Content Refresh Strategy: Update Old Posts for More Traffic

Here's a counterintuitive SEO truth: updating old content often beats publishing new content. Most sites have gold sitting in their archives — posts that used to rank well but have decayed over time.

A content refresh strategy can double your traffic without writing a single new post.

What is Content Decay?

Content decay happens when a page slowly loses rankings over time. Causes include:

• Outdated information: Stats, screenshots, or advice that's no longer accurate
• Fresher competitors: Newer articles covering the same topic
• Algorithm updates: Google's standards change
• Link decay: Backlinks disappearing as sites go offline

The good news: decay is reversible. A strategic refresh can restore — or exceed — original rankings.

How to Identify Refresh Candidates

Method 1: Traffic Drop Analysis

1. In GSC, compare last 3 months to same period last year
2. Look at Pages tab, sort by clicks
3. Find pages with significant drops
4. These are your refresh priorities

Method 2: Position Decay

1. Filter by pages with position 4-20
2. Compare to previous period
3. Find pages where position got worse
4. These need attention before they drop further

Method 3: Age + Impressions

Find posts older than 18 months that still get impressions. If people are searching but not clicking, the content might be stale.

The Content Refresh Process

Step 1: Audit Current Performance

• What queries is the page ranking for?
• What's the current position and CTR?
• What does the SERP look like? (competitors, featured snippets)

Step 2: Identify What to Update

• Factual updates: Stats, dates, prices, software versions
• Missing sections: Topics competitors cover that you don't
• Better formatting: Add headings, lists, images
• Title/meta refresh: Make them more compelling

Step 3: Make Updates

• Don't change the URL
• Keep the core topic the same
• Update the publication date (if significant changes)
• Expand where needed, remove fluff

Step 4: Republish and Promote

• Update the published/modified date
• Request indexing in GSC
• Share on social as "updated"
• Add new internal links

What to Refresh

Focus your energy on the right updates:

When NOT to Refresh

• Still ranking well: Don't fix what isn't broken
• Topic irrelevant: Some content should just be deleted
• No search demand: If nobody's searching, refreshing won't help

Refresh Frequency

A sustainable cadence:

• Evergreen content: Review every 12-18 months
• Fast-changing topics: Review every 6 months
• Best performers: Proactively update before decay

Measuring Refresh Success

Wait 2-4 weeks after refresh, then check:

• Position change for target keywords
• Organic traffic change
• CTR improvement

PageSEO automatically detects content decay and tells you which pages to refresh first. You get one action per day — including refresh recommendations when your content needs attention.