Content / Refresh

Content refresh services.

Our content refresh services find the pages that used to bring traffic and leads, work out why they slipped, and fix them. Some get rewritten, some merge into a stronger page, and a few get redirected or removed, all decided from your Search Console data.

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72.9%

of pages in Google's top 10 are more than three years old.

Source: Ahrefs

92%

of HubSpot's monthly blog leads came from posts published before that month.

Source: HubSpot

106%

average rise in monthly search views on old posts HubSpot optimized.

Source: HubSpot

What a content refresh covers

  • 01

    Decay audit

    Pages ranked by clicks lost in Search Console.

  • 02

    Cause check

    Why each page slipped.

  • 03

    Rewrite

    New facts, sharper answers, missing subtopics.

  • 04

    Merge plan

    Overlapping pages combined into one stronger page.

  • 05

    Redirects and removals

    Dead weight redirected or retired.

  • 06

    Tracking

    Before-and-after clicks per page.

Why content decays

Content decays when the page stays still and everything around it moves: facts age, competitors publish something better, searchers start wanting a different format and Google's results page changes shape. Traffic often slides a little each month, with no single drop, until someone notices.

We check five causes on every page:

  1. Stale facts. Old prices, laws and statistics erode trust.
  2. A stronger rival. A competitor covered the topic with fresher data or a clearer answer.
  3. Intent shift. People searching "best CRM for small business" may now expect a comparison table where they once read a long essay.
  4. Self-competition. Two or three of your own posts target the same search and can split the clicks.
  5. SERP changes. An AI Overview, video carousel or local pack now sits above you and takes clicks.

Each cause has a different fix, which is why we diagnose every page before anyone rewrites a word.

What Google says about freshness

Google wants pages kept accurate and useful, and it warns against faking freshness by changing a date. Its helpful content guidance lists this as a warning sign: "Are you changing the date of pages to make them seem fresh when the content has not substantially changed?"

Google's publication date guidance asks for a clearly labeled visible date, such as "Last updated," that matches the dateModified value in your structured data. A new date should always follow a real update, and the change log should show what it was.

We hold every refresh to our PROOF standard, adapted for pages that already exist:

  • Purpose: confirm the page still matches what people search for today.
  • Real expertise: add the experience your team has gained since it was published.
  • Original value: replace generic points with your own examples or data.
  • Obvious answers: move the answer to the top if it's buried.
  • Footnotes: swap old or broken sources for current ones.

Get a free content gap review.

Find my decaying pages

Refresh, merge, redirect or remove

Every aging page gets one of four outcomes: refresh, merge, redirect or remove. The right one depends on whether the page still has search demand, overlaps another page on your site or has links from other sites. We decide page by page:

SituationActionWhat happens
Still searched, lost ground to rivalsRefreshRewrite, update facts, add what top pages cover
Two or more pages chase one searchMergeCombine into the strongest URL, 301 the rest
Topic is dead but the page has linksRedirect301 to the closest relevant page
Little demand, zero links, low valueRemoveDelete or noindex, fix internal links

Merges and redirects need care. Google's own site move guidance says to keep redirects "for as long as possible, generally at least 1 year." Every old URL gets matched to its new home before anything changes, so links and bookmarks keep working. Internal links get updated to point straight at the new URL, with no redirect hop.

Sample before and after

Every refreshed page gets a before-and-after view from Search Console, comparing matching 28-day windows against a baseline recorded the day before the update goes live, so each period is measured on equal terms. Here's a mock-up for one refreshed guide, tracked from the month before the update through three months after:

PeriodClicksImpressionsAvg position
28 days before refresh31018,40011.8
Days 1 to 28 after36519,1009.6
Days 29 to 56 after54022,9007.1
Days 57 to 84 after69025,3005.4

Sample data for illustration.

The report also logs what changed on the page: sections added, sources replaced, internal links added and whether the title moved, so you can see which edit did the real work. If a refreshed page still hasn't recovered after two cycles, we check the next likely cause, often a SERP feature or a rival's new page, and tell you what we'd try next.

Content refresh pricing

The cost of a refresh tracks how many pages need work and how deep each fix goes. A light update of facts and links takes far less time than a full rewrite or a three-page merge, so we price each batch after the decay audit shows what's needed.

  • Audit

    Custom quote
    • Decay audit
    • Action for every page
    • Priority list

  • Refresh

    Custom quote
    • Audit
    • Agreed number of pages refreshed a month
    • Tracking

  • Refresh + Consolidate

    Custom quote
    • Refresh
    • Merges
    • Redirect maps
    • Internal links

What affects cost

  • Number of pages to refresh
  • Depth of each rewrite
  • Merges and redirects needed

Every plan starts with a free review, so your quote matches what your site actually needs.

Is this right for you?

Right for you if

  • Your site has two or more years of content.
  • Pages that used to bring leads have slipped.
  • You have several posts on the same topic.
  • You can give us Search Console access.

Not the right fit if

  • Your site is under a year old.
  • Traffic fell site-wide overnight.
  • Your old pages never ranked.
  • You want new dates without new content.

Your first 90 days.

  1. Days 1 to 7

    Decay audit run on your Search Console data, with an action per page.

  2. Days 8 to 30

    First batch of refreshes live and redirect maps approved.

  3. Days 31 to 60

    Merges done, second batch live.

  4. Days 61 to 90

    Results compared with the baseline, next batch chosen.

Related services.

Questions, answered.

Ask us directly
What is a content refresh?

A content refresh is a planned update to an existing page so it ranks and converts again. It can mean new facts, a sharper answer, missing subtopics, better internal links or a new format, all aimed at making it the best current answer to its search.

How often should you refresh content?

There's no fixed schedule. Review your top pages at least once a year, and sooner where prices, laws or products change fast. A steady drop in Search Console clicks over two or three months is a clear sign a page needs attention.

Does updating the date help SEO?

Changing the date alone doesn't help. Google's guidance lists changing dates to seem fresh without substantial changes as a warning sign. Update the content first, then show an honest "Last updated" date that matches the dateModified value in your structured data.

Should I delete old blog posts?

Only when a post has no search demand, links or business value. If it has links, redirect it to a related page. If it overlaps another post, merge them. Deleting a post that still brings visits or links throws away work that's paying off.

What is content decay?

Content decay is the gradual drop in traffic and rankings as a page ages. Facts go stale, competitors publish better pages and search results change shape. It shows up in Search Console as a slow decline in clicks over months, often before anyone notices it in leads.

Is refreshing better than writing new content?

It can be the faster win, because the page already has history, links and some trust with Google. New content still matters for topics you haven't covered. A healthy plan does both, starting with refreshes on pages that once brought leads.

Appear now.

Win back the clicks you already earned.

Your free content gap review

  • Your ten biggest drops
  • The likely cause of each
  • A quote for the first batch
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