Documentation
R2 — Content decay rule
How Slope detects decaying pages and what it suggests.
What it detects
Pages losing organic traffic vs the prior 28-day period. Decay is the most expensive under-monitored content problem — refresh ROI dwarfs new-content ROI.
Heuristic
- Need ≥ 56 days of GSC data (compare last 28d vs prior 28d).
- Page must have had ≥
min_clicks_priorclicks in the prior period (default 50). - Decline ratio must be ≥
decay_threshold(default 0.40 = 40% drop).
Suggested action
Refresh content: update dates, refresh examples, add new sections covering recent changes. Re-check title + meta if rank dropped — competitors may have caught up.
Why we don't just look at impressions
Impression decay is often seasonal or query-trend-driven and not your fault. Click decay means people who saw you in SERP picked someone else — that's actionable.