Content decay
The gradual decline in a page's search traffic as it ages, competitors update, intent shifts or the underlying information goes out of date.
Content
Evergreen content
Content whose relevance persists over time, as opposed to news or seasonal pieces, though it still requires periodic maintenance to stay accurate.
In full
Evergreen topics are those where the underlying question does not change even if details do — how something works, how to do something, what a term means. They compound in value because links and authority accumulate against a stable URL. The trap is treating evergreen as maintenance-free: prices, screenshots, regulations and best practice all drift, and decay follows.
Example
A guide to reading an energy bill stays relevant for years but needs its tariff examples and screenshots updated annually.
Related terms
Content refresh
Substantively updating an existing page — new data, corrected facts, restructured sections — to restore or improve its relevance and…
Freshness systems (QDF)
Google's systems that boost recent content for queries where recency matters, such as breaking news, sports scores or evolving topics.
Topical authority
The degree to which a site demonstrates comprehensive, credible coverage of a subject area rather than isolated pages on scattered topics.
Pillar page
A broad, comprehensive page that introduces a whole topic and links out to detailed supporting pages within the same cluster.