Content decay

What content decay means

Content decay is the gradual decline in traffic and rankings a page experiences as it ages. Causes include outdated information, competitors publishing better pages, changes in what searchers want and new search features taking clicks. It's normal and happens to almost every site.

Seen in practice

A landscaper's guide to patio materials was his best page three years ago. Now it barely appears. It still recommends products he no longer uses and lacks porcelain paving entirely. Updating it with current materials, his own photos and honest price factors brings it back into regular use.

Why it matters for your content

Many small business sites rely on a handful of pages written years ago. If those pages slowly lose visibility, enquiries fall without anyone noticing why. Spotting decay early and refreshing the page is usually quicker and cheaper than writing something new.

It's easy to miss because nothing breaks. The page still loads and still looks fine to you. Only the numbers fall, slowly enough that nobody notices until enquiries have already dropped.

A yearly look at your top twenty pages is a sensible minimum for most small sites.

Checking your own pages

In Search Console's Performance report, compare the last three months with the same period a year earlier and sort pages by the biggest drop in clicks. Rule out seasonal changes. For the remaining pages, read them and the current top results side by side to see what's missing or out of date.

Traps to avoid

• Waiting until a page has lost all its traffic before acting.
• Deleting decaying pages without redirecting them.
• Changing the URL during a refresh.
• Updating the date without updating the content.

Related content terms

• Content refresh: Updating a page to restore accuracy and competitiveness.
• Evergreen content: Content that stays useful over time and is worth updating.
• Core update: A broad Google ranking update affecting many queries.