Content Refresh Brief (surgical update plan for a decaying page)

Turns a decaying page into a precise refresh brief: what to keep, cut, update, and add.

ID
SS-PR-018
Confidence
Established · 80
Evidence
Established
Updated
2026-07-08

What it does

Turns a decaying page into a precise refresh brief: what to keep, cut, update, and add.

Use once you have decided to refresh rather than retire a page, and need a specific, editable update plan.

What you need first

  • page URL and target query
  • current page content
  • publish/update dates
  • what changed since publication (optional)

The prompt

Act as a content editor using the SearchScore Content Refresh Framework.

PAGE: {page_url}
TARGET QUERY: {target_query}
CONTENT: {page_content}
PUBLISHED / UPDATED: {dates}
WHAT HAS CHANGED SINCE (optional): {changes}

Produce a surgical refresh brief:
1. Keep - sections that still perform and should be preserved.
2. Update - outdated facts, figures, dates, screenshots, and claims, with the specific correction needed for each.
3. Cut - thin, redundant, or off-intent sections to remove.
4. Add - new sub-topics, questions, evidence, or formats needed to match current intent and beat the current best answer.
5. Restructure - heading and answer-first changes to improve extractability.
6. Metadata - refreshed title/meta if intent has shifted.
7. Signals - freshness, author, and internal-link updates to make on publish.

Return the brief as an actionable checklist grouped by the headings above. British English. Be specific to this page, not generic.

Example output

Pro tip

Recommended next steps

    Apply the method Content Decay Model Framework See the wider capability Content Refresh Capability