A 2022 article about AI in journalism may contain entirely accurate, valuable content — but LLM retrieval systems deprioritise it against a 2026 article on the same topic, even if the latter is less accurate. Freshness signals are a significant LLMO ranking factor. Systematically refreshing your archive is one of the highest-ROI content investments available.
The Refresh Priority Matrix
Prioritise refreshing articles that: still rank on page 1–3 of Google (they have existing authority worth protecting), address topics where facts have changed significantly since publication, contain statistics older than 18 months, and are part of an active internal content cluster. Deprioritise refreshing articles with no existing traffic, in declining topic areas, or that have been fully superseded by newer content on the same URL.
What to Update in a Refresh
Update: all statistics with current figures, the "published/updated" date prominently, any references to pending developments that have since been resolved, the FAQ section (add questions that have become common since original publication), and internal links to any new relevant articles published since the original. Do not: change the URL, fundamentally rewrite accurate sections, or remove information that is still accurate. The goal is incremental updates, not rewrites.