Law firm websites often grow large over time. Dozens of blog posts, service pages, attorney bios, and FAQ sections accumulate year after year. At first, this content supports visibility and topical authority. But as the site ages, something subtle and harmful begins to happen: older pages stop ranking, traffic fades, and internal relevance weakens. This is content decay.
Content decay occurs when previously valuable pages lose SEO traction. The causes include outdated information, shifting search intent, algorithm updates, or simply newer competing content. For law firms, content decay is especially dangerous. It creates blind spots in search visibility, undermines practice area authority, and wastes crawl budget.
Understanding and repairing content decay is essential for long-term SEO stability.
How to Identify Content Decay
You don’t need to guess. You need data. Start with:
- Google Search Console: Filter by pages with declining clicks or impressions over the past 6 to 12 months
- Google Analytics: Look for landing pages that used to bring traffic but now show a flat or negative trend
- SEO tools (like Ahrefs or Semrush): Track keyword positions that are dropping for key URLs
- Content audit spreadsheets: List every indexed URL and track metrics like bounce rate, time on page, backlinks, and last modified date
Once you spot pages losing momentum, you can group them into categories.
Common Decay Patterns on Law Firm Sites
Outdated Blog Posts
A 2019 article about “New DUI Laws in Georgia” likely no longer ranks well in 2025. The title may be outdated. The content may not reflect current legal standards. Google recognizes this.
Thin Practice Area Pages
One-paragraph descriptions of “Criminal Defense” or “Estate Planning” lack depth. If they aren’t updated or expanded, they fall behind more comprehensive competitor pages.
Duplicate Location Pages
Law firms with multiple city-targeted pages using the same structure and wording face internal cannibalization. Google often devalues one or both.
Old Attorney Bios
Attorneys who have left the firm but still have a bio live create confusion. Bios without bar numbers, updated accolades, or recent publications also lose trust.
High Bounce Legal FAQs
If users visit an FAQ and immediately leave, that page is not answering the question. Over time, it gets deprioritized by the algorithm.
Why Decay Happens in Legal SEO
- Lack of Update Cycles
Legal content is time-sensitive. Statutes, procedures, and local court practices change. If content doesn’t reflect current realities, it becomes irrelevant. - Shifting Search Intent
A post written in 2021 for “how to file for divorce in Georgia” might miss user behavior in 2025, where mobile-first users expect interactive checklists or video explanations. - Content Competition
Newer firms write better optimized, more engaging posts. Their freshness, backlink activity, and UX push your older content downward. - Internal Link Rot
As internal linking patterns change or get broken, your decayed content becomes isolated. Google sees this as a sign that you no longer value the page. - Algorithm Adjustments
Helpful Content and E-E-A-T updates evaluate freshness, authorship, and relevance. Old posts without signals of credibility lose favor.
A Three-Tier Fix Strategy
1. Refresh
Update existing content to reflect current facts, add depth, include new images or internal links, and rewrite headers to match updated queries.
- Replace outdated statistics
- Link to newer internal articles
- Add FAQ schema and clarify CTA placement
- Rewrite introductions for clarity and current user intent
2. Consolidate
Combine multiple low-performing pages on similar topics into one stronger asset. This avoids keyword cannibalization and strengthens authority.
- Merge multiple “types of wills” articles into a definitive guide
- Redirect old content to the new page using 301 redirects
- Preserve backlink equity from retired pages
3. Remove
If a page can’t be updated or has zero traffic and no backlinks, delete it. Use a 410 status or redirect it to a related high-performing page.
- Archive attorney profiles for departed lawyers
- Remove outdated court announcements or duplicate blog posts
- Always check for backlinks before removing
How to Track Improvement
After you refresh, consolidate, or remove content, monitor performance for 30 to 90 days:
- Has traffic returned to formerly stale pages?
- Are updated pages ranking for new keywords?
- Has bounce rate improved?
- Are pages being crawled more frequently?
Use tools like Google Search Console, Screaming Frog, and site audit dashboards to validate technical and content-level improvements.
When to Perform a Content Decay Audit
- After a major drop in organic traffic
- Every 6 to 12 months as part of a routine SEO review
- When launching a site redesign
- Before scaling new content
- When expanding to new practice areas or cities
Final Insight
Law firm SEO is not just about creating new content. It’s about managing what you already have. Every page on your site either supports visibility or drains authority. Content decay happens silently, but its impact is measurable. Regularly auditing, updating, and removing content keeps your site lean, current, and trustworthy.
SEO rewards clarity, relevance, and consistency. If your firm’s website holds outdated, forgotten, or weak content, Google will treat your entire domain with less confidence. Don’t let age become a weakness. Let it become proof of your ability to evolve.
If You Can Answer These, You’ve Understood the Point
- Which blog posts have dropped in clicks over the past year?
- How often are your practice area pages updated?
- Are your internal links still pointing to relevant and active URLs?
- What criteria should you use to decide if a page should be deleted?
- When does Google consider content “stale”?
- How does bounce rate inform content decay?
- What risks come with consolidating multiple posts?
- Why does outdated attorney info affect site credibility?
- How can schema markup support content freshness?
- What should your firm’s update cycle look like for evergreen content?