Content Decay Detector
Seven questions about one page, a health score out of 26 and a clear call.
When was this page last published or significantly updated?
What has happened to organic traffic over the last 6 months? (Check Google Search Console)
How has your keyword ranking position changed for this page’s target keyword?
Does your content format still match what’s ranking on page one of Google for this keyword?
Does this page receive internal links from other pages on your site?
Are competitors now covering this topic more comprehensively than your page?
Does the page still match the current search intent for its target keyword?
Recommended Actions
Ready to fix content decay properly? My Content Refresh Programme audits your decaying pages and delivers a prioritised action plan to recover lost organic traffic.
See the Service →What this tool does
This free content decay detector tells you whether a page on your site is losing organic traffic and what to do about it. Content decay is the gradual loss of rankings and traffic a page suffers as it ages, intent shifts and competitors overtake it; the causes and the recovery playbook are in my guide to content decay. Pick one page, answer seven questions about its age, traffic, rankings, format, internal links, competition and search intent, and get a health score from 0 to 26 with a band and recommended actions.
I built it for content managers, in-house SEOs and founders with a library of older posts who need a fast, repeatable way to triage them. Have Google Search Console open in another tab; two of the questions ask you to check it. No sign-up, no email address, no page limit.
The tool sits at the top of this page: answer all seven questions for a single URL and it will tell you whether to refresh, consolidate, redirect, prune or leave the page alone.
How to use the content decay detector
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1Choose one page
One URL at a time. Start with pages that used to earn traffic.
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2Pull the numbers from Search Console
Performance report, filter to the page, compare the last six months with the six before; questions two and three need the change.
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3Answer the seven questions
The sidebar tracks progress; Back changes an answer.
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4Read the score and actions
Health out of 26, a band, a diagnosis and three or four action cards.
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5Log it and repeat
Analyse Another Page resets the tool; log scores in a sheet to build a refresh queue.
How the detector works
Each question tests one decay signal and each answer carries fixed decay points. The worst answers add up to 26, so the health score is 26 minus your decay points: 26 means no decay signals, 0 means the page fails on every one.
| # | Signal | What the question tests | Decay points |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Freshness | Time since the page was published or significantly updated. | 0, 1, 2, 3 or 4: under 3 months, 3 to 6, 6 to 12, 1 to 2 years, over 2 years |
| 2 | Traffic trend | Organic traffic over the last six months in Search Console. | 0 stable; 1 down under 20%; 3 down 20 to 50%; 5 down over 50% or a sudden drop |
| 3 | Ranking change | Average position for the target keyword. | 0 stable; 1 down 1 to 3; 3 down 4 to 10; 4 down over 10 |
| 4 | Format match | Does the format still match page one? | 0 yes; 2 partial mismatch; 3 outdated |
| 5 | Internal links | Links from other pages on the site. | 0 well linked; 1 a few; 3 few or none |
| 6 | Competitor depth | Do competitors cover the topic more fully? | 0 no; 2 some do; 3 most top results do |
| 7 | Intent match | Does the page still match search intent? | 0 unchanged; 2 slight shift; 4 significant shift |
| Maximum | Health score = 26 minus total decay points | 26 |
Traffic trend carries the most points (5) because a measured Search Console drop is the most direct evidence of decay. Freshness, ranking and intent carry 4 each; format, links and competitor depth carry 3.
How to read your health score
Four fixed bands, with the actions the tool recommends and what I would do first.
Healthy
Few or no decay signals. The tool suggests a six-month refresh reminder, an internal link check and a Search Console alert.
Needs Attention
Early decay; the page is still right for its keyword. The tool recommends updating content, checking intent against current top results, adding internal links and refreshing title and meta. Do the intent check first.
Declining
Significant decay; competitors have overtaken the page. The tool calls for a structural rewrite, rebuilt internal links, a competitor depth audit and schema markup. Do the competitor audit first.
Critical
Decayed on almost every signal. The tool recommends consolidation or a 301 redirect, a site-wide audit, a rebuild only if the keyword still has value, and protecting crawl budget. Check backlinks and conversions first.
What to do with the results
The score says how far a page has decayed; the answer pattern says what to do.
| Decision | Signal pattern | What it involves |
|---|---|---|
| Refresh | Health 14 to 20. Traffic down under 50%, intent and format broadly intact, competitors ahead on depth rather than angle. | Update statistics, add the sections page one now covers, refresh title and meta, add internal links. This is what my Content Refresh Programme does at scale. |
| Consolidate | Health 0 to 13 and another page on your site targets the same keyword; neither is winning. | Merge into the stronger URL, 301 the weaker one, update internal links. A site-wide content audit finds the pairs. |
| Redirect | Health 0 to 6. The keyword still matters, a better page exists, and the old URL has backlinks worth keeping. | 301 to the closest relevant page, never the homepage. |
| Prune | Health 0 to 6. No backlinks, no conversions, no keyword worth rebuilding for. | Remove with a 410 or 404, or noindex if it serves another purpose. See my guide to content pruning. |
| Leave alone | Health 21 to 26. Or a traffic drop with ranking, intent and format unchanged, which usually means demand fell, not the page. | Check the keyword's volume trend; if demand dropped, no refresh brings it back. Monitor quarterly. |
The detector only sees search signals, so a page can score Critical and still earn links or leads; check both before you redirect or prune. The fuller reasoning is in my content decay guide.
What this tool does not do
- It is a self-assessment. It scores the answers you give, not the page.
- It does not connect to Google Search Console. A version that reads a Search Console export and scores every page in one pass is planned.
- It scores one page at a time. It does not find decaying pages for you; run a content audit first.
- It has no backlink or conversion data. Check both before acting on a redirect or prune.
- It cannot separate decay from falling demand. Check the keyword's volume trend if ranking and intent are unchanged.
Content decay tool FAQ
How do I identify content decay on my site?
In Search Console, compare the last six months with the previous six by page. Any URL where clicks, impressions and average position have all fallen is decaying. Run those pages through the detector to grade severity.
Which tools detect content decay?
Google Search Console is the primary source, because it holds the click and position history that proves a decline. Ahrefs and Semrush add keyword-level ranking history. This detector turns those numbers into a health score and a decision.
Is the content decay checker free?
Yes. No sign-up, no email capture, no paid tier and no limit on pages. It runs in your browser and stores nothing.
At what score should I refresh a page?
14 to 20. Below 14 a refresh is rarely enough; choose between a rewrite, consolidation, a redirect or a prune.
Should I delete, redirect or consolidate a decayed page?
Consolidate when another page covers the same topic and neither is winning. Redirect when the keyword still matters and the old URL has links worth keeping. Delete only when there are no links, no conversions and nothing worth rebuilding.
Want every decaying page found and fixed?
The Content Refresh Programme runs the same seven signals across your whole library, ranks every page by recovery potential and delivers the refreshes in priority order: the process behind my refresh work for Originality.ai, Connecteam and Practice Better. Or get in touch.
This detector is one of the free SEO tools I publish on GWContent. All of them run in the browser with no sign-up.
