Repurposing old content is a great way to drive new traffic to your website or blog!
But often it’s just knowing where to start…
(Not only that, but most of us simply forget about all the great content we may have previously published that can be put to new and profitable use today!)...
So this post aims to get you thinking about all the possibilities, presenting you with a ton of ideas for getting new life out of all that older content you may just have ‘lying about’, hidden away in the figurative store cupboard, and using it to:
- Generate new traffic…
- Attract new audiences…
- Engage existing audiences across different platforms.
In fact, all that content you've already created is a veritable goldmine of new possibilities. Let's see how to start extracting some of that gold...
7 Tips ‘n’ Tricks for Repurposing Old Content for New Traffic
1. Repurpose Old Blog Posts
Refresh for a Quick Ranking Pick-Me-Up
If you have a regularly-published blog, it’s a wealth of content you can re-use in multiple ways to attract new traffic.
For starters, any posts that haven’t been updated in the past 6 to 12 months are ripe for simply running through and:
- Updating any stats based on new research and data…
- Refreshing the rest of the content as needed, such as updating any how-to info and providing new examples or case studies
- Improving in any other way you see fit, such as tightening up some of the wording, clarifying any potentially confusing parts, and correcting any issues—it’s surprising what you spot when returning to a post with fresh eyes.
This all improves the value and relevance for visitors, and can increase traffic levels relatively quickly.
One of the best ways to repurpose old posts, and ramp up your rankings and traffic, is to systematically refresh and update them.Click To Post On
That’s because you already have some authority for the post due to its age and previous ranking on search. Any improvement a few months down the road can give it the edge over both:
- New content from other sites…
- Older content that, following your updates, is now more stale and less relevant than your own.
Even better, start doing this systematically. Schedule posts to be refreshed and updated 12 months or so after publication. Just make it a regular part of your process.
Repackage Into Different Formats
Another approach is to repurpose old blog posts into different formats.
For some ideas, see our previous post with 21 different ways to do this, including:
- Creating social media posts
- Repurposing into a Medium Story
- Converting into one or more autoresponder messages
- Creating infographics
- And many more…
This helps to reach new audiences who may prefer to consume content in different formats, on different platforms, and through different styles of communication, all of which helps drive traffic to your website.
Repurpose into New Longer-Form Content
Old blog posts can often be used as the foundation for new, longer-form content.
For example, why not combine several related posts into a comprehensive e-book that you make available for download on your site or via Amazon?
This attracts new traffic while growing your authority, which helps build the relationship with your audience, fostering repeat visits as well as new inbound links.
Recommended: See our companion post for a full guide to content repurposing and how to approach it on a consistent basis for multiple channels.
2. Repurpose Old Guest Posts
While thinking about posts on your own blog, don’t forget about any guest posts published on third-party blogs!
Much of the above advice for old blog posts applies to guest posts too of course, though in addition consider repurposing into brand new posts for your own blog.
Just be careful in terms of maintaining the uniqueness of each guest post, depending on what your agreements with the blogs in question were.
Either way, you likely want any content on your own blog to be 100% unique to anything else out there in order to build and maximize your site’s authority.
3. Repurpose Old Videos
Transcribe into a Blog Post
Have the audio of old videos transcribed, and repurpose it (reworking as necessary) into a blog post.
After all, a proportion of your market will simply prefer consuming content in written form, so doing this makes it more accessible to them.
Repurposing old videos in this way has a number of advantages for traffic:
- You gain new listings on Google for your written content, attracting new visitors from search engines…
- It grows the authority of your website as a whole, helping other content including other blog posts to attract increasing traffic levels…
- You can embed the original video into the blog post, growing video views and increasing your YouTube channel subscribers, which in turn helps grow site traffic.
Create Short Video Snippets
One of the easiest ways to repurpose old videos is to cut them up into a number of different shorter videos that contain edited clips or highlights.
These can then be shared on social media and elsewhere, growing your brand and attracting visitors back to your site.
Don't forget about those old videos. Many of them can be used within a nurture campaign for new leads, building trust and driving traffic.Click To Post On
Use as Powerful Lead Magnets
Just because your videos are on YouTube doesn’t mean everyone knows they exist, or want to go to the trouble of trying to find them.
So why not repurpose old videos as attractive lead magnet offers on your website, helping to grow your list. Once on your list, you can drive subscribers back to your website repeatedly.
Consider also packaging videos together into a single lead magnet offer. For example, do you have say two or three videos covering a specific topic that could be embedded on a dedicated web page?
Use for Relationship Building
Do you have a drip campaign or nurture sequence that goes out to new subscribers?
Old videos are perfect for this, helping to grow your authority and build your relationship with them.
Just have different emails in your sequence point to different videos on your website or on YouTube so they can get to know you and you can help them.
That's just a few ways to repurpose video content, but check out our full guide for more, or watch the following quick overview:
4. Repurpose Old Live Streams
Edit into Shorter, More Polished Videos
Live stream videos on platforms like YouTube, Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn are automatically recorded for you and saved to the relevant profile.
And they’re ideal for repurposing!
They can be edited into (usually multiple) shorter, more polished videos that can then be shared on social media and across other platforms.
Doing so helps you reach new audiences who wouldn’t have seen the original live stream, but would be interested in your content, thereby driving traffic back to your site.
Publishing these newer videos to your YouTube channel also makes them more searchable than the original live stream, providing new opportunities to appear on Google and YouTube Search.
Create a Series of Social Media Posts
Another approach is to create a series of text- and image-based social media posts that highlight key points or moments from the live stream, piquing the interest of potential viewers.
Embed the original live stream video somewhere on your website, and encourage followers to click through to watch it.
Repurpose as Blog Posts or Articles
Finally, you can also create written summaries or transcriptions of the old live stream, which can be edited appropriately and republished as blog posts or articles.
5. Repurpose Old Social Posts
Create Longer-Form Content
Lots of businesses create longer style posts on social media that only have a very short period of time where people see them—such is the nature of social media!
These can however often be repurposed into longer-form content for longer-lasting (and traffic-attracting) visibility, such as an article or blog post.
If it’s likely to be too short, consider reworking to include a more in-depth exploration of the topic—it’s often far easier than creating such content from a completely blank slate.
Repurpose into Short Video
Thanks to the rapid success of TikTok, shorter-length videos are increasingly popular, not just on TikTok but also with YouTube Shorts, Instagram reels, and elsewhere.
Many older social media posts are ideal for converting into this type of format, giving the content a new lease of life and helping you connect with new audiences.
Republish the Post!
Older social media posts can be easily recycled by simply republishing the same content a few months later, updating or otherwise reworking the content as appropriate.
This is particularly true for your more popular posts. Get some more mileage out of the content by repurposing—simple!
And in case you’re worried that your followers will be annoyed at seeing the content again, don’t be:
- It’s unlikely the same people will see it again…
- Even if they do, such is the volume of content on social media, they’re very unlikely to remember it anyway (especially after you’ve reworked it)…
- Even if they do remember it, they’ll likely be grateful for the reminder of the info you’re sharing!
6. Repurpose Old Reports
Break Down into Blog Posts or Articles
Old reports and whitepapers are likely to be relatively long… so break them down into smaller, more digestible chunks of content, such as blog posts or articles.
These of course then become new searchable content, attracting new visitors from Google and other search engines back to your website.
In addition, not everyone has the time or inclination to read a long report. Doing the above makes your content more accessible and shareable.
Create a Series of Social Media Posts
You can break the content down into even shorter content too!
Use old reports as the basis of a series of social media posts, for example highlighting some key points and insights.
In doing so you help grow your audiences while also attracting new visitors.
Old reports are a wealth of repurposing possibilities. Repurpose into blog posts, social media posts, videos, podcasts... and update them for new revised editions.Click To Post On
Publish on Your Website
Reports and whitepapers are often originally created as lead magnets and never end up on search engines, even though they may no longer be in use for attracting leads.
Publishing such content on your site and linking to it from say two or three relevant blog posts lets Google find and spider the content, attracting new visitors.
Repurpose as a Video or Podcast
Remember, people have different preferences when it comes to how they like to consume content.
Many of those who won’t want to read an online report or whitepaper will be interested in watching a video that relays the same information, or listening to a podcast.
Repackage the information into video and/or audio format, and you’ll multiply the number of people your info reaches.
Create a Revised Edition
Finally, consider updating your old reports or whitepapers with new information and perspectives, and republish it as a new, revised edition.
This can help establish you as an authority in your field, build the relationship with existing audiences and visitors, and attract new visitors who are looking for in-depth information on the topic in question.
7. Repurpose Old Webinars
Repurpose into Shorter Videos
In the same way as suggested above for live stream content, repurpose old webinars by editing and polishing them into shorter videos that can then be shared on social and elsewhere, as well as end up as searchable content on YouTube and Google.
Create a Series of Social Media Posts
You’re probably getting the hang of this now!
As with other types of old content above, webinars are again ideal for creating a series of social media posts from, such as highlighting key points or moments from the original session.
Create Blog Posts and Articles
Consider either:
- Creating a written summary of the webinar’s content that can be used as a blog post or article…
- Getting a transcript of the session (or simply using the script if you had one) and doing something similar, perhaps creating multiple such posts or articles.
Post the Recording to YouTube
Webinar recordings are often made available to registrants after the event, and then promptly forgotten about.
However, with a bit of editing, they can make ideal content for your YouTube channel, helping to attract new subscribers and grow website traffic longer term.
Create a Course or Training Program
Could the content from several related webinars be pulled together into a comprehensive course or training program that would both help establish your authority and attract new traffic back to your website?
Refresh the Information for an Updated Webinar
Advertising or otherwise publicizing a webinar is one of the best ways to drive traffic back to your site, as well as create longer-term traffic via list- and audience-building.
The info from older webinars may now be a little stale, out of date and in need of a refresh—doing just that can give it a whole new lease of life!
(And it’s far quicker of course than creating a brand new webinar from scratch… see each webinar instead as a long-term asset you can regularly update and use afresh).
To Conclude
As you can see, repurposing old content is a great way to drive new traffic to your website or blog!
The intention of this post was to give you a ton of ideas and inspiration on how you can get new life out of your own older content, using it to attract new audiences, engage existing audiences in new and interesting ways, and grow your traffic.
Of course, you don’t have to do everything! Keep it manageable—pick a couple of ideas from the above you can start planning out and get into motion.
Then, to ensure this has a significant impact on your long-term results, aim to regularly repurpose older content a few months after it was first published in the same way.
