Experimenting the optimization of an existing blog post💡

Hi folks,

I'm getting back at blogging on technical content to improve this craft, and I wanted to share a few insights with you. ✍🏼

In this experiment, I picked a post I wrote one year ago; it's a 600 words blog post that generates traffic on long-tail keywords. I decided to rework it seriously to create more value for the reader and answer the topic in depth. 💡

I elaborated it from 600 to 2000+ words transforming it into a comprehensive guide on how to read and write CSV files in PHP. 🔥

Here is the process I followed: 🔎

• look at adjacent keywords, and related volume and especially on questions people are asking on the topic using google questions and a SERP tool
• think about the whole plan, what I wanted to answer, and re-structure the whole content with a deeper title structure to chunk the post into specific parts of a broader guide
• rewrite the existing parts and answer more advanced questions in new chapters
• craft a crispy headline and introduction to clarify what the reader will learn while reading the post
• add information on pre-requisites to follow the tutorial to avoid any bad experience if a reader follows it with an older version of the programming language
• carefully check the use of long-tail keywords and introduce new ones while staying true to the message I want to deliver
• better balance code samples, explanations, and transitions
  sleep on it, re-read, publish

Rewriting an existing piece of content was a pleasant experience. I think we're always more into writing and publishing new posts than taking care of an existing one. ✨

I see several benefits of rewriting an existing post: 🤔

• You have more info than when formerly publishing it. Some real data about the related traffic give you hints on how to elaborate it to make it better answer readers' questions.
• Since you wrote it, you may have greater experience with the topic and bring more expertise to it. You can also refresh its content to make it more modern.
• You can expand to adjacent answers and capture a greater volume by optimizing and completing what you already have.
• It can be an interesting approach, writing something simple before to elaborate it if it gets some traction.
• You can assess your progress and see that you're getting better at writing than when you formerly wrote it.

I hope you enjoyed and it may encourage you to take care of an old piece of content! 💡

PS: I'll keep you posted on the progress regarding traffic and keywords positioning after this experiment.