Content creation and optimization have become essential for businesses looking to establish a strong online presence, attract potential customers, and drive growth. With the vast amount of online information, companies must create engaging and relevant content that stands out. 

When it comes to content marketing, businesses often face the dilemma of updating their existing content or creating new content from scratch. Both strategies have their merits and can impact your SEO performance differently.

This blog post will explore the pros and cons of creating new content versus updating existing content, providing a comprehensive understanding of each approach. By weighing the benefits and challenges of each strategy, you can make an informed decision that aligns with your goals and resources, ultimately enhancing your content marketing efforts and driving success in the digital landscape.

TL;DR

• Creating new content allows you to identify emerging trends, expand your content library, attract new visitors, and showcase your expertise. However, it requires significant time and resources.
• Updating existing content can improve performance, ensure relevance, capitalize on SEO value, and reach new audiences through repurposing. It’s generally more cost-effective than creating new content.
• Key factors to consider when deciding between new content and updates include your content goals, target audience preferences, available resources, and current content performance.
• Striking a balance between new content creation and content updates is often the most effective approach, allowing you to maximize the impact and efficiency of your content marketing efforts.
• Regularly assess your content strategy, consider the insights provided in this blog post, and reach out to digital marketing experts for further guidance on optimizing your content creation and updating processes.

Benefits of Content Marketing When You Create New Content Versus Updating Existing Content

When I started my first business, TreBrand, 10+ years ago, one of the reasons it was successful was content marketing. In fact, despite having not updated the website in a long time, many of the content pieces still drive lots of people to the website. In a nutshell, engaging and helpful content can propel your business for years to come.

Before jumping into the tactics, let me share some of the benefits of content marketing.

SEO Rankings

Updating Old Content: Refreshing existing content can positively impact your SEO rankings. It signals to search engines that your content is up-to-date and relevant, leading to improved visibility and higher rankings.

Creating New Content: Writing new content allows you to target fresh keywords and topics, potentially capturing new search queries and expanding your website’s SEO footprint. However, new content from low-authority websites may take time to index and rank.

Backlink Opportunities

Updating Old Content: Refreshing old content creates an opportunity to improve and expand your backlink profile. Updating outdated information or adding new insights can attract attention from other websites or bloggers who may find the updated content valuable.

Creating New Content: Producing high-quality, informative content that fills knowledge gaps can increase the chances of other websites linking to your content as a valuable resource.

Resource Allocation

Updating Old Content: Updating existing content generally requires fewer resources, as the core content structure and framework already exist. The focus is revising outdated information, optimizing for SEO, and improving readability.

Creating New Content: Writing new content involves a more extensive resource allocation, including brainstorming ideas, conducting research, writing, editing, and promoting the content. This process typically requires more time and effort.

When to Create New Content

Creating new content can be a powerful strategy for businesses looking to stay ahead of the curve and engage their target audience. By identifying new trends, topics, or pain points your audience is interested in, you can provide valuable information that sets you apart from your competitors. This approach allows you to expand your content library, covering a wider range of relevant subjects and increasing your chances of ranking for more keywords in search engine results.

Fresh, engaging content can attract new visitors and potential customers to your website. When you consistently publish high-quality, informative articles, videos, or infographics, you demonstrate your commitment to providing valuable content to your audience. This can lead to increased brand awareness, improved customer loyalty, and more conversions.

Moreover, creating new content is an excellent way to showcase your expertise and thought leadership in your industry. You establish yourself as a trusted authority in your field by sharing your unique insights, experiences, and solutions to common problems. This positioning can lead to increased credibility, enhanced reputation, and more opportunities for collaboration and partnerships, especially if you are trying to optimize your e-commerce content.

However, it’s important to note that creating new content requires significant time, resources, and effort. You must carefully plan your content strategy, conduct thorough research, and ensure your new content aligns with your overall marketing goals and target audience preferences.

When to Update Existing Content

While creating new content can be an effective strategy, updating and optimizing your existing content can also yield significant benefits for your business. One of the primary advantages of updating existing content is improving the performance of your top-performing pieces. By analyzing your content’s metrics, such as page views, engagement, and conversion rates, you can identify the content that resonates most with your audience and make targeted improvements to enhance its effectiveness.

As trends, technologies, and customer preferences evolve, ensuring that your content remains accurate, valuable, and aligned with your audience’s current needs is essential. By regularly reviewing and refreshing your existing content, you can maintain its relevance and continue to provide your audience with the information they seek.

Another key benefit of updating existing content is the ability to capitalize on its search engine optimization (SEO) value. Your top-performing content has likely already built up authority and visibility in search engine results, which can be further leveraged by making strategic updates and optimizations. This approach can help you maintain or improve your content’s ranking, driving more organic traffic to your website.

Side note: I’ve provided a few specific examples from real clients of how we’ve boosted organic search traffic in our latest webinar. Check it out.

Additionally, repurposing and refreshing your existing content can be an efficient way to reach new audiences. By adapting your content into different formats, such as videos, infographics, or social media posts, you can expand the reach and visibility of your messaging, engaging both your existing and potential customers.

While updating existing content may require less time and resources compared to creating new content, it’s essential to approach it with the same level of care and attention. Businesses must carefully analyze their content performance, identify areas for improvement, and implement strategic updates to ensure their content remains relevant and impactful.

Factors to Consider When Deciding whether to Create New Content or Update Existing Content

When deciding whether to create new content or update existing content, businesses must carefully consider several key factors that will shape their content strategy and ensure its effectiveness. One of the most important factors to consider is your content goals. 

Are you primarily focused on lead generation, brand awareness, customer education, or a combination of these objectives? Your content goals will directly impact the type of content you create or update and the metrics you use to measure success.

Another crucial factor to consider is your target audience’s preferences and behaviour. 

Understanding your audience’s pain points, interests, and content consumption habits is essential for creating or updating content that resonates with them. Analyze your audience data, conduct surveys, and gather feedback to gain insights into their preferences and tailor your content accordingly.

The availability of resources, including time, budget, and content creation capabilities, is also a significant factor. Creating new content from scratch can be resource-intensive, requiring dedicated time, budget, and skilled content creators. Updating existing content may be more cost-effective and time-efficient, but it requires careful planning and execution. You must assess and allocate your resources strategically to achieve your content goals.

Finally, the performance and relevance of your existing content are crucial factors to consider when deciding whether to create new content or update existing content. Analyze your content’s metrics, such as page views, engagement, and conversion rates, to identify your top-performing pieces and areas for improvement. Additionally, assess the relevance and accuracy of your existing content in light of current trends, industry developments, and customer needs.

Balancing the Strategies

Ultimately, the best approach is to balance updating old content and creating new content. Refreshing your existing content can provide quick SEO wins while creating new content can help you expand your reach and attract new audiences. By combining both strategies, you can optimize your content for search engines and deliver value to your audience.

Remember, when updating old content, focus on improving the relevance, accuracy, and user experience. When creating new content, ensure it is high-quality, informative, and addresses the needs of your target audience. Regularly monitor your content performance and adjust your strategy accordingly.

80/20 Principle for Content Production

We like to use the 80/20 rule as a guideline. If you’re a new business or you’ve just launched a new website, then 80 percent of your work should be creating new content. You want to get a good base of performance before looking to optimize. 

Once you have a strong base of content, you can flip the numbers update 80% of the existing content and create 20% new content.

Of course, this is a rough guideline, so be sure to relate it to your strategy, goals, and current performance.

Frequently Asked Questions about Content Marketing

Repurposing Content

What are some effective ways to repurpose existing content?

Some effective ways to repurpose existing content include turning blog posts into videos or podcasts, creating social media graphics or infographics, and adapting long-form content into a series of shorter, more digestible pieces. Repurposing content allows you to maximize the value of your existing assets and reach new audiences.

How can I determine which content is best suited for repurposing?

Look for your top-performing content pieces that have resonated well with your audience. Content that has generated high engagement, traffic, or conversions is often a good candidate for repurposing. Consider repurposing content that covers evergreen topics or provides timeless value to your audience.

Content Auditing

Why is it important to regularly audit my content?

Regularly auditing your content is crucial to ensure it remains relevant, accurate, and aligned with your business goals. A content audit allows you to identify underperforming content, outdated information, and opportunities for optimization or repurposing.

What are the key steps in conducting a content audit?

The key steps in a content audit include: 1) Gathering and organizing your content inventory, 2) Analyzing content performance metrics, 3) Assessing content quality and relevance, 4) Identifying content gaps or redundancies, and 5) Developing a plan to optimize or retire underperforming content.

Content Optimization

How can I optimize my existing content for better search engine visibility?

Some effective content optimization techniques include conducting keyword research, incorporating relevant keywords into your content, optimizing page titles and meta descriptions, improving content structure and readability, and building internal and external links. Regularly updating your content with fresh information and optimizations can also help boost its search engine rankings.

Final Thoughts on Creating New Content Versus Updating Existing Content

In this blog post, we’ve explored the pros and cons of creating new content versus updating existing content, providing a comprehensive understanding of each approach. We’ve discussed the benefits of creating new content, such as identifying new trends, expanding your content library, attracting new visitors, and showcasing your expertise. We’ve also highlighted the advantages of updating existing content, including improving performance, ensuring relevance, capitalizing on SEO value, and repurposing content for new audiences.

Ultimately, the decision to create new content or update existing content should be based on carefully considering your content goals, target audience preferences, available resources, and current content performance. By striking the right balance between these two strategies, businesses can maximize the impact and effectiveness of their content marketing efforts.

If you need help with the best approach for your business, we encourage you to assess your content strategy and consider the insights provided in this blog post. Our team of digital marketing experts is here to provide further guidance and support, helping you develop a content plan that drives engagement, boosts visibility, and delivers tangible results. Contact us today to learn more about our comprehensive digital marketing services and how we can help you navigate the content creation and optimization landscape.