Content Refresh Framework

CONTENT AUDIT

Content Identification

CONTENT REFRESH PRIORITIZATION

CRITERIA FOR REFRESH:
☐ Traffic declining >20% YoY
☐ Rankings dropped 5+ positions
☐ Conversion rate below average
☐ Content >12 months old
☐ High-value keyword opportunity

PRIORITY TIERS:
P1 (Refresh immediately):
• Rankings 4-10 (close to top 3)
• High traffic potential
• High business value

P2 (Refresh this quarter):
• Rankings 11-20
• Moderate traffic
• Good business value

P3 (Refresh or retire):
• Rankings 20+
• Low traffic
• Consider consolidation

Content Decay Detection

Page	Peak Traffic	Current Traffic	Decline %	Action
				Refresh/Retire/Consolidate

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REFRESH STRATEGY

Refresh Scope Matrix

Decay Level	Indicators	Refresh Scope
Light	<20% decline, minor rank drop	Update stats, add links
Moderate	20-40% decline, rank drop 5-10	Add sections, update throughout
Heavy	>40% decline, rank drop 10+	Major rewrite, new angle
Critical	Not ranking, no traffic	Retire or consolidate

Content Refresh Checklist

CONTENT REFRESH WORKFLOW

PRE-REFRESH:
☐ Document current metrics
☐ Analyze SERP changes
☐ Review competing content
☐ Identify new keywords

REFRESH ACTIONS:
☐ Update statistics and data
☐ Add new sections for coverage gaps
☐ Update outdated information
☐ Improve visuals
☐ Add internal links to new content
☐ Update meta title/description
☐ Add FAQ schema if applicable
☐ Improve readability

POST-REFRESH:
☐ Update publish date (if major update)
☐ Request reindexing in Search Console
☐ Promote on social/email
☐ Track ranking recovery

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REFRESH TYPES

Update Types by Effort

Update Type	Effort	When to Use
Stats update	15 min	Annual data needs updating
Link refresh	30 min	Broken links, new internal pages
Section addition	2-4 hrs	New subtopic coverage needed
Full rewrite	8+ hrs	Content fundamentally outdated
Consolidation	4-6 hrs	Multiple thin pages on similar topic

Consolidation Decision

CONTENT CONSOLIDATION CHECK

CONSIDER CONSOLIDATING IF:
☐ Multiple pages targeting same keyword
☐ Several thin pages on related topics
☐ Cannibalization causing rank issues
☐ Individual pages not ranking

CONSOLIDATION PROCESS:
1. Identify pages to consolidate
2. Choose target URL (keep best performer)
3. Merge valuable content
4. Set up 301 redirects
5. Update internal links
6. Monitor rankings

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MEASUREMENT

Refresh Impact Tracking

CONTENT REFRESH REPORT

PAGE: _______________
REFRESH DATE: _______________

BEFORE REFRESH (30-day avg):
Organic traffic: _____
Primary keyword rank: _____
Conversion rate: ____%

AFTER REFRESH:
Week 2: Traffic: _____ | Rank: _____
Week 4: Traffic: _____ | Rank: _____
Week 8: Traffic: _____ | Rank: _____

OUTCOME:
Traffic change: +/-___%
Ranking change: +/-_____
ROI of refresh: _____

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