As a website operator, you cannot avoid regular, high-quality content if you want to rank among the top places in Google’s search results.
In order to be at the forefront in the long term, content management must be understood as a continuous process. For most, the solution lies in creating masses of new content for blogs and websites and constantly publishing freshly written texts that soon sink into the nirvana of the subpages.
If you consider the time, effort and cost factors, the question quickly arises as to whether it makes sense to feed your website to this extent or whether there is an easier way.
WHAT DOES CONTENT RECYCLING MEAN?
The best way to explain the term content recycling is with the definition of recycling itself. Recycling is always about reprocessing used material and then reusing it in a way that creates a new product that is useful again.
Content recycling creates new content from existing content. True to the recycling motto “Make new from old”. Considering the work that goes into high-quality text, content recycling is a logical step, as it allows you to fully utilize the resources you already have.
Using, updating, expanding and redistributing old content not only pleases the readers, who receive real added value, but also sends positive signals to Google itself. If the search engine loves one thing, then it is up-to-date content.
Anyone who runs a blog has usually specialized in a core topic corresponding to the website. If a visitor now reads an article, there are certainly numerous other helpful articles that can hardly be found in the masses of the archive.
Another advantage of content recycling is that you can not only present current content to users but also give them the opportunity to receive additional added value with internal links. This ensures a positive impression, creates trust and increases the length of stay.
HOW DO YOU START CONTENT RECYCLING?
First and foremost is the question of which content should be recycled. This is especially important if you have a lot of content. Analyzes your blog and take a close look at the articles.
The focus is primarily on the most popular blog posts. Web analysis tools such as Google Analytics provide information about the traffic. The internal programs usually also have a view counter. Other clues can be social media or the comments and discussions under the blog posts themselves.
Create a clear report on the blog articles that are suitable for recycling content and analyze the appropriate keywords at the same time.
WHAT DOES CONTENT RECYCLING REQUIRE?
What the optimization looks like depends entirely on the goal. Existing content for social media can be reworked or restructured and filled with suitable links. It is also advisable to incorporate relevant keywords for good rankings on Google. Of course, always on the premise that the text remains legible.
Efficient recycling is reflected in the possibility of bringing old content into a new form. A blog post becomes a newsletter or a press release becomes a blog article. Merging existing content is just as effective.
Of course, it is important to ensure that these complement each other thematically. If it turns out that the combination would result in excessive content, this can also be in the form of an e-book and made available to visitors as a free download.
The advantage of this approach is that high-quality leads can be collected at the same time and further qualified via e-mail marketing.
An alternative possibility is to extend the content in the course of content recycling. This can be in the form of text, but also with visual content such as images, graphics or videos. After the analysis, you develop an efficient strategy as to how old content can be processed most effectively.
Ultimately, it depends on the topic and how it behaves in relation to the topicality. One tip is to provide evergreen content. This keeps your blog posts up to date.
WHAT SHOULD YOU AVOID WHEN RECYCLING CONTENT?
Content recycling should not be a quick fix, but, like all marketing measures, requires a strategic approach. It’s about increasing the quality and not simply profanely providing longer texts. A mix of proven measures and methods must be designed individually for the individual content in content recycling.
It is just as important to pay attention to the URL when recycling content. If this already ranks on Google for certain keywords, it would be fatal to change it, since the content would no longer be found under the old address. In this way, you either create a redirect or adapt the content under the old website.
It should not be forgotten to communicate the topicality of content recycling. To do this, you put a new date next to the old one or refer to the update at the beginning of the text.
PROMOTION AFTER CONTENT RECYCLING
Now that you have recycled a post, it is of course important that as many users as possible are made aware of it.
An important part of a search heroes marketing plan for content recycling is the promotion of the new content.
Posts on social media are suitable for this, but also direct advertising via Google Ads or Facebook Ads. Make sure to adapt the content according to the platform and target group.
