Thread by @noelcetaSEO

I ran a 6-month experiment: $10K on new content vs $10K on updating existing content.

The ROI difference was shocking.

Here's the data on why content updates win: 🧵

1/ The experiment setup:

Two identical budgets, different strategies:

Strategy A (New Content):

$10,000 budget
40 new articles created
2,000-2,500 words each
Promoted equally

Strategy B (Content Updates):

$10,000 budget
120 existing articles updated
Added 500-1,000 words each
Same promotion effort

6 months later, results measured.

2/ Strategy A results (New Content):

40 new articles published:

Traffic impact:

4,200 new monthly sessions
Average position: 18.7
23 articles ranking in top 20
8 articles ranking in top 10
Time to rank: 90-120 days

ROI: 42% traffic increase
Cost per ranking article: $1,250

3/ Strategy B results (Content Updates):

120 articles updated:

Traffic impact:

12,800 new monthly sessions (+205%)
Average position: 8.3
87 articles improved rankings
34 articles jumped to top 3
Time to impact: 14-30 days

ROI: 128% traffic increase
Cost per improved article: $83

3× better ROI. 4× faster results.

4/ Why content updates work better:

Existing content has:
✓ Established indexation (Google knows it)
✓ Existing backlinks (authority already built)
✓ Historical data (proven relevance)
✓ Ranking foundation (positions 11-30)
✓ Trust signals (age + consistency)

New content starts at zero. Updates leverage existing equity.

5/ The quick wins from updating:

Updated these elements, saw immediate gains:

Publish date (freshness signal)
Statistics (outdated 2020 → current 2025 data)
Word count (+500-1,000 words depth)
Internal links (added 3-5 contextual links)
Images (replaced old screenshots)
H2 structure (added missing topics)

Average ranking improvement: +7.3 positions within 30 days.

6/ Real update example:

Article: "Email marketing best practices"
Published: 2021
Original performance: Position 23, 120 sessions/month

Updates made:

Changed date to 2025
Added 800 words on AI personalization
Updated all statistics
Added 4 internal links
Replaced 6 images
Added FAQ section

Time invested: 3 hours
Cost: $250

7/ Results after update (60 days):

Position: #4 (from #23)
Traffic: 1,840 sessions/month (from 120)
Featured snippet: Won "email marketing tips"
Conversions: 37/month (from 2)
ROI: 15× increase in traffic
Cost per session: $0.14 (vs $3.50 for new content)

One update = bigger impact than creating 3 new articles.

8/ The content decay problem:

Why content needs updates:

Algorithm changes (what worked in 2021 ≠ 2025)
Competitor improvements (they're updating too)
Information decay (statistics become outdated)
Search intent shifts (users want different answers)
Technical debt (broken links, slow images)

Content loses 5-10% traffic annually without updates.

9/ How to identify update opportunities:

Filter content by these criteria:

High priority updates:

Ranking positions 8-20 (close to top)
Traffic declined 20%+ in 6 months
Published 18+ months ago
Has 5+ backlinks
Topic still relevant

These get maximum ROI from updates.
Use GSC to export this data.

10/ The content update framework:

For each article, update:

Freshness signals (date, "updated 2025")
Depth (add 500-1,000 words on new subtopics)
Data (replace old stats with current)
Structure (improve H2s based on current SERP)
Links (add internal + update external)
Media (new images, embed videos)
CTAs (optimize for current offers)
Technical (fix broken links, compress images)

11/ Time and cost comparison:

Creating new content:

Research: 2 hours
Outline: 1 hour
Writing: 4-6 hours
Editing: 1 hour
SEO optimization: 1 hour
Design/formatting: 1 hour
Total: 10-12 hours, $800-1,200

Updating existing content:

Research updates: 30 min
Write additions: 2 hours
Update data: 30 min
Refresh images: 30 min
Technical fixes: 30 min
Total: 4 hours, $250-400

70% less time, 3× better ROI.

12/ When new content still makes sense:

Create new content when:
✓ Targeting completely new keywords
✓ Covering emerging topics (no existing content)
✓ Expanding into new markets
✓ Building topical clusters (need hub content)
✓ Competitor gaps (they have nothing on this)

But update first, create second as default strategy.

13/ The 80/20 update strategy:

Allocate your content budget:
20% on new content (strategic gaps only)
80% on updating existing content (maximize ROI)

Update calendar:

High-priority articles: Every 6 months
Medium-priority: Every 12 months
Low-priority: Every 18-24 months

This compounds value over time.

14/ Why updating wins on ROI:

✓ Faster results (14-30 days vs 90-120 days)
✓ Lower cost ($250-400 vs $800-1,200)
✓ Higher success rate (73% vs 20% top 10 rankings)
✓ Leverage existing authority (backlinks + trust)
✓ Compounds over time (updated content gets more updates)

Stop chasing new content volume. Maximize existing content value.

The best content strategy is updating what works.

Bookmark this for your content planning