Existing pages are usually a better investment than new pages, because retrieval already works for them. Only the quotation, the accuracy, or the completeness fails, and you can correct these with edits.

​
What to update first

  • Pages for questions where you appear but answer engines do not recommend you. The answer engine already finds you and selects a different brand. Usually, the answers tell you why.
  • Pages that answer engines retrieve but never quote. Apply the test from Structuring content for LLMs. If no paragraph is self-contained, correct that problem.
  • Pages that newer sources contradict. Your page and a cited third-party source can disagree about your own product. Then, answer engines give an uncertain answer, or they use the third-party source.
  • All content with old facts. For example: old pricing, removed features, or replaced integrations. Answer engines copy old facts into answers. The cost of these errors is high, but it is not easy to see.

​
What an update is not

An update is not a new date on a page that you publish again. Answer engines read the text. A changed timestamp has no effect.

​
After an update

Record the date, and continue to run the topic. Expect a delay. Answer engines must retrieve the page again and decide that it is better than the previous source. One run is not a verdict. Read Monitoring AI visibility.