (To clarify: that is one of several factors search engines consider when ranking but it is a substantial one.) Historical optimization even though you are updating previously shared information counts as “fresh” content. It should also lighten your workload a little bit since you are not creating a new post completely from scratch.
You are building off posts that already have site authority. One of the reasons that we recommend choosing a site that had a decent amount of traffic with its initial publishing is because that page has built up authority or in other words, credibility with search engines. It was most likely linked to by others which gives the page more authority.
Search engines prefer to show pages with strong authority in search results. They like to know your content is well respected in the online community. How do they judge that? By the number of other sites that have linked to your page. By updating and sharing a page that already had some authority, you are boosting that authority even more in the second round.
More incoming traffic. The historically optimized content should bring a surge of new visits which will lead to more links and social shares. These are both key factors to your search engine ranking.
Another Tool in Your SEO Tool Belt
Historical optimization is a great tool to have in your toolbelt for SEO. Take note though, that it is not your ONLY tool. Don’t focus solely on updating previous content, but historically optimizing one post a month can save a decent amount of time when planning your SEO strategy. To learn how to get the most out of search engine optimization for your website, visit our blog post Dogwood’s Guide to SEO.
Dogwood specializes in implementing SEO strategies for many of our clients and we would love to help you optimize your website. We succeed when you succeed. Reach out to us today and let’s start a conversation!
