12 Best Tricks to Get More Eyeballs on Your Old Posts

By: | June 16, 2015 | Tags: , , , , , |
Get new #blog traffic to old blog posts.

By reusing your old blog posts, you can get new traffic without writing more.

How often do you blog?

Three times a month?  Three times a day?

You have put great time and effort into those posts.  A post done right takes hours.

A commenter recently wrote and said that you can never get time back.

That may be true, but you can extend the time you spent researching, writing, and promoting your posts if you repurpose them.

For example, if it takes you two hours to write one post, and you are able to bring that post back again and again in order to get new audiences to read it, the value of that same two hours will have been increased.

This post will explain how to extend the life of each post you write.

Repurpose means you are going to find other purposes for your posts.  You are going to take a piece of content and change it so that it can get new audiences.

“Reduce, reuse, recycle” is an expression that normally relates to the environment.  You are going to reduce the time you spent blogging by getting extra value to those hours. You are going to reuse your old posts by recycling them.

In blogging lingo we talk about Return on Time Invested (ROI).  This post will show you how to maximize the amount of time you invested in a post by using it again for a different purpose.

Tweet: You can easily get new #blog traffic to old posts. http://ctt.ec/07Tk2+

Tweet: You can easily get new #blog traffic to old posts. http://ctt.ec/07Tk2+

How to Get New Value to Old Posts

1. Add a new picture.

A link to a pin of mine broke.  I fixed the link and put the corrected graphic back into Pinterest.  Within minutes, my old graphic had many new repins on Pinterest, and a percentage of those clicked my article and read it.

Infographics count as pictures too.  They are “graphics” after all.  I always post my infographics on Pinterest first since they get they get the most attention.  If you didn’t have an infographic accompany your post when you originally published it, include one now. Your post will get new attention when your new infographic is greeted by the Pinterest crowd.

2. Link back to your old posts.

I do this so often, readers write asking how it’s done.  I think my maximum is ten links back to old posts. Concerned, I Googled how many back links are okay if we don’t want our SEO ranking to fall.  The answer was 100!

I wrote a guest post about technology, so I backlinked to an old 2014 invention post I wrote.  Since the guest post was published, that old post has become my top receiver of page views.

Under my post, WordPress will put three related posts of mine.  However, I don’t want to count on that.  If I have written a post that gives more information about what I’m referencing in my current post, I seize the opportunity to get new traffic to that old post by linking back to it.

If you care about your SEO ranking, you need internal links back to your old posts.  I want increased blog traffic, and I want to enable Google to find me, so I link back to old posts.

Did you see what I did?  I have a post that gives more information about how to enable search engines to find your posts, so I linked back to it using the hyperlink.

See?  I did it again.

There are two ways to embed your old posts in the new post.

  • Link the context of your article back to an old post using the hyperlink which these examples show.
  • Embed the name of the article using the hyperlink.

For example, instead of writing “I want to enable Google to find me,” I could have written, “My post 7 Warning Signs That Google Can’t Find Youexplains the importance of backlinks.

I would advise using the first method.  The second is an obvious sign of self-promotion, and you don’t want to be considered a spammer.

3. Change the date and republish the post.

I have never done this.  However, I know of a blogger that republished an old post.  Since I followed his blog, I knew I had read it before.

If he had gained new blog followers since the post’s original publication, this would definitely be a way to get the eyes of his new audience on the post.

This is where you would go to change the date on an old post.

4. Embed a Tweet in an old post.

Click to Tweet will enable you to do this.

5. Rerelease with a new tip.

You could also rerelease an old post with an update.

6. Rerelease to a new Pinterest group board.

Many of those group boards each have thousands have members pinning to them.  That’s how many people will be able to see your graphic.  A good percentage of them will click the graphic, come to your site, and give you traffic.

7. Turn your blog posts into a book.

I plan on turning my posts into three books–beginning blogging, intermediate blogging, and advanced blogging.

8. Turn your book into a series of blog posts.

I have many followers that promote excerpts of their books in their blog posts.

9. Modify your posts and use them as guest blogs.

I have many posts about how to make infographics.  I combined my Canva post, my Easel.ly post, and my Piktochart post into one guest post for Basic Blog Tips.

In those guest posts, make sure you link back to related articles at your site.

10. Turn your post into a YouTube video.

Here is mine if you would like to see an example.

By taking a video with your smartphone, you can easily upload it to YouTube.

11. Put old post’s graphics on top of new group boards at Pinterest.

Go to PinGroupie to find group boards for your niche.

12. Promote old posts on new social media sites.

Just Retweet and Viral Content Buzz are great choices if you haven’t used them to promote the old post yet.  You don’t have to limit yourself to Facebook, Twitter, Google+, Pinterest, or LinkedIn.

**Bonus tip: 13. Have a Related Posts section.

I put mine at the bottom right under the call to action.

In closing, many bloggers erroneously think the only thing to do after publication is promote the post.  Don’t let all that effort fall by the wayside.  Repurpose your previous efforts, and let them get appreciated by new audiences.  This post contained thirteen ways for you to get new traffic without you having to write any additional articles.

Readers, if you think other bloggers can benefit from these how-to-recycle-your-posts tips, please share.

How do you repurpose your old posts?  Do you have any additional tips you use or can think of?  I look forward to your views.

Related Posts:

How to Build the Perfect Blog Even if You Don’t Know How

How to Write a Killer Blog Post

    • Janice Wald

      Hi Chris,
      Hi Chris,
      Sorry for my delay. I was reading your reblog of Andrew’s article and commenting on what he wrote.
      To answer your question: yes, I do agree your content lends itself to subsequent post updates. The link you sent me, for example, was a Part II of the previous post, Part I.
      Thanks for reading what I wrote and showing it is possible to get new life out of old posts.
      Janice

    • Janice Wald

      Andrew followed my blog! Thank you so much for reblogging his article.
      Janice

  1. Janice Wald

    Thanks for writing me Chris. Nice to hear from you. I will check out your link right now.
    Janice

  2. john doe

    This is a great idea. For people who spend hours and hours writing a blog, this method could save them 1/2 a day which would give them more time with their families and personal time for themselves. Great job as usual.

    • Janice Wald

      Thank you so much. Because you have old posts working to bring you traffic, you don’t have to blog as often.

  3. Pankaj Goyal

    I have also started using internal links back to old posts and it really helps.

    • Janice Wald

      Hi Pankaj,
      Both articles in the Related Posts section were reblogged and my readership grew. It really pays to link back. It literally pays with page views, traffic, we otherwise wouldn’t have. Nice to see you. Thanks for stopping by.
      Janice

  4. TheLastWord

    I’ve always used backlinks to other posts. A lot of my posts are memoirs so providing a context for the time in life is useful. Some are as series so providing previous-in-the-series links is a way to get people to read the story in the correct sequence. Notably, the No Passport? No Problem! series came out in 8 parts.

    I also do periodic reviews – the last year, the last 5 years etc where I refer back to older posts.

    I even tried posting links in comments I made in other people’s blogs, but thought it is slightly dishonest so stopped, unless it is really relevant to the discussion.

    One other thing I did: I categorized my posts and created a page for the big categories and on that page I provide links to all the posts in that category in the correct order. No excuses now for people not to read my posts!! 🙂 🙂

    • Janice Wald

      Hi Last Word,
      Thank you so much for these great ideas. The one I especially liked was your last–pages for the big posts with links. If I ever do a follow up post on repurposing old content, I will include this.
      As far as putting your links in comments, I am to understand it is inappropriate, tacky, spamming, and therefore frowned on. The exception, as you said, is if it is relevant to the discussion. Thanks again for all these great ideas and for writing me.
      Janice

    • Janice Wald

      Thank you so much for writing me. I’m glad you liked the article.
      Janice

  5. blondeusk

    I love your posts Janice – wish you were sat on my blogging shoulder as I blog – lol!!

  6. Pingback: 12 Best Tricks to Get More Eyeballs on Your Old Posts « Blog of Hammad Rais
    • Janice Wald

      Hi Samuel,
      How are you doing? Thank you so much for writing me, and your compliment on my article. Nice to see you.
      Janice

  7. Little Miss Menopause

    Really innovative stuff here! I’m glad I stumbled upon you from Women of Midlife! I betcha you did some killer things to old coffee cans and socks with holes in them when you were younger! 😉

    • Janice Wald

      Hi!
      Thanks for reading what I wrote and commenting. You sound really funny. No, actually, I didn’t start recyling until later in life LOL. I write “really innovative stuff” all the time here. I added you to my once-a-week mailing list, so you are always kept apprised. Nice meeting you.
      Janice

  8. Matija Zajšek

    HI there. Truly amazing post. although I’ve heard it not good to backlink to prvious posts only to fresher ones. What is your opinin about it specially from SEo point of view. Doesn’t it hurt seo rankings if one linkes to older posts that are no longer fresh and outdated. Regards, Matija

    • Janice Wald

      Hi,
      “Amazing”! Thank you so much for the kind words. I’m glad you enjoyed the post. In answer to your question, I have read a lot about SEO, yet I have not run across that information. My understand is that you need both internal links back to old posts and external links to other sites to help your SEO rankings. I have not heard it matters how old the links are. Thank you so much for writing me. How is Slovenia?
      Janice

  9. adrianscrazylife

    I’ve done this dozens of times. I’ve been blogging for 8 years, so I have TONS of great material molding away in my archives. I take it out, dust it off, and add new graphics to it (since I’ve now learned how to create Pinterest-friendly images!) and repost it.

    • Janice Wald

      Hi Adrian,
      Thanks for writing me. We both did well in SITS Girls Linky again this week.
      Thank you for writing and explaining that the idea to add new graphics to old posts helps a lot in getting traffic to old posts. I need to make time to do that more myself. Perhaps now that I’m out of school I can. Thanks for explaining how well that tip works.
      Janice

  10. momseesall

    These are so cool! I’m working like a mad woman trying to keep up with your suggestions!

    • Janice Wald

      Hi Nancy,
      You are so funny. That’s the beauty of the Internet, everything is saved for you when the time is convenient to read. Thank you for your kind words, and of course for your amazing blog post about my site. I will thank you formally and officially on your post. I will also link back to you on my About Me page.
      Janice

  11. Joan Stommen

    Thanks for these tips! I don’t use Pinterest as often as I should….needed this reminder how powerful it is! Also, I felt like recycling was just lazy cause I haven’t written much new lately……this gives me a needed boost!

    • Janice Wald

      Hi Joan,
      Thank you so much for reading what I wrote and writing me. I am glad you found the tips about using Pinterest helpful. I have tips like this all the time at my site. I added you to my once-a-week mailing list, so you are always kept apprised. By the way, recycling posts is not lazy. It is time-effective. =) Thanks again for commenting on my post.
      Janice

  12. D.G.Kaye

    Wow Janice, chock full of great ideas here. Again this is going in my bookmarked blog folder. Could you hurry up and write the book so I don’t have to keep folders, when everything will be neatly tied up in a book 🙂
    Loving the repurposing and linking to older posts ideas. 🙂
    Oh, and will be reblogging this soon.

    • Janice Wald

      You are so funny… And looking forward to that reblog! PS how much do Ebooks like that sell for?

  13. Smorgasbord - Variety is the Spice of Life.

    Reblogged this on Smorgasbord – Variety is the spice of life and commented:
    Janice Wald with more advice on blogging. One of the things to remember is that your posts when you first began perhaps reached a much smaller audience and that a year or so later that audience has grown extensively. I am in the process of updating and reposting health blogs from 18 months ago and it is very worthwhile. I have also turned one series into an Ebook and it gives you the opportunity to trial run the book and receive feedback. Do follow Janice and take advantage of her experience.

    • Janice Wald

      Hey Rellick,
      Thanks for these comments, your nice words about my article, and your visits to my site. All are much appreciated. I’m glad you found these tips helpful. As someone else mentioned, hopefully, there is enough variety that everyone can find at least one of the tips beneficial. Thanks again for your nice comments.
      Janice

  14. purpleslobinrecovery

    Another great post, Janice. If only I followed all your tips, I’d be cooking with gas by now!! Keep ’em coming!!
    Melinda

    • Janice Wald

      You are so funny! Creative jokes too! Thanks as always Melinda for reading what I write and commenting. You know how much I appreciate it.
      Janice

      • purpleslobinrecovery

        Thank you. We can always count on each other to comment, and admire! 😉

  15. Let's CUT the Crap!

    I wouldn’t have thought of this. This is a wonderful time-saver for those days when… Plus, the benefit of sharing material with new followers. Wonderful. Thank you.:-)

  16. Let's CUT the Crap!

    You are more than welcome, Janice. I always learn something new in this Blog World. Thanks for your post.

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  18. Susan F_mt (

    Hi Janice. Yet another helpful article -your books on blogging are sure to be a huge hit!

    I have many blogging friends who just add a new short intro, and then copy and paste an old post into a new one to publish again. I have always wondered how much the wording of a post has to be changed, so as to not be considered duplicate content by Google. From what you are saying here, it sounds like adding just a short intro or a new graphic/ photo enough of a difference to be safe?

    I think at times my readers would actually prefer this, than me just mentioning old posts and providing the links for them to follow. Thanks for all these helpful tips. I agree – we work too hard to just have our posts seen fleetingly.

  19. Ann Odle (

    OK, there are several tips here that I’ve put on my to-do list. Never thought about new photos; didn’t think it was OK to change the date; and I LOVE that you can link up to 100 per Google.
    I don’t think I’ll make that many back-links, but that’s an inspirational number to reach for! Stopping by from SITS Sharefest. Thanks!

  20. Pingback: Inspire Me Monday Linky Party 38
  21. Marianne

    Janice, WOW..great information! I popped over from D.G.Kaye’s blog. Your tips are jewels. Thank you for sharing. I’ll be following 🙂

    Blessings for a delightful day,
    Marianne

  22. Marianne

    Reblogged this on Leisure Lane Book Store and commented:
    Hi everyone…a great post to help you repurpose your older blog posts…take a look and enjoy!

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  26. Trina

    Thank you for the advise. I was able to go in and put in the Related Post on my page. Now I am working on my “About Me” It looks plain and boring at the moment. But I will eventually get there.

    Trina @
    Walking My Own Path

    • Janice Wald

      Hi Trina,
      I am glad you are inspired. I get so many page views from my Related Posts section. I remember once, I got more page views from the articles in the related posts section that the post! This post, how to recycle old articles you’ve written, was written before the summer, but thanks to the Related Post section is still getting me traffic.
      As far as your About page, I took the liberty of getting you a link. These instructions came from an article by Neil Patel and have served me well:
      https://mostlyblogging.com/how-to-write-a-killer-about-me-page-that-will-attract-new-followers/
      Janice

  27. Jo Nell Huff

    Thanks for the blogging tips! I have been checking out your other posts too. Glad I found your blog!

    • Janice Wald

      Hi Jo Nell,
      What kind words! Thank you so very much for the compliments on my articles. I am glad you and I connected too. Happy holidays to you.
      Janice

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  29. Charles Rogers

    Hi Janice, Reposting and ReBlogging have been very useful to me. There appears to be no downside as long as you make it clear at the top what you are doing. Actually, I don’t just re-publish the identical post. I re-edit it and find better words or sentences to make my points. I also incorporate comments from readers of the first post an acknowledge varying views.
    I label it as a revision of a previous post.
    I consider it an ongoing conversation not a sneaky was to increase one’s numbers.
    ReBlogging is great if you are very selective in the qualitiv of what you are ReBlogging a give full credit to the original author. I’ve made new friends this way. Share your revive on Facebook as well. My blogs are mostly to long. I suggest you write concise one point only and frequently like 3 x week with a summary post now and then. ccr/ International Blogging ?

    • Janice Wald

      Hi Charles,
      Thanks for commenting on my article.
      As far as the length of the post, mine are pretty long, a minimum of 1,000 words usually. I read that those are the posts that get the most social shares, and I believe it, so I am for that length.
      As far as the revision, can you send me a link to one where you repeated old information and add new information, so I can see what you mean? I may want to do that and need an example. Thanks,
      Marian/Janice

  30. Pingback: 79 of the Most Effective Ways to Get Free Blog Traffic
    • Janice Wald

      Hi Ruhani,
      Thanks for commenting on my article. I keep planning on update on How to Repurpose but I haven’t pursued it otherwise. I will definitely keep posting. I hope you keep reading.
      Janice

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