Content Refresh
Breathe new life into existing content without starting from scratch.
When to Use This Skill
Refresh content when:
- •Age: Article is 6+ months old
- •Outdated info: Tools, versions, or best practices have changed
- •New developments: Something significant happened in the topic area
- •Performance dip: Traffic declining on previously popular content
- •SEO opportunity: Keyword rankings dropping, competitors publishing
Not for:
- •Content that needs complete rewrite (use
tacosdedatos-pipeline) - •Evergreen content still performing well (leave it alone)
- •Content on deprecated/dead topics (archive instead)
The Refresh Process
code
┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐ │ CONTENT REFRESH │ ├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤ │ │ │ PHASE 1: AUDIT │ │ ┌─────────────┐ │ │ │ Select │ → Analyze → Score → [DECISION] │ │ │ Content │ current refresh Refresh / Archive / │ │ └─────────────┘ state need Leave │ │ │ │ PHASE 2: RESEARCH │ │ ┌─────────────┐ │ │ │ What's New? │ → Gather → Identify gaps │ │ └─────────────┘ updates │ │ │ │ PHASE 3: UPDATE │ │ ┌─────────────┐ ┌─────────────┐ ┌─────────────┐ │ │ │ Fix Outdated│ → │ Add New │ → │ Update SEO │ │ │ │ Information │ │ Content │ │ Metadata │ │ │ └─────────────┘ └─────────────┘ └─────────────┘ │ │ │ │ PHASE 4: REPUBLISH │ │ ┌─────────────┐ │ │ │ Update Date │ → Social promotion → Track performance │ │ └─────────────┘ │ │ │ └─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
Phase 1: Content Audit
Audit Checklist
For each piece of content, evaluate:
markdown
## Content Audit: [Article Title] **URL**: [link] **Published**: [date] **Last updated**: [date] **Age**: [X months] ### Performance Metrics - Monthly views (current): [X] - Monthly views (peak): [X] - Trend: [↑ Growing / → Stable / ↓ Declining] - Top keywords: [list] - Keyword rankings: [positions] ### Content Health | Aspect | Status | Notes | |--------|--------|-------| | Code examples | ✅/⚠️/❌ | [Still work? Current syntax?] | | Tool versions | ✅/⚠️/❌ | [Current versions mentioned?] | | Links | ✅/⚠️/❌ | [Any broken links?] | | Screenshots | ✅/⚠️/❌ | [UI still looks like this?] | | Best practices | ✅/⚠️/❌ | [Still recommended approach?] | | Statistics/data | ✅/⚠️/❌ | [Numbers still accurate?] | ### Refresh Score | Factor | Score (1-5) | Weight | Weighted | |--------|-------------|--------|----------| | Outdated content | [X] | 30% | [X] | | Traffic potential | [X] | 25% | [X] | | Update effort | [X] | 20% | [X] | | Strategic value | [X] | 15% | [X] | | Competition | [X] | 10% | [X] | | **Total** | | | **[X]/5** | ### Decision - [ ] **Refresh** (Score > 3.5): Worth updating - [ ] **Minor update** (Score 2.5-3.5): Quick fixes only - [ ] **Archive** (Score < 2.5): Mark as outdated or remove - [ ] **Leave** (Content still accurate): No action needed
Batch Audit Template
For auditing multiple articles:
markdown
# Content Audit: [Month Year] ## Summary - Articles audited: [X] - Needs refresh: [X] - Minor updates: [X] - Archive candidates: [X] - No action: [X] ## Refresh Queue (Priority Order) | Article | Age | Score | Effort | Priority | |---------|-----|-------|--------|----------| | [Title] | Xmo | X.X | S/M/L | 🔴 High | | [Title] | Xmo | X.X | S/M/L | 🟡 Medium | | [Title] | Xmo | X.X | S/M/L | 🟢 Low | ## Archive Candidates | Article | Reason | |---------|--------| | [Title] | [Topic deprecated / No longer relevant] |
Phase 2: Research Updates
What to Research
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For the article topic, find: 1. VERSION UPDATES - Current versions of tools/libraries mentioned - New features added since publication - Deprecations or breaking changes 2. NEW DEVELOPMENTS - Recent news in this topic area - New tools that should be mentioned - Changed best practices 3. COMMUNITY FEEDBACK - Comments on original article - Questions people ask about this topic - Common misconceptions to address 4. COMPETITOR CONTENT - What have others published since? - What angles are they covering? - Gaps we can fill
Research Output
markdown
## Research: [Article Title] ### Version Updates | Tool/Library | Article Version | Current Version | Breaking Changes? | |--------------|-----------------|-----------------|-------------------| | [Name] | X.X | Y.Y | Yes/No | ### New Developments 1. **[Development 1]** - What: [Description] - Impact: [How it affects the article] - Action: [What to update] 2. **[Development 2]** ... ### Community Questions (to address) - [Question 1] - [Question 2] ### Competitor Content | Competitor | What they cover | Our opportunity | |------------|-----------------|-----------------| | [URL] | [Summary] | [Gap we can fill] |
Phase 3: Update Content
Update Types
| Type | Scope | When to Use |
|---|---|---|
| Quick fix | Typos, broken links, version numbers | Minor issues |
| Section update | Rewrite one section | New information for part of article |
| Major refresh | Multiple sections, new content | Significant changes needed |
| Full rewrite | Start over | Too much has changed |
Update Checklist
markdown
## Updates Made: [Article Title] ### Content Updates - [ ] Fixed outdated information: - [Specific fix 1] - [Specific fix 2] - [ ] Added new content: - [New section/paragraph 1] - [New section/paragraph 2] - [ ] Updated code examples: - [Code block 1]: [What changed] - [Code block 2]: [What changed] - [ ] Fixed/updated links: - [Old link] → [New link] - [ ] Updated screenshots: - [Screenshot 1]: [What changed] ### SEO Updates - [ ] Updated title tag (if needed) - [ ] Updated meta description - [ ] Added new keywords: [list] - [ ] Updated internal links - [ ] Checked/added schema markup ### Quality Check - [ ] Read through entire updated article - [ ] All code examples tested - [ ] Voice still authentic tacosdedatos - [ ] No new AI-speak introduced - [ ] Flows naturally with updates
Preserving SEO Value
DO:
- •Keep the same URL
- •Maintain core content structure
- •Update the publish date (shows freshness)
- •Add "Updated: [Date]" note at top
- •Keep successful keywords
DON'T:
- •Change the URL
- •Remove content that ranks well
- •Completely restructure without reason
- •Delete sections that get traffic
- •Over-optimize for new keywords
Update Note Template
Add at the top of refreshed articles:
markdown
> **Actualizado en [Month Year]**: Este artículo fue actualizado para incluir > [brief description of what's new]. La versión original fue publicada en [original date].
Phase 4: Republish
Republish Checklist
markdown
## Republish: [Article Title] ### Pre-Publish - [ ] All updates complete - [ ] SEO metadata updated - [ ] "Updated" note added - [ ] Publish date updated - [ ] Old comments preserved (if applicable) ### Publish - [ ] Article republished - [ ] Sitemap updated (automatic usually) - [ ] Google Search Console: Request reindex ### Promotion - [ ] Social posts created (use `content-to-social`) - [ ] Newsletter mention planned - [ ] Internal links from other articles checked ### Tracking - [ ] Set reminder to check performance in 2 weeks - [ ] Note baseline metrics for comparison
Social Promotion for Refreshed Content
Frame refreshed content appropriately:
code
❌ Don't: "Check out my article about X!"
(Feels like you're recycling old content)
✅ Do: "Actualicé mi guía sobre X con [new thing].
Si la leíste antes, hay cosas nuevas que te van a interesar:"
(Transparency + value proposition)
Refresh Calendar
Suggested cadence:
| Frequency | Activity |
|---|---|
| Monthly | Quick audit of top 10 performing articles |
| Quarterly | Full audit of all content |
| Annually | Major refresh of pillar content |
Annual Refresh Schedule
markdown
# Content Refresh Calendar 2026 ## Q1 (Jan-Mar) - [ ] Audit all content from 2024 - [ ] Refresh top 5 tutorials - [ ] Archive deprecated content ## Q2 (Apr-Jun) - [ ] Refresh Python/Pandas content (version updates) - [ ] Update tool comparison articles ## Q3 (Jul-Sep) - [ ] Refresh beginner content - [ ] Update "getting started" guides ## Q4 (Oct-Dec) - [ ] Annual roundup/review articles - [ ] Prepare pillar content for next year
Metrics to Track
Before/After Comparison
markdown
## Refresh Results: [Article Title] | Metric | Before | After (2 weeks) | After (1 month) | |--------|--------|-----------------|-----------------| | Monthly views | X | X | X | | Avg. time on page | X | X | X | | Bounce rate | X% | X% | X% | | Keyword rankings | X | X | X | | Social shares | X | X | X | ### Assessment - **ROI**: [Worth it / Marginal / Not worth it] - **Learnings**: [What worked, what didn't]
Integration with Pipeline
code
trend-monitor
↓
[Identifies topics to refresh]
↓
content-refresh (this skill)
↓
[Updated article]
↓
content-to-social
↓
[Promotion of refreshed content]
Related Skills
- •
tacosdedatos-editor— Quality review for updates - •
tacosdedatos-seo— SEO optimization - •
content-to-social— Promotion after refresh - •
trend-monitor— Identifies refresh opportunities