Content Refresher

Content Refresher

Identifies outdated content, scores decay/freshness, prioritizes refresh work, and produces update plans with GEO and republishing guidance.

Quick Start

Find content on [domain] that needs refreshing
Which of my blog posts have lost the most traffic?
Refresh this article for [current year]: [URL/content]
Update this content to outrank [competitor URL]: [your URL]
Create a content refresh strategy for [domain/topic]

Skill Contract

Expected output: a scored diagnosis, prioritized repair plan, and a short handoff summary ready for memory/audits/.

• Reads: candidate URLs/content, traffic and ranking history, publish/update dates, and competitor examples.
• Writes: a user-facing refresh plan (and optional refreshed content) plus a reusable summary that can be stored under memory/audits/.
• Promotes: blocking defects, repeated weaknesses, fix priorities, and pending decisions to memory/open-loops.md.
• Done when: decay drivers are identified with evidence; a refresh plan lists specific updates with a republish-date strategy; a Changes Made block and handoff summary are produced.
• Primary next skill: use the Next Best Skill below when the repair path is clear.

Handoff Summary

Emit the standard shape from skill-contract.md §Handoff Summary Format.

Data Sources

Use ~~analytics, ~~search console, and ~~SEO tool when connected; otherwise ask for traffic data, ranking history, publish dates, candidate URLs, and competitor examples. See CONNECTORS.md.

Instructions

Label every metric Measured (tool/export), User-provided, or Estimated (model inference); never present an estimate as measured; if a required metric is unavailable, mark it N/A — do not invent it.

When a user requests content refresh help:

1. CORE-EEAT Quick Score — Estimate all 8 dimensions, prioritize red/yellow areas, and hand off to content-quality-auditor for full scoring when needed. 2. Identify Refresh Candidates — Use age, dated claims, declining traffic, lost rankings, broken links, SERP shifts, and missing topics. 3. Analyze Page-Level Decay — Compare 6-month-old vs current performance, keyword deltas, SERP intent, competitor updates, and the why-refresh rationale. 4. Define Updates Needed — Capture outdated elements, competitor/PAA gaps, SEO updates, GEO updates, links, images, sources, and dates. 5. Create Refresh Plan — Specify title, structure, new sections, refreshed statistics, internal/external links, images, and validation requirements. 6. Write Refresh Content — Draft updated intro, replacement sections, refreshed facts, FAQ answers, and Changes Made notes. 7. Optimize for GEO — Add 40-60 word definitions, quotable statements, Q&A, dated citations, and standalone factual statements. 8. Set Republishing Strategy — Use published-date update for 50%+ new content, last-updated date for 20-50%, original date for <20%; update schema, sitemap lastmod, cache, Search Console, and 4-6 week monitoring. 9. Create Refresh Report — Summarize completed changes, expected outcomes, owners, next review date, and open loops.

Reference: references/refresh-templates.md has compact templates for steps 2-9.

Decision Gates

Stop and ask the user when:

• A page is decayed enough that a rewrite may beat a refresh (e.g., outdated premise, intent shift, or >50% of content stale) — state the finding and ask: (1) refresh in place, or (2) rewrite as new content via seo-content-writer.

Continue silently (never stop for):

• Missing analytics/ranking history — score decay from on-page signals (dated claims, broken links, stale stats), label findings Estimated, and proceed.
• A request to "refresh" content that is actually net-new (no existing URL) — note the mismatch once and route to seo-content-writer rather than fabricating a prior version.
• Which republish-date treatment to apply — follow the Step 8 thresholds without asking.

Example

User: "Refresh my blog post about 'best cloud hosting providers'"

Output: CORE-EEAT quick score flags weak Referenceability, Experience, and Trust; recommends pricing refresh, broken-link fixes, author credential additions, affiliate disclosure, and a Changes Made block ready for republish.

Reference: See references/refresh-example.md for the full worked example and checklist.

Tips for Success

Prioritize by ROI/search demand, make substantive improvements instead of date-only edits, add stronger evidence than competitors, track post-publish rankings/traffic, and treat every refresh as a GEO citation opportunity.

Reference data: references/content-decay-signals.md covers decay signals, lifecycle stages, refresh-vs-rewrite decisions, and content-type strategy.

Save Results

Ask to save results; if yes, write a dated summary to memory/audits/content-refresher/YYYY-MM-DD-<topic>.md. Hand off veto-level risks to the auditor gate before any hot-cache marker.

Gate check recommended: Run content-quality-auditor on refreshed content before republishing.

Reference Materials

• Content Decay Signals — Decay indicators, lifecycle stages, and refresh triggers by content type
• Refresh Templates — Compact templates for steps 2-9
• Refresh Example & Checklist — Full worked example and pre/post-refresh checklist

Next Best Skill

Primary: content-quality-auditor — re-score refreshed content before shipping.

Content Decay Signals

Primary Signals (High Reliability)

1. Organic Traffic Decline

False positive check: Rule out seasonality (compare YoY), algorithm updates, technical issues, tracking changes.

2. Ranking Position Drops

3. Click-Through Rate Decline

Expected CTR benchmarks (organic, desktop): Pos 1: 25-35% (investigate <20%) | Pos 2: 12-18% (<10%) | Pos 3: 8-12% (<6%) | Pos 4-5: 5-8% (<4%) | Pos 6-10: 2-5% (<2%)

Secondary Signals

Alert Priority Matrix

Composite Decay Score (0-100)

Refresh vs. Rewrite Decision

REFRESH when: URL has backlinks, was ranking well, <50% content changing, intent unchanged. REWRITE when: Never ranked well, no backlinks, >50% needs rewriting, search intent evolved.

Content Retirement Checklist

Retire when: zero search volume keyword | topic irrelevant to business | no backlinks | never ranked well | refresh cost > 12-month recovery value | cannibalizes better page.

Refresh Frequency by Content Type

Content Refresher — Worked Example & Checklist

Referenced from SKILL.md.

---

Worked Example

User: "Refresh my blog post about 'best cloud hosting providers'"

### CORE-EEAT Quick Assessment
**Content**: "Best Cloud Hosting Providers 2023" | **Type**: Commercial comparison

| Dimension | Score | Key Weakness | Priority |
|-----------|-------|--------------|----------|
| C — Contextual Clarity | 60 | Title says 2023 — stale | High |
| O — Organization | 75 | No summary box | Med |
| R — Referenceability | 35 | Pricing from Q1 2023, 3 broken links | High |
| E — Exclusivity | 50 | No original benchmarks | Med |
| Exp — Experience | 30 | No first-person testing | High |
| Ept — Expertise | 65 | Author bio lacks credentials | Med |
| A — Authority | 55 | 12 backlinks, was page 1 | Low |
| T — Trust | 60 | Affiliate links not disclosed | High |

**Focus**: Experience (add testing results) + Referenceability (update all data)

## Analysis
**URL**: cloudhosting.com/best-cloud-hosting | **Published**: 2023-02-14 | **Last Updated**: Never | **Words**: 2,100

### Performance
| Metric | 6 Mo Ago | Current | Change |
|--------|----------|---------|--------|
| Organic Traffic | 3,200/mo | 1,400/mo | -56% |
| Avg Position | 4.2 | 14.8 | -10.6 |
| Impressions | 18,000 | 9,500 | -47% |

### Decay Signals
1. Outdated "2023" in title/H1
2. Pricing 18+ months old (AWS Lightsail $3.50 now $5, DigitalOcean $4 now $6)
3. Missing Hetzner Cloud and Vultr (4/5 competitors cover them)
4. 3 broken outbound links

### Refresh vs. Rewrite Decision
Good structure + 12 referring domains + <50% needs updating = **REFRESH** (keep URL, update in place)

## Refresh Plan
**New Title**: "Best Cloud Hosting Providers 2024: 7 Platforms Tested & Compared"

1. **Update pricing and specs** (~30 min) — current data for all providers, uptime stats, feature table
2. **Add 2 providers + testing narrative** (~600 words) — Hetzner Cloud, Vultr; benchmark intro paragraph
3. **Add disclosure + FAQ** (~200 words) — affiliate disclosure, 4 PAA questions, FAQPage schema
4. **Fix links + add internal links** (~15 min) — replace 3 broken links, add 2 internal links

### Republishing
Update `dateModified` in Article schema, resubmit in Search Console, share as "Updated for 2024."

### Expected Outcomes
| Metric | Current | 30-Day | 90-Day |
|--------|---------|--------|--------|
| Avg Position | 14.8 | 8-10 | 3-6 |
| Traffic | 1,400/mo | 2,200/mo | 3,500/mo |
| Featured Snippets | 0 | 1 (FAQ) | 2+ |

---

Content Refresh Checklist

### Pre-Refresh
- [ ] Analyze current performance metrics
- [ ] Identify outdated information
- [ ] Research competitor updates
- [ ] Note missing topics

### Content Updates
- [ ] Update year references
- [ ] Refresh statistics with sources
- [ ] Add new examples/case studies
- [ ] Expand thin sections
- [ ] Add FAQ section

### SEO Updates
- [ ] Update title tag and meta description
- [ ] Optimize headers
- [ ] Update internal links
- [ ] Add new images with alt text

### GEO Updates
- [ ] Add clear definition
- [ ] Include quotable statements
- [ ] Add Q&A formatted content
- [ ] Update source citations

### Technical
- [ ] Update schema dateModified
- [ ] Clear page cache
- [ ] Update sitemap
- [ ] Test page speed

Content Refresh Templates

Templates for content-refresher steps 2-9. Referenced from SKILL.md.

Steps 2-3: Find And Diagnose Refresh Candidates

## Content Refresh Analysis

| Content | Published | Last Updated | Traffic Trend | Ranking Trend | Priority | Decision |
|---------|-----------|--------------|---------------|---------------|----------|----------|
| [Title] | [date] | [date/Never] | [down/up X%] | [lost/gained X positions] | H/M/L | [refresh/merge/redirect/retire] |

| Traffic Potential | Decline Severity | Decision |
|-------------------|------------------|----------|
| High | High | Refresh immediately |
| High | Low | Schedule refresh |
| Low | High | Evaluate refresh, merge, redirect, or retire |
| Low | Low | Low priority |

## Individual Page Diagnosis: [Title]
**URL**: [URL] | **Published**: [date] | **Last Updated**: [date] | **Word Count**: [X]

| Metric | 6 Mo Ago | Current | Change | Source |
|--------|----------|---------|--------|--------|
| Organic traffic / impressions / CTR / avg position | [values] | [values] | [+/-] | [analytics/GSC/rank tracker] |

| Keyword | Old Position | Current Position | SERP / Intent Change | Refresh Angle |
|---------|--------------|------------------|----------------------|---------------|
| [kw] | [X] | [X] | [AI Overview/PAA/new intent] | [angle] |

Steps 4-5: Define Updates And Plan The Rewrite

## Refresh Requirements

| Area | Evidence | Update Needed | Priority |
|------|----------|---------------|----------|
| Year references | "[old year]" | Update only if substance changes | M |
| Statistics | "[old stat]" | Replace with current sourced stat | H |
| Tools/products | "[old tool]" | Add/remove current options | H |
| Broken links | [X broken] | Fix, replace, or remove | H |
| Missing topics | [competitor/PAA evidence] | Add source-backed section | H |
| Images | [old/missing alt/large file] | Replace, compress, add useful alt | M |

### Required SEO/GEO Updates
- [ ] Refresh title/meta only if intent changed
- [ ] Add or update H2s for missing topics
- [ ] Update internal links to newer relevant pages
- [ ] Add FAQ only when questions match real demand
- [ ] Add 40-60 word definition near the start when useful
- [ ] Include quotable statistics with source and publication date
- [ ] Use recent sources, normally from the last 2 years unless canonical

## Refresh Plan
**Current title**: [title]
**Refreshed title**: [title with updated hook if justified]
**New word count target**: [X] words (+/-[Y])

| Section / Asset | Keep / Update / Add / Remove | Current | After Refresh | Source / Reason |
|-----------------|------------------------------|---------|---------------|-----------------|
| Introduction | Update | [issue] | [target] | [reason] |
| [Section] | Keep | [still valid] | [unchanged] | [reason] |
| [New Section] | Add | 0 | [X words] | [competitor/PAA gap] |
| Statistic / Link / Image | Update | [old] | [new] | [source/date or alt/format reason] |

Steps 6-7: Write And GEO-Optimize

## Refreshed Content Sections

### Updated Introduction
[Updated hook, primary keyword in first 100 words, fresh source-backed context.]

### New Section: [Title]
[Cover competitor/PAA gap with direct answer, examples, and source-backed facts.]

### Updated Statistics
**Replace**: "[old claim]"
**With**: "[current claim] ([Source], [publication year/date])"

### FAQ
#### [Question matching PAA/common query]?
[Direct 40-60 word answer optimized for snippets and AI citations.]

## GEO Enhancement Checklist
| Element | Requirement |
|---------|-------------|
| Definition | 40-60 words, clear, quotable |
| Quotable statistic | Source + date + standalone wording |
| Q&A | Direct answer first, context second |
| Citations | Recent, authoritative, dated |
| Factual statements | Understandable out of context |

Step 8: Republishing Strategy

## Republishing Strategy

| Refresh Level | New Content Share | Date Treatment | Notes |
|---------------|-------------------|----------------|-------|
| Major overhaul | 50%+ | Update published date | Use only when structure/substance materially changed |
| Moderate update | 20-50% | Add or update "Last Updated" date | Most refreshes fit here |
| Minor update | <20% | Keep original date | Fixes or light factual updates only |

**Recommendation**: [Option] because [evidence].

### Technical Implementation
- [ ] Update `dateModified` in schema
- [ ] Update sitemap `lastmod`
- [ ] Clear cache after publishing
- [ ] Resubmit in Search Console when material changes shipped
- [ ] Monitor rankings, traffic, and CTR for 4-6 weeks

### Promotion
- [ ] Share as "updated for [current year]" only for substantial updates
- [ ] Notify email/social audiences when the update changes user value
- [ ] Add fresh internal links from related pages

Step 9: Refresh Report

# Content Refresh Report
**Content**: [Title] | **Refresh Date**: [Date] | **Refresh Level**: Major / Moderate / Minor

| Element | Before | After | Evidence |
|---------|--------|-------|----------|
| Word count / sections | [values] | [values] | [delta] |
| Statistics / sources | [outdated] | [current] | [sources + dates] |
| Internal links / FAQ / images | [values] | [values] | [source or rationale] |

| Metric | Current | 30-Day Target | 90-Day Target |
|--------|---------|---------------|---------------|
| Avg position | [X] | [Y] | [Z] |
| Organic traffic | [X]/mo | [Y]/mo | [Z]/mo |

**Next review**: [Date - 6 months from now]