What is content decay and how can you avoid it?

Many B2B-focused companies face a steady decline in organic traffic, and one of the most common reasons is failing to run content creation and updates in tandem. Research shows that 90.63% of content gets no traffic from Google at all, according to a study by Ahrefs. For large websites with hundreds or thousands of pages, content decay can have a compounding effect, and once organic traffic starts to drop, it can take months—or even years—to recover.

Are you experiencing content decay?

The problem typically unfolds in three phases:

1. Content development: Companies produce large volumes of content, sometimes creating thousands of pages over the years.
2. Content decay: As content ages, older pages begin to lose organic traffic—this is called content decay.
3. Even more content development: Instead of addressing the issue, companies focus solely on creating new content, believing that fresh material will drive traffic growth.

At first, this approach might appear to work. The new content performs well, driving clicks that temporarily offset the losses from decaying content. However, as time goes on, the losses from older pages begin to snowball, and the traffic gains from new content can no longer keep up. The result? Your entire site’s traffic starts to decline.

The numbers prove the point: Industry stats about content decay

Research by HubSpot shows that websites that regularly update old content can see an average traffic increase of 106%. On the flip side, websites that neglect to optimize aging content could lose up to 20% of their organic traffic each year, according to a study by Conductor. These numbers highlight the importance of running content creation and re-optimization efforts side by side.

Example: HubSpot does it right

HubSpot excels at balancing content creation with regular updates. Their strategy includes a robust content refresh program that identifies older, decaying pages and optimizes them for relevance and SEO performance. In 2023 alone, HubSpot saw a double-digit increase in organic traffic after focusing heavily on updating and optimizing older blog content while continuing to produce new material. This approach ensures they stay on top of traffic trends and maximize their existing content library.

Example: GE Digital has room to grow

GE Digital, a key player in industrial software, produces vast amounts of content, but much of it has been left unoptimized for years. While they are excellent at launching new content, their older pages have steadily lost organic visibility. For example, many of their blog posts from 2017 and 2018 still rank poorly for relevant keywords, and their lack of a clear re-optimization strategy has caused them to miss out on potential organic traffic gains. If they shifted some focus toward reoptimizing decaying assets, they could reclaim valuable search rankings and drive more traffic. BTW, GE Digital—we’d love to help you fix this issue.

How to avoid organic traffic declines

B2B companies can avoid content decay and traffic drops by integrating re-optimization into their regular content strategy. Here’s how:

1. Monitor traffic declines on individual pages
   Even if overall traffic is rising, it’s critical to keep an eye on individual pages. Use tools to track which pages are losing traffic before the issue spreads. See how to leverage data analytics for better performance here.
2. Allocate resources for content updates
   As soon as content decay is spotted, shift some resources to re-optimization. Companies that update their content regularly, like HubSpot, can see significant traffic increases.
3. Prioritize by business impact
   Not all content is created equal. When reoptimizing, prioritize pages that are critical to your business, such as lead-generating landing pages or pages that drive conversions. Here’s a blog post that discusses how marketers can identify which content matters most and how to improve its performance.
4. Run content creation and re-optimization in parallel
   The best-performing websites treat content creation and content updates as complementary efforts.

Conclusion: Don’t let content decay undermine your organic traffic

For B2B companies, content decay is a silent threat that can slowly erode organic traffic. But it doesn’t have to be. By proactively monitoring, updating, and reoptimizing older content while continuing to produce new material, B2B marketers can avoid traffic declines and maintain steady, long-term growth.

To keep traffic healthy and your website performing and stay competitive, marketers should regularly optimize existing content while producing fresh, relevant material. If you would like to learn more, contact us for help.