Content refresh
A content refresh updates an existing article — figures, examples, new sections — without a full rewrite, to restore freshness and reclaim positions lost to newer competitors. It targets degradation signals rather than rebuilding from scratch.
In practice
An effective refresh addresses specific degradation signals: a drop in position on the primary query, new People Also Ask questions not yet covered, or sources that have become outdated. Updating the publication date without changing the content is a bad practice Google detects. A substantive refresh (adding a section, updating statistics, providing a new example) typically produces a 10 to 30% traffic rebound within three weeks.