Refresh a post that is losing traffic

Posts lose traffic for ordinary reasons: facts go out of date, competitors publish something fuller, or the post never quite answered what people search for. A refresh fixes that without starting again. Blog AI researches the topic afresh, rewrites only the sections that need it, and shows you every change before anything reaches your site. The post keeps its web address, so it keeps the links and ranking it has already earned.

A refresh costs 2 credits, charged only when the proposal is ready. Applying it to your site is free.

When to refresh

The Actions page and the content audit suggest a refresh when a post:

• is losing traffic: noticeably fewer clicks than in the 28 days before
• is close to page one: ranking just below the top results for searches it could answer better
• looks out of date: a past year in the title, or old and trending down
• is short: under 600 words, too little to answer its question fully

A refresh doesn't only follow Search Console. It also fixes what the content audit finds: it expands a short post (without padding), writes a missing Google description, and adds two or three links to your related posts. A post with no search data yet is worked to good editorial practice. If you've filled in About this site, it writes for those readers and that goal.

You can also refresh any published post you think could be better. If the writing itself is the problem, a rewrite may suit it better.

Refresh works on posts that are published on your site through Blog AI's connection, whether Blog AI wrote them or imported them.

Start a refresh

1. Choose the post. Click Refresh on its card on the Actions page, or its Refresh it action in the content audit, or open the post and use Refresh post in its Refresh and improve card.
2. Let it run. The page lists What this refresh will do: the goals Blog AI is working to. It takes a few minutes, and you can leave the page.
3. Open the proposal. When it's ready, the post's card says Review proposed changes.

What the proposal contains

Blog AI splits your post into its sections (by its H2 headings) and looks at each one. The proposal shows, for every section, whether it's:

• kept as is: no change, copied word for word
• updated: rewritten where it was out of date or unclear
• expanded: with more on what searchers want to know
• new: a section the post was missing
• removed: rarely, when a section no longer helps

Each changed section shows the old and new text side by side, with the changed words highlighted, and a one-line reason. The proposal also covers the post title, the Google title and meta description, the excerpt and any FAQ.

The refresh is written in your voice, with the same research, citations and fact-check as a new post, but the fact check only looks at the text that changed.

Review and apply

1. Read each changed section. Untick any you don't want; they stay exactly as they are on your site.
2. Check any fact-check flags. A section with a statistic that doesn't match its source says "Fact-check couldn't confirm" and can't be applied as written. Untick it; the rest can still go.
3. Decide on the title and Google result. Tick or untick Accept title and meta changes.
4. Apply. Click Accept all & update live post, or Apply selected & update live post for your selection. To throw the whole proposal away, click Reject all; nothing changes and the credits are still spent, because the work was done.

When it's applied, you'll see "Applied and updated on your site". Blog AI's copy of the post, its version history and its performance chart all update: the chart gets a marker on the day, so you can compare the 28 days before and after.

What never changes

• The web address. A refresh never changes the slug.
• Categories, tags, the featured image and the publish status stay as your site has them.
• Your edits on your site. Before applying, Blog AI checks the live post still matches what the proposal was written against. If someone has edited it on your site since, Blog AI stops rather than undo their work.

When only the title and snippet can change

Some posts contain things that can't be rewritten safely: embedded videos, forms, custom HTML, shortcodes, galleries or tables. Rewriting the text through Blog AI would lose them. In that case the proposal says so, the section checkboxes are turned off, and you can apply only the title and Google result.

An accepted FAQ change goes to your site with the post, as its "Frequently asked questions" section. A refresh doesn't rewrite the post's key takeaways: if it changed a figure they repeat, Blog AI reminds you to check them in the Key takeaways and FAQ card.

If a refresh fails

The page says "The refresh failed" with the reason, and "No credits were charged". Start it again, or contact us if it keeps failing on the same post.

Rewrite a post instead

Rewrite post sits next to Refresh post in the post's Refresh and improve card. Use it when the writing is the problem rather than the facts: vague, padded, unsourced, hard to read, or no longer about what your business does. The post's diagnosis suggests it when that's the case.

A rewrite costs 3 credits, charged only when the proposal is ready. Blog AI treats the old post as source material and writes every section again in your site's voice and for what your site is about. It keeps:

• the topic, so the web address still fits
• every fact that is still correct, checked again against sources
• your images and useful links

It cuts filler and vague claims. The proposal is badged Full rewrite, explains what was kept, and shows each section before and after with word counts. You review and apply it exactly like a refresh, and the same rules apply: the address never changes, and Blog AI won't overwrite edits made on your site.

Common questions

How is this different from editing the post myself?

A refresh does the research for you: it finds what's changed since the post was written and what searchers want that the post doesn't cover, and it fact-checks the new text. For a quick fix you already know about, editing and using Update live post is faster and free. See Update a post that is already live.

Will refreshing change my post's date?

Blog AI doesn't change the publish date. Whether your theme shows an "updated" date is up to your site.

Can I refresh a post twice?

Yes. Each refresh starts from the post as it is now. A newer proposal replaces an older one that you haven't applied.