Content Refresh: How to Stay Visible in Organic and AI Search

Anything labeled as organic eventually decays – veggies, fruits … even your blog posts.

That tutorial you published two years ago? Half the steps no longer work. Those software roundups? Some of the tools don’t even exist anymore.

And don’t get me started on your “latest trends” piece that’s still quoting stats from 2019 like they’re breaking news.

If you don’t bother to refresh your content, why should anyone bother to read it?

The truth is, even your best-performing content needs regular maintenance to stay relevant, rank well, and continue bringing in traffic.

We’ve talked to several experts and business leaders in the SEO industry to understand exactly what it takes to remain competitive in both traditional and AI-driven search. 

Keep reading to learn their content refresh strategies.

Why Refreshing Content Matters for SEO?

All successful blogs have one thing in common: they understand that updating old content is equally important to creating a new one.

Take Zapier, for example. They regularly update their “best apps” roundups to reflect what’s actually best right now. 

Better tools are added. Outdated ones get removed.

This one post about project management software was first published in 2017, and has been updated every year since.

Image source: Zapier

The result? It continues to rack up tens of thousands of visits almost a decade later.

Oriel Partners, a boutique recruitment agency, also experienced a spike in performance after updating one of its blog posts about working in Saudi Arabia.

The article reached the number one position for 23 keywords and secured AI Overview mentions for 17 keywords.

From these examples, one thing is clear: content refreshes are a powerful strategy to maintain and even improve SEO performance.

Let’s break down why that’s the case.

Users want up-to-date information

When people search for answers online, they’re looking for the most accurate, relevant, and current information available. 

There’s a reason why, for certain queries, Google shows the publication date or last update date in search results.

No one wants to read about “the latest marketing trends” from an article written in 2020.

It’s frustrating – and it damages trust. If your content is outdated, users will find a fresher alternative, and likely will never come back to your site.

Google prefers fresh content 

Content freshness is a known ranking factor. Especially for queries where information changes quickly, like news, trends, and stats. 

There’s even a term for it: Query Deserves Freshness (QDF). Basically, the more time-sensitive the topic, the more weight Google places on recency. 

Image source: Google

By updating your content regularly, you’re giving Google a reason to keep showing your page in search results. 

And now with AI Overviews (AIO) rolling out, that freshness can help your content get picked up there too.

A study by Seer Interactive confirmed that AI Overviews strongly favor newer content. In fact, 85% of sources in AIO are published in the last two years:

• 44% are from 2025
• 30% are from 2024
• 11% are from 2023 

LLMs have recency bias

It’s not just Google’s AI Overviews that crave fresh content. Large language models (LLMs) also have recency bias.

According to the same Seer Interactive study, 50% of Perplexity’s citations are content published in 2025 alone. 

That’s even higher than AIO!

Image source: Seer Interactive

Interestingly, ChatGPT shows a milder recency bias compared to Perplexity and AIO. But that completely makes sense, if the recent GPT-4o system prompt leak is true.

According to the leaked material, ChatGPT doesn’t browse the web by default – only when explicitly asked or when absolutely necessary. Most of the time, it relies on its training data, which is why you’ll often see sources from 2022 or earlier.

Still, when ChatGPT does pull in fresh data, it tends to favor pages that are recently published or updated. Around 70% of its citations come from content published in the past two years.

The takeaway? If your content is outdated, it’s less likely to be cited in AI-generated responses.

Existing content is easier to rank than new content

It’s easier, cheaper, and faster to fix a broken computer than to build the whole thing entirely from scratch.

The same logic can be applied to SEO.

Moving a post from position 10 to 1 takes significantly less effort and gives you a higher return than trying to rank a brand new URL from position 100 to 10.

Patrick Stox shared an eye-opening stat in a recent Ahrefs study: only 1.74% of new pages made it into Google’s top 10 within a year.

Image source: Ahrefs

Even when you filter for English URLs with actual content, that number only climbs to 6.11%. Most new pages never make it to the first page.

The truth? It’s becoming much harder to rank new content. Sometimes, updating what you already have is your best chance. 

How to Find Potential Content to Refresh

The most critical part of any refresh is figuring out what’s actually worth refreshing. 

And it starts with a comprehensive content audit, which helps you understand how your existing content is performing and where it’s falling short.

Patrick Langride, the SEO Director at Screaming Frog, shared this:

“I think the most important step in a content refresh is the very first one – undertaking a thorough and robust content audit. It’s critical to understand how your content is currently performing before making any drastic decisions around re-writing content, otherwise you risk doing more harm than good and you might damage important rankings as a result.”

Begin by using crawling tools like Screaming Frog or Sitebulb to gather all your content assets, including blog posts, case studies, and product pages.

Once you have the complete data, look for content with the highest potential. The kind of pages that could bounce back with just a few strategic updates.

Here are some of the examples.

High-performing pages on a decline

Have a blog post that performed so well in the past, but is now slipping in rankings? That’s a great place to start.

Rather than starting from scratch, Benjamin Rojas (the President of AIOSEO) suggests focusing your efforts on proven performers:

“Start with your highest-performing articles — the ones that have already done what you wanted them to do (bring traffic, get email sign-ups, generate sales, etc.). These content pieces have already proven to work, so updating them gives you the biggest return on your effort.”

You can use Google Search Console (GSC) to spot pages with declining performance:

1. Log in to your GSC dashboard and head to the Performance tab.
2. Choose a date range for your performance comparison (e.g. compare last 3 months to the previous period).
3. Scroll down to Pages to see which pages are dropping in impressions, clicks, average position, and click-through rate (CTR) over time.

If you want to learn more, check out this in-depth guide on how to investigate ranking drops in Google Search Console.

Pages that are losing clicks to AI Overviews

If you notice that some pages have high impressions but low clicks, they probably fall victim to AI Overviews. In fact, a recent Ahrefs study confirmed that AI Overviews reduce clicks by up to 34.5%.

This is especially true for informational blog posts. If your content answers common “how to,” “what is,” or “why” questions, chances are it’s competing directly with AI-generated summaries.

So how can you tell if AI Overviews are hurting your traffic? Here’s a simple way to investigate:

1. Open the Performance tab in your Google Search Console.
2. Set your preferred comparison date range and sort by Average CTR.
3. Navigate to Pages and look for pages with a lower CTR compared to the previous period. These are your likely victims.

If you find a way to get those pages included in AI Overviews, you might reclaim some of those lost visits.

Pages with a solid backlink profile

Backlinks are a sign of trust and credibility, especially if they come from authoritative sources. So, if you’ve got a page with tons of high-quality backlinks pointing to it, don’t let that equity go to waste.

Even if the content isn’t driving much traffic right now, it might just need a refresh to start pulling its weight again.

You can use a tool like Linkody to analyze the backlink profile of each page on your site. Simply sign up and enter your domain name. Once you’ve gained access to your dashboard, click the Landing Pages tab from the left sidebar.

You’ll see a list of all indexed pages on your site – along with how many backlinks each one has. If you want to assess the quality of those links, simply click on any number next to the URLs.

5 Ways to Refresh Your Content

Once you’ve got the full list of content pieces to refresh, then it’s all about making the right updates. You don’t always need to rewrite the whole thing. Sometimes, little tweaks can make a big impact.

Here are some low-hanging fruit tactics to refresh your content, in no particular order.

1. Match current user intent 

The first thing you have to do is make sure your content is still relevant to what people actually want.

Look at the top-ranking results for your target keyword. Are they listicles now? More in-depth guides? Do they target a slightly different angle? Your content should reflect what users want today, not what they wanted when you first hit publish.

In fact, this is the exact strategy SE Ranking used when refreshing their content:

“A crucial aspect we consider is re-optimizing our content for search intent. This ensures that our content is always in line with what our audience is searching for, enhancing their experience and keeping our SEO game strong,” said Irina Weber, Content Strategist at SE Ranking.

Here are some tips to match search intent better:

• Match the format of top-ranking pages: Look at the search engine results pages (SERPs) for your keyword, and determine whether an in-depth guide or a short landing page would be more suitable for the topic.
• Give users what they want immediately: If someone is searching for “best project management tools,” they probably want a quick comparison table – not a 1,000-word essay on what is project management. Get to the point fast.
• Optimize the headings: Make sure your title and headers reflect what users are typing into Google. Subtle wording changes can make a big difference.
• Answer real user questions: Dive into Reddit threads, Quora, and “People Also Ask” boxes to find the actual questions people are asking. Then answer them clearly in your content and FAQ section. This can help you show up in AI Overviews too.

2. Reverse engineer your competitor’s strategy

The top-ranking pages are there for a reason. Instead of guessing what works, reverse engineer their approach and use it to your advantage.

Use tools like Ahrefs, SurferSEO, or even a manual SERP review to analyze your competitors.

Focus on:

• Page structure: How is their content laid out? Are they using tables, comparison charts, jump links, or FAQs? Look for formatting patterns that improve readability and engagement.
• Content gaps: Are they covering subtopics, questions, or examples you’ve missed? Maybe they go deeper into a specific section or include case studies and stats that your content lacks.
• Missed keyword opportunities: Your competitors may be ranking for long-term queries you haven’t considered. Find out what those keywords are, weave them naturally into your content, and you might unlock new ranking opportunities.

You can also use Linkody’s free backlink checker to see which domains are linking to your competitors. 

The reason is simple: those sites might be willing to link to your page as well, especially if your content is fresher and better.

3. Enhance the content value

When reviewing your existing content, think of ways you can add more value for your readers.

Answer their questions. Give solutions to their problems. Satisfy their needs to the point where they don’t feel the need to go back to Google.

That’s the benchmark you should always aim for every piece of content.

Ivan Palii, Head of Product at Sitechecker, says it’s about adding what’s useful and removing what’s not:

“I check how much new value I can add to this page. Sometimes it may be adding new information, screenshots, and internal links to relevant articles. Sometimes it means deleting outdated information.”

Here’s what you have to do:

• Add depth and context: If a section feels too surface-level, expand it with examples, case studies, or real-life applications to give readers more insight.
• Use visuals to illustrate your points: Screenshots, charts, tables, and even short videos can make your content easier to digest. Visual content is also great to boost user engagement.
• Include expert perspectives: Quotes or commentary from credible sources can boost both trust and relevance (and help with E-E-A-T too).
• Link to useful resources: Add relevant internal and external links that help readers take the next step – whether that’s learning more or converting. You can use an automated linking tool like LinkStorm to help with the process.
• Update old information: Replace outdated stats, insights, screenshots, and links with newer ones. 

Using this exact content refresh strategy, HR Datahub managed to boost its blog post’s ranking from position 35 to 1 in just 4 weeks. It’s also featured in AI Overview for the term “pay trends in the uk.”

4. Improve readability and UX

Studies have shown over and over again that people are more likely to scan content than read word for word. That’s why you have to make it as easy as possible for readers to consume your content.

Benjamin Rojas shares some tips to improve content readability:

“Today’s readers scan content before they commit to reading, so break up long paragraphs into shorter ones, add clear subheadings that preview what each section covers, and include bullet points for key takeaways.”

Based on his advice, here are a few simple ways to make your content easier to scan and more enjoyable to read:

• Keep your paragraphs and sentences short.
• Use bullet points and numbered lists where possible.
• Break up walls of text with images, quotes, and subheadings.
• Add jump links for longer pieces to help users navigate the page easily.

Also, improve your site’s overall speed. Not only will it provide a much seamless user experience, but page speed is also a Google ranking factor.

5. Optimize for AI-generated answers

While Google is still driving most of your traffic, visitors from LLMs are converting much better:

• At Ahrefs, around 12% of their new signups come from LLMs – even though those visitors make up just 0.5% of total traffic.
• Semrush also found that LLM visitors are worth roughly 4.4x more than traditional search visitors.

Image source: Semrush

If you’re not optimizing your content for AI search, you’re missing out on high-quality leads who are actively looking to convert.

Here are some proven strategies on how to rank in Google’s AI Mode, AI Overviews, ChatGPT, and other popular LLMs:

Structure your content for AI parsing

• Use clear, descriptive H2 and H3 headers that match user queries.
• Give answers directly under subheadings in a few sentences before elaborating.
• Include bullet points for key takeaways.
• Implement FAQ sections with conversational, high-intent questions (e.g., “What’s the best tool for X?” or “How do I do Y?”).

Optimize for semantic relevance, not just keywords

• Use natural language variants of your target keywords.
• Incorporate latent semantic indexing (LSI) terms that surround your core topic. 
• Focus on topical depth: go beyond surface-level SEO and answer the “why” and “how” behind queries.

Demonstrate topical authority

• Make sure your content has clear E-E-A-T (Experience, Expertise, Authority, Trustworthiness) signals.
• Include expert quotes and add links to reputable sources in your industry.
• If possible, enrich the content with original data from your own research and experiments.

Make it easy for AI bots to crawl your content

• Ensure that your page is publicly accessible – not hidden behind a login, paywall, or gated form.
• Use static HTML instead of Javascript. Most AI models can’t render Javascript yet, with Gemini as the sole exception.

Protecting Your SEO During a Refresh

Updating your content can do wonders for your performance. But it can also turn into a disaster if not done right.

Follow these steps to protect your SEO during content refreshes:

Keep the same URL

When you change the URL of your existing content, you’ll lose all backlinks pointing to it, along with the SEO value they bring. Unless absolutely necessary, stick with the current URL to preserve your rankings and avoid unnecessary drops in traffic.

Only change if the current URL is misleading or completely off-topic. If you must, make sure to set up a redirect and update internal links.

Don’t remove sections blindly

Be very careful when removing or rewriting a section. That paragraph you’re about to delete might be the reason you’re showing up in AI Overviews, featured snippets, or People Also Ask boxes. 

Always double-check how your content is currently appearing on SERPs and AI-generated answers before making big changes.

Submit for reindexing in GSC

After your refreshed content is live, use the URL Inspection tool in Google Search Console to request reindexing. This helps Google pick up changes faster and can reduce volatility during the transition period.

Use version control

Keep backups of your content files or use version history tools (like in Google Docs or your CMS) to track changes. In case performance drops after the update, you’ll want the option to revert to the previous version.

You’ve Refreshed Your Content, Now Let’s Attract Backlinks to It

Refreshing your content is only half the battle. To make sure your article gets the attention it deserves, you also need to promote it. 

Guest blogging is a common content promotion tactic many SEOs have been using for years. By contributing to relevant, high-authority sites in your niche, you can earn contextual backlinks to your refreshed piece.

Of course, this strategy takes a lot of time and effort. But you can always outsource your link-building efforts to SEO freelancers or agencies.

Regardless of who handles your content promotion, you’ll want to track your backlink progress—and that’s where Linkody comes in.

With this tool, you can identify outreach opportunities by analyzing competitors, monitor the quality of new backlinks, and find out which links are actually hurting your performance. 

Try Linkody now for 30 days FREE—no credit card required, no strings attached.

Author bio:

Sean is the founder of Position Digital, an SEO & GEO agency that helps B2B companies grow their brand visibility across both traditional search and AI-driven channels. Over the past six years, he’s helped clients navigate algorithm updates, shifting user behaviour, and changing search trends. Today, his focus is on helping brands adapt to the rise of LLMs and AI-powered search.