Old content is not a problem in itself. A three-year-old page that still answers the question well can stay exactly as it is.
The trouble starts when a page that used to bring visitors and enquiries starts to slip, and nobody notices until the numbers are well down. The nine signs below help you spot that early, on one page at a time, and decide what kind of work it needs.
Open the page you are reviewing, work down the list and tick each sign you see. The count tells you how serious it is, and the decision helper after the list tells you what to do.
The short answer
Refresh a page when it still earns attention but has gone stale: clicks falling while impressions hold, rankings slipping, facts out of date. Rewrite it when the format no longer matches what searchers want, merge it when two of your pages compete for the same search, and retire it when it serves nobody. Changing the date on its own does nothing.
0 of 0 signs found
Open the page you are reviewing and work down the list. Tick each sign you find.
One sign: a light refresh is usually enough. Fix that issue and move on.
Two or three signs: plan a proper refresh of this page.
Four or more signs: this page probably needs a rewrite or a merge. Use the decision helper below.
1. Clicks are falling while impressions hold
If the page still appears in results as often as before but fewer people click, the page is not the problem. The listing is. Something above it, or beside it, is now more tempting.
How to check
In Search Console's Performance report, filter to this page and compare the last three months with the three before. Steady impressions with falling clicks point to the snippet.
What to do
- Rewrite the title and description around the query people use.
- Answer the question in the first paragraph.
- Search the query yourself and look at what now sits above you.
2. Rankings have slipped for the main query
A page that drifts from the first page of results to the second loses much of its traffic, because far fewer people look beyond the first page. A slow slide usually means newer or more complete pages have overtaken yours.
How to check
- In Search Console, filter to the page and its main query, and watch the average position over six to twelve months.
- Open the pages that now rank above you. What do they cover that you do not?
What to do
- Add what is missing, in your own words and from your own experience.
- Update examples and figures.
- Link to the page from newer, related posts.
3. Facts, prices or screenshots are out of date
Readers notice an old screenshot or a discontinued product faster than any algorithm does, and they stop trusting everything else on the page. For B2B buyers checking a supplier, stale facts are a reason to look elsewhere.
How to check
- Read the page as a buyer would. Look for old years, old prices, retired products and outdated interface screenshots.
- Click every link and check that sources still say what you quote.
What to do
- Update the facts and replace the screenshots.
- Cite current sources inline.
- Change the visible date only when you have changed the content properly, and keep it consistent with the date in your markup, as Google's guidance on byline dates asks.
4. The search now wants a different kind of page
Sometimes the words people type stay the same while what they want changes. A query that once returned long guides may now return comparison tables, calculators, templates or videos. Adding paragraphs to an essay will not win that search back.
How to check
- Search your main query in a private window.
- Note the format of the top five results: guide, list, comparison, tool, template or video.
- Compare it with your page honestly.
What to do
- Rebuild the page in the format the results reward, keeping your expertise and your examples.
- If a tool or template is what people want, consider building one.
5. Two of your pages compete for the same search
When two of your pages target the same search, they can take turns ranking and neither settles near the top. This is common on blogs that have grown for years without a content plan.
How to check
In Search Console, filter by the query and open the Pages tab. If two or more of your URLs share the impressions for one query, they are competing.
What to do
- Merge the useful parts into the stronger page.
- Send the weaker URL to it with a permanent redirect, which Google recommends when a page has moved for good.
- Update your internal links to point at the page that remains.
6. The page gets visits but no enquiries
Traffic that never turns into a conversation is a cost, not an asset. Usually the page answers the question well and then leaves the reader with nowhere useful to go.
How to check
- In your analytics, list landing pages with conversions next to sessions.
- Read the page end to end. Is there one clear next step that suits someone at this stage?
What to do
- Add an offer that fits the reader: a checklist, a tool, an example or a short consultation.
- Link to the service page the topic leads to.
- See our guide on why a website gets traffic but no leads.
7. AI answers and snippets quote others, not you
More buyers now read an AI summary before they click anything. If Google's AI Overviews or AI assistants answer the questions your page covers and cite other sites, your page is being passed over, even if it still ranks.
How to check
- Ask the questions your page answers in Google and in the AI assistants your buyers use.
- Note who is cited, and how their pages are structured.
- Our method for measuring AI search visibility makes this repeatable each month.
What to do
- Put a direct answer in the first lines under each heading.
- Phrase headings the way people ask.
- Add specific, current facts that are yours to state. More in our guide on ranking in Google AI Overviews.
8. Buyers ask questions the page does not answer
Your sales and support teams hear the real questions every week. If the page on that topic does not answer them, buyers find the answers somewhere else, often on a competitor's site.
How to check
- Ask sales and support for the last ten questions they heard on this topic.
- Search the page for each one.
What to do
- Add a short section, or a question and answer, for each one that comes up again and again.
- Use the buyer's own words in the heading.
9. Broken links, slow media or missing internal links
Pages decay quietly. Links break when other sites move, images grow heavier as people replace them, and new posts go live without linking back to the older page that covers the topic in depth.
How to check
- Check every link on the page, internal and external.
- Look at image file sizes and loading time on a phone.
- Count how many of your other pages link to this one.
What to do
- Fix or remove broken links.
- Compress or resize heavy images.
- Add two or three links to the page from related, newer posts.
Refresh, Rewrite, Merge or Retire?
The signs tell you a page needs work. They do not tell you which kind. Use the helper below on one page at a time, or read the table after it.
Decision helper
What should you do with this page?
Answer five questions about one page. The recommendation updates as you go.
Answer question 1 to continue.
Merge it
Move the useful parts into the stronger of the two pages, redirect this URL there with a permanent redirect, and update your internal links.
Retire it
Nothing depends on this page. Redirect it to the closest relevant page if there is one. If there is none, let it return a 404 or 410.
Leave it as it is
It still earns visits or links, but the topic is not worth more of your time. Add a link to a relevant service page and move on.
Rewrite it
The topic matters, but the page is not working. Rebuild it around what today's results offer: their format, their depth and the questions they answer.
Refresh it
The page works but has gone stale. Update the facts, examples and screenshots, check the links, then update the date.
Keep it, and polish
Tighten the title and first paragraph, add links from newer posts and check that the call to action still fits.
| Situation | What to do | Watch out for |
|---|---|---|
| Another page targets the same search | Merge into the stronger page and redirect | Keep the URL that has more links and visits |
| The topic no longer matters and the page earns nothing | Retire it, with a redirect if a close match exists | Do not redirect everything to the home page |
| The topic no longer matters but the page still earns links or visits | Leave it, and add a relevant internal link | Spending hours on it |
| The topic matters but the page earns nothing, or the format is wrong | Rewrite it | Keeping the old structure out of habit |
| The page works but facts or examples are stale | Refresh it | Changing the date without changing the content |
| Everything still holds | Keep it and polish | Fixing what is not broken |
One rule applies to all of them: Google's guidance on helpful content warns against changing a page's date to make it look fresh when the content has not substantially changed. Update the date when you have done real work, not instead of it.