DaylytixContent decay is a page that used to bring traffic and is slowly losing it, often because competitors published fresher pages, the search intent changed or the page went out of date. Daylytix compares your audits over time and lists the pages that are losing ground, so you know what to refresh first.
What it needs
- The Pro or Agency plan (also included in the free trial). On Starter the Content Decay tab is locked and offers an upgrade.
- Search Console connected for the site. GA4 is optional; with it, sessions are taken into account too.
- At least two audits of the same site with Search Console data, so there is something to compare. On a first audit the tab stays empty.
How detection works
For each page, Daylytix compares the current audit's Search Console figures (and GA4 sessions, if connected) with an earlier audit of the same site and works out a decay score:
- change in clicks, in percent, weighted 40%,
- change in impressions, in percent, weighted 30%,
- change in average position, at 10 points per position, weighted 20%,
- change in sessions, in percent, weighted 10%.
A page is flagged when its score falls below -15 and it had real traffic before: at least 5 clicks or 50 impressions in the earlier audit. Up to 30 pages are listed, worst first.
Severity
| Decay score | Severity | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| -15 to -25 | Notice | Keep an eye on it; check again after the next audit. |
| Below -25 | Warning | Plan a refresh in the next few weeks. |
| Below -40 | Critical | Refresh soon: the page is losing a large share of its traffic. |
Reading the report
| Column | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Severity | Notice, warning or critical. |
| Page | The URL that is losing traffic. |
| Clicks, Impressions | The page's Search Console clicks and impressions. |
| Position | The page's average position. |
| Sessions | GA4 sessions, when GA4 is connected. |
| Recommendations | Short suggestions chosen by fixed rules from the page's figures. |
Common causes
| Cause | Signs |
|---|---|
| Fresher competitors | The pages above you were updated recently and yours was not. |
| Changed intent | The results page now shows a different kind of content, such as videos, tools or lists. |
| Outdated facts | Old years, prices, screenshots or statistics. |
| Clicks lost to the results page | Position held but clicks fell: an AI Overview or other feature may answer the query. |
| Your own new page | A newer page on your site targets the same query. See Query cannibalization. |
How to refresh a decaying page
Look at today's results
Search the page's main query and study the top results: their format, depth, headings and what they answer that you do not.
Update what is out of date
Replace old facts, figures, screenshots and years, and update the modified date on the page and in its markup.
Fill the gaps
Add the sections and answers the top results cover and yours misses. Put a clear, direct answer near the top, which also helps AI search quote you.
Strengthen trust and links
Show who wrote it, cite sources, and add internal links to the page from related, well-visited pages.
On WordPress sites, the Content Writer's Update Post tab can draft a refreshed version for you to review.
Checking the recovery
Give Google a few weeks to re-crawl the page, then run a new audit. If the refresh worked, the page drops off the decay list and its clicks and position improve in the Rank Tracker tab.