In the never-ending quest to publish great new content, online marketing professionals often overlook a valuable asset -- the pieces that already exist on their websites. Unlike new content that has to compete for visibility, old content has already amassed social capital through promotion, sharing, backlinks and rankings. In fact, an audit of analytics often reveals that well-written old content is what drives the bulk of traffic to a website, and each piece usually takes a few months to reach respectable numbers.

Recycling previously published articles into new content not only strengthens the usefulness of the content but also regenerates organic interest. Updates are especially important for trending topics, current events, best of reviews and industry changes since these change so often.

However, articles won't benefit from constant updates. Instead, review content every six to 12 months to determine whether it needs improvement. Keep an eye on Google Trends to identify which topics have suddenly surged in popularity. When a subject spikes in searches, having updated content can help get you noticed quickly.

Updating Strong Content

Even strong content might need an update. With a few tweaks to fill in holes and correct inaccuracies that have developed as new industry information emerges, these articles are more likely to get more shares. Polish up articles with the latest details, statistics and keyword searches. Add a new call to action, and make sure the current publish date is visible. While in the system's backend, optimize an old article's metadata, including title tags, content description, photo captions and alt text. If you update the article's title, don't change the permalink because you'll lose backlinks that currently carry traffic to your website.

Boosting Underperforming Content

Articles that aren't performing well or getting shares may need just a little attention to get noticed. Avoid creating new content on the subject because you will essentially be competing against yourself. Instead, focus on how you can make these pieces better. Review what competitors are saying on the topic to determine which need your current content is not meeting. Since the content needs to stand out, think about how you can add original quotes or present a new angle on the topic.

Other recycling techniques could include making posts longer, adding pictures or videos and updating internal links to point to new content that has been created since the original publication date. You can also consolidate similar underperforming content and then direct the old traffic to the higher-performing page.

Recycling Previous Content

In addition to updating content, it is possible to build upon successful content by recycling it into other mediums. A statistics-filled article that is generating medium-level interest can be transformed into a dynamic infographic that is more digestible at a glance and easy to share. A collection of articles on similar topics can be repurposed into an informative e-book. Since an astounding 73 percent of consumers make buying decisions after watching a video, according to industry guru Animoto, turn your text-based product reviews and how-to guides into personable digital versions.

The best part about making your old content new again is that you have already done most of the difficult prep work. Make sure to crosslink any new content to the old piece to ensure that shares lead to the most updated information.