This is podcast episode 181 and features tips from 15 established and successful travel bloggers focused on how to drive traffic to your blog and especially to previously published articles. Building blog traffic increase can feel overwhelming, so I’ve reached out to some of the best travel bloggers I know to get their advice and tips to share with you!

This episode is part of the “Travel Blogging Quick Tips Podcast Series”. Starting a travel blog isn’t easy and this is podcast series is here to help you navigate the way easier and faster! Learn how to increase traffic to your website with this post and podcast!

It’s never too late to implement good travel blogging techniques and tactics.

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Building Traffic to a new blog post

How to Increase Traffic to Your Website

Travel Blogging Quick Tips Podcast Series

This is podcast episode 181 and features 15 tips from established and successful travel bloggers focused on how to get traffic to your website and old blog posts. These are great tips from established travel bloggers to help you build a better website and drive more traffic to your travel blog.

15 Tips to Build Blog Traffic by Updating Old Posts

15 Tips to How to Build Blog Traffic by Updating Old Posts

 

There are some essential steps to building a blog into a business.  Learning how to increase traffic on blog is a must! Below we dive into how to build traffic on blog and especially to old posts. The last episode in this series focused on How to Get Blog Traffic to a New Post and was Episode 178.

If you want to have a successful travel blog that increases web traffic every month, check out these tips from 15 established travel bloggers that share how to drive traffic to your blog by working on reviving old posts.

Listen to the Full Podcast!

1. Combine Old Posts

Chris’s tip for blog traffic is to combine old posts. When I started I wrote more short blog posts or I occasionally posted trip journals rather than travel articles (about my trip rather than the readers). In my copious free time I am taking old posts and combining them or taking travel journals and replacing them with updated articles.

Tip From Chris Christensen of Amateur Traveler
Blog Niche: Travel Destinations
Bio: Chris is the creator of the Amateur Traveler which is an award-winning online travel podcast/blog that focuses primarily on travel destinations. It includes a weekly audio podcast, a video podcast, and a blog. Amateur Traveler started in 2005.
Follow Chris on Twitter

Get more Chris Wisdom! He was my guest on episode 17; How to Become a Successful Travel Content Publisher & episode 125; Influencer Marketing for Travel Bloggers

2. Use Google Search Console to Find More Keywords and Add New Sections

Sharon’s biggest tip for a blog traffic increase is to target posts that are already doing well to optimize. They have already proven they can be successful so it’s easier to make them even more successful.

One of the ways I do this is by looking in Google Search Console for what my post already ranks for. You can filter the keywords that you rank for here by using the URL of the post you wish to update. I then look for any keywords that are not in the article already but which the article is ranking for and see if I can add them.

I particularly look for any keywords that are related to the post topic but are in areas that aren’t covered by it yet. This gives me ideas for new sections I can write to help make my article more detailed and thorough so it is both better for my readers as well as more likely to attract more search traffic.

Tip From Sharon Gourlay of Digital Nomad Wannabe
Blog Niche: Blogging and SEO
Bio: Sharon Gourlay is an Australian teacher and stay-at-home mum turned digital entrepreneur. She started making the switch back in 2013 when she decided there had to be a better way to live. She viewed an online business as the way to transform her life – and it was! Today, she teaches others how to blog at DIgitalNomadWannabe.com and writes about Tasmanian travel at TasmaniaExplorer.com.au
Join Sharon’s Facebook Group

Get more amazing tips from Sharon! She was my guest on episode 154; How to Create A Travel Blog with Passive Income

3.  Google Web Stories, IG Reels & Video

The best thing that has helped revive old content (in addition to optimizing for SEO) is making new videos and additional promotions on social media. I’ve made Google Web Stories for posts I update and Instagram reels as well as promoting on all of my social media accounts. This has helped immensely in getting new eyes on my content.

Tip From Kirsten Maxwell of Kids Are a Trip
Blog Niche: Family Travel
Bio: Kids Are A Trip is a family travel website that encourages families to explore beyond their backyards. We focus on teen, adventure, and luxury travel destinations.
Follow Kirsten on Instagram

4. Google Web Stories

Another vote from Tara Schatz for Google Web Stories. Tara says, when a post stops generating traffic or needs a boost, I will create a Google web story and publish it on my blog. Unlike Stories for Instagram, Facebook, or Pinterest, Google web stories can be edited, and you can create numerous stories for a single post. Google web story traffic is unpredictable, but I have found that it really helps highlight posts that aren’t doing well in search.

Tip From Tara Schatz of Back Road Ramblers
Blog Niche: American Road Trips
Bio: Tara is a freelance writer and travel blogger with a passion for outdoor adventures. She currently blogs at Back Road Ramblers, where she shares American road trip destinations, outdoor adventure tips, and vacation ides. Her goal is to help people explore the world and each other by stepping out their front door and embarking on journeys big and small.
Follow Tara on Instagram

5. Refresh Keywords Based on Trends

Similar to Sharon’s tip, Sherry’s tip is focused on keywords. Sherry uses Google’s Keyword Planner to search for new keywords to refresh her blog post. I will use 1 or 2 new keywords in my title and within the body of my post. It’s vital to refresh your post with new keywords, as after a year (or whenever you posted the article) trends or ideas may have immerged or changed. It may even inspire you to add a whole new paragraph or two which google and your audience will appreciate!

Tip From Sherry Trautman of Travel-mi
Blog Niche: Michigan Travel
Bio: As a born and raised Michigander, Sherry Trautman produces the Michigan adventure blog, Traveling Michigan, which chronicles her and husband Chris’ travel and food adventures across the state. She helps vacationers travel smartly, save money and get the most out of their adventures across Michigan.
Follow Sherry on Instagram

6. Better Keyword Optimization, Photo Updates & Format Updates

Like Sharon and Sherry, Anna’s first stop when looking to revive an old blog post is Google Search Console. That is, I check to see which keywords the article is already ranking for between positions five to 40, to see where there’s a chance I could boost the post’s ranking for those keywords.

From there, it comes down to better optimizing the post for those keywords. This will, at the very least, involve updating the various headings, including potentially adding new headings where needed. I also work to optimize for snippets in Google for some of the long-tail keywords that I’m targeting, whether that’s by writing out new sections or updating what’s already there. Finally, I do a general formatting check, including replacing any images that need it and reviewing the overall flow of the article, particularly in light of the new keywords we’re now pushing.

I also usually take the opportunity to check for where any improvements can be made from an affiliate marketing perspective. Perhaps a recommended product can be moved further up the article or a more up to date suggestion can be added. Either way, this is a very quick way to boost both the article and your earnings.

Tip From Anna Barker of Logical Dollar  
Blog Niche:  Personal finance
Bio: LogicalDollar aims to help people take back control of their finances on the basis that financial freedom is simply logical!
Follow Anna on Twitter

7. Adding Inbound Links, and Share on Social

If an article is fundamentally good but just needs some new info, updating it and adding a couple of inbound links, and sharing on social can take your traffic from zero to hundreds. With that said, I’ve had better luck though creating a newer, better post and then deleting and redirecting the old one to the new post.

Tip From Tim Leffel of Cheapest Destinations Blog
Blog Niche: Budget travel and living abroad
Bio:  Tim is the author of The World’s Cheapest Destinations and Travel Writing 2.0 books, a multi-site editor, and the founder of the Travel Writing Overdrive course.
Follow Tim on Twitter

Get more amazing tips from Tim! He was my guest on episode 77: How to Turn Your Travel Blog into a Business

8. Update Details of Post

Update details to ensure accuracy. For instance, if I had written an article about cruises to Ensenada 5 years ago, it would not be accurate today since the ships that went there from LA are no longer there and there are additional cruise lines that serve that market from Southern California now with much nicer ships. By updating the post I can ensure better keywords and content relevancy for search but also trust and authority that helps with search position but also in bringing people back to the site as well as exploring more deeply.

Tip From  James Hills of Cruise West Coast
Blog Niche: Travel
Bio: Cruise West Coast is focused on cruise travel from west coast destinations like California, Alaska, Hawaii, and Mexico. We also cover global topics and trends of interest to west coast cruisers such as sustainability and technology.
Follow James on Facebook

Get more tips from James! He was my guest on episode 15; How to Create a Travel Niche Website  

9. Update Businesses In Post

Similar to James, Brianne suggests updating your posts as often as possible with new information to build an overall blog traffic increase. Has a restaurant in your guide closed down? Replace it. Has a museum changed hours due to a new COVID policy? Note it. Has a popular restaurant drastically changed its menu? Update your imagery. This way, the readers know that the guides you offer are current; no one wants to buy an old guidebook.

Tip From Brianne Nemiroff of Its Bree and Ben
Blog Niche: Ethical travel
Bio: It’s Bree and Ben is an ethical travel website that helps you explore the world without sacrificing your vegan lifestyle.
Follow Bree on Instagram

10. Update the Year in the Title

Francis’ tip is short and sweet, but very effective, which is to update the stats in the article as well as include the current year in the article title. Moving forward update every article at least once a year.

Tip From Francis Tapon of Francistapon.com
Blog Niche: African and Eastern European travel
Bio: Francis takes multi-year trips in a region and writes books about it.
Follow Francis on any of his channels at FTapon

Get more tips from Francis! He was my guest on episode 37; How to Find An Original Point of View as a Travel Writer

11. Identify Gaps Between Your Content and Your Competitors

One of the best ways to revive traffic to an old blog post is to identify gaps between your content and that of our competitors.

This can easily be done via the Keysearch tool. First, identify the target keyword using Keysearch. Then review the top URLs in the SERP Analysis table. Identify the website and post receiving the most traffic on the target keyword. Note that it may not be the first ranked post. Using the Competitor Analysis tool in Keysearch, select Competitor Gap from the drop-down box. Input the url of the competitor’s post in the field indicated, selecting Specific Page rather than Entire Domain.

Keysearch is just $17 a month and offers lots of great reports and features. I love this tool so much, I signed up as an affiliate, which means you can get an extra 20% off using the code KSDISC when you sign up.

In the next field, paste the URL of your Old Post in the field indicated, selecting Specific Page rather than Entire Domain. Download a CSV file of the words/phrases your competitor ranks for and yours doesn’t. Update your alt text, body text, meta description and H2 headings with as many of those words as possible where relevant and natural to do so. Update your post and reindex on Google Search console when complete.

Tip From Michele Peterson of A Taste for Travel
Blog Niche: Culinary Travel
Bio: A Taste for Travel is an award-winning culinary travel website that helps people discover the world’s most amazing food, drink and sun destinations.
Follow Michele on Facebook

Get more tips from Michele! She was my guest on episode  #5; Why the Odds are in Your Favor if you Want to Become a Travel Writer.

12. Creating a New Pin & Social Media Marketing

When I want to revive an old post, I create a new pin for it, add it to my Tailwind feed and communities. Then I create a new tweet, Facebook post and Instagram post and make sure to share all those over the next few weeks. I’ve found that these simple steps can help an older post gain more traffic and is how to drive traffic to your blog from old posts.

Tip From Pam Howard of Our Adventure is Everywhere 
Blog Niche: Travel, Family Fun, Creating Memories
Bio: I inspire busy families to create memories and have fun together by sharing day trips, weekend getaways and everyday adventures in the Midwest and beyond.
Follow Pam on Instagram

13. Use WordPress Insights to Find Top Posts from Previous Year

At the end of December, I use WordPress insights to see which posts performed best for the year. I grab a screenshot and save it in a Google doc file.

When I am running out of ideas for a new post, I go back to previous year’s posts and pull up the top 3 to see if any of them seem timely at that moment. I update the content with a new section or two (especially if I find new relevant keywords) and I add a new Pinterest pin to the bottom. I also include a note that says “This post originally appeared on “X” and it’s been updated to share new information. Often, things that existed pre-COVID may have had changes. Then I schedule the related new social media posts to go with it.

Tip From Audrey Caldwell of Memorable Womens Travel
Blog Niche: Travel for women over 50
Bio: I created my blog to empower women over 50 to travel more with confidence. I share stories and photos of interesting destinations in the US and abroad, and provide helpful tips, itineraries and resources.
Follow Audrey on Instagram

14. Add a Table of Contents

One systematic way to revamp old posts is to go through and add a table of contents to each post. At that time I’ll also do some keyword research and try to use them and closely related ones on the headings and in the clickable table of contents that I think I may have a chance to rank. It’ll also add value for people who don’t want to read a long article (that may potentially help my SEO) and allow them a faster way to get to their intent, hopefully, it’s to an affiliate link and revenue for my business.

Tip From Morgan Fielder of Crave the Planet
Blog Niche: European Adventure Travel for Families
Bio: Crave the Planet empowers eco & family travellers to get off the beaten path and experience delicious adventures with detailed outdoor itineraries, gear reviews, & local insights in Europe. Morgan is a family adventurer, physio, travel writer & European cornhole commissioner.
Follow Morgan on Facebook

15. Add a Travel Tips Fact Box

Add a Travel Tips fact box with new helpful sections. If you’ve done a Things to Do in XXX” post, add an extra section to the bottom with info you didn’t cover before. Topics can include things like: Getting There, Top Restaurants for Lunch (make sure these are updated to the latest and greatest), Where to Rent a Bike, Best Value Hotels or How to Get Around. Anything that gives the post added value, such as current prices or new hotspots, in addition to your original post is going to bump up your rankings.

Tip From Carol Perehudoff of Wandering Carol
Blog Niche: Travel
Bio: WanderingCarol.com is an award-winning travel website that combines luxury, humour and need-to-know facts. Established in 2009, it’s published by former travel columnist Carol Perehudoff, voted a Top 10 Luxury Travel Blogger in the USA Today 10Best Awards.
Follow Carol on Instagram

Want to contribute a tip to an upcoming show? Please check out the current topics.

What topics would you like me to focus on next for this series? What blogging topics do you want to understand better? Let me know here! 

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Tips from travel bloggers to help you drive more traffic to your travel blog. How to increases web traffic every month by reviving old posts.

Related Posts: 

I hope you have learned how to drive more traffic to your website from the tips in this episode. If you’d like more tips to build website traffic, below are some of my favorite articles on the subject:

Did you miss the last podcast in this series? Learn How to Get Blog Traffic to a New Post

Want to Earn More Money With Your Blog?

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Interviewing Lindsay Carretii, episode 21

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