Stop Chasing New Ideas: The Case for Refreshing Old Content
Is more content always better? Not anymore.
I recently worked with a commercial roofing business that had been publishing new blog posts consistently for years. Eventually, their team hit a wall:
“We’re running out of things to talk about. What should we write about next?”
My response:
“You don’t need more new content. You need to refresh the content you already have.”
They already had a library of great posts, but many were outdated and beginning to lose rankings. As their SEO consultant, I shifted our strategy away from brainstorming new topics and toward identifying opportunities to refresh existing content.
After just a few months, the impact was clear:
Refreshed posts started climbing back up in search rankings
Some became top performers in driving organic traffic
The site saw stronger overall visibility with less effort
Refreshing existing content often works just as well, if not better, than creating something brand new. Why? Because saying the same thing five different ways across multiple posts doesn’t build authority the way one really strong resource does. New topics also don’t always align with the questions your audience is actually asking when you’re constantly reaching for something that hasn’t been said yet. By strengthening and updating posts that already exist, you provide deeper, more relevant answers to the questions that matter most — and that’s what moves the needle faster.
And the best part? Refreshing existing content saves time and resources while still delivering measurable results.
Tips for Refreshing Blog Content
If you’re short on time but want to get more from your content, here are four ways to refresh what you already have:
1. Update time-sensitive posts.
Posts like “Best Practices for 2022” or “Trends for 2023” lose value as soon as the year changes. Update them with current information, adjust the year in the headline and headers, and they can perform like brand-new posts.
2. Revisit situational content.
Many businesses published pandemic-related content in 2020–2021. If that content is no longer useful, either archive it to declutter your site or update it with a more relevant, present-day angle.
3. Strengthen thin content.
Short, surface-level posts rarely perform well. Add depth by answering common questions, including examples, or expanding on details to make the article a true resource for your audience.
4. Consolidate duplicate topics.
If you have several posts covering the same subject, merge them into one comprehensive article. Place it on the strongest URL (the post with the best performance) and archive the others. Google favors one strong resource over multiple weaker ones.
The Bottom Line
You don’t need to treat your blog like a diary of one-off ideas. Old content isn’t set in stone — it’s allowed to evolve.
Update posts from five years ago
Add new sections to existing content
Refresh, refine, and republish when needed
Your blog is part of your website, and just like any other page, it should stay current and valuable.
If you’re running out of things to say, don’t force yourself to keep creating from scratch. Sometimes the fastest path to results is already sitting in your content library.
