Content · Intermediate

Content decay

Content decay is the gradual loss of rankings and traffic a page suffers as its information ages, competitors publish better pages, or searcher needs change.

By Thryv StudioUpdated

Category
Content
Level
Intermediate
Spotted in
Declining clicks and impressions in Search Console
Fix
Update, expand, merge or retire

What is content decay?

Pages that once performed well often decline slowly. Statistics go out of date, screenshots show old interfaces, newer and better answers appear, or the question itself changes.

How to find decaying pages

Compare clicks and impressions per page over time in Search Console. Pages with steady declines over several months are candidates.

How to fix it

  1. Check what's ranking now and what they cover that you don't.
  2. Update facts, examples and dates.
  3. Add sections for new questions.
  4. Merge overlapping pages into one stronger page.

Frequently asked questions

Does changing the date help?

Only if the content was genuinely updated. Changing the date alone doesn't make a page more useful.

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