MEET HUGH · THE DECAY DETECTOR AGENT

CONTENT DECAY DETECTION: FIND PAGES LOSING TRAFFIC BEFORE RANKINGS DROP

Traffic rarely vanishes overnight. It leaks: a few clicks a week, while the ranking still looks fine. Hugh watches every page over the last 28 and 90 days, catches the leak early, and tells you why it's happening and what to change first.

RUNS WEEKLY28 + 90 DAY WINDOWSONE ROOT CAUSE, WITH EVIDENCE
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Hugh, the Decay Detector ghostHUGH
// WHAT HUGH HUNTS

FOUR KINDS OF TRAFFIC LOSS

QUIET DECAY

Clicks falling while the ranking holds. The early warning, and the cheapest time to fix it.

INVISIBLE LOSS

Google shows the page just as often, but fewer people click, often because an AI answer or a better-looking result is taking the click.

RANKING DROP

The page slipped down the results. Hugh looks at who moved above you and whether your page went stale.

VISIBILITY COLLAPSE

Impressions fell off a cliff. Usually a redirect, URL change, noindex or canonical problem, not the writing.

Hugh uses the true per-page totals from Search Console, compares your page to the whole site's trend (a page falling while the site grows is a page problem), and checks whether another of your own pages is competing for the same searches.

// WHAT YOU GET

A TO-DO LIST, NOT A DATA DUMP

EXAMPLE FINDING

Losing clicks while still ranking around #4 (212 → 131 clicks, last 90 days vs the 90 days before).

The page still ranks about the same but is getting fewer clicks. Competitors now show 2026 pricing in their titles; this page was last updated in 2023. Most likely cause: stale content (8/10 sure).

WHAT TO DO

  1. Update the pricing section with current numbers and add "Last updated: September 2026" near the top. · a few hours
  2. Add an internal link from /services/ with the anchor text "furnace replacement cost" to this page. · under 30 min
  3. Rewrite the title to include the year and a price range, then request indexing in Search Console. · under 30 min

Example shown for illustration. Every diagnosis names one primary cause from nine (stale content, intent shift, missing topics, weak title, stronger competitor, technical issue, AI answer capture, cannibalization or seasonal demand), a confidence score, the evidence, and fixes grouped by type.

// HOW IT WORKS

HOW HUGH WORKS

COMPARE THE PERIODS

Every week Hugh compares each page's clicks, impressions and position over the last 28 and 90 days against the periods before, using thresholds sized to your site.

BUILD THE EVIDENCE FILE

For each flagged page: the monthly trend, which searches lost clicks, what the results page looks like now, competitors, your page's structure and dates, and competing pages on your own site.

NAME ONE CAUSE, LIST THE FIXES

Hugh must pick a single most likely cause with a confidence score, then lists updates by type: freshness, intent, internal links, on-page experience, AI answers and technical.

// QUESTIONS

FAQ

What is content decay?

A steady drop in clicks to a page that used to perform, often before its ranking visibly falls. Catching it early is far cheaper than recovering a page that has already dropped.

How is this different from a ranking tracker?

Rank trackers watch positions. Hugh watches clicks, so it catches losses where the ranking hasn't moved yet, including clicks lost to AI Overviews.

Does Hugh blame the content for seasonal dips?

No. When searches fall across the board while your position holds, Hugh calls it seasonal demand and says a rewrite probably isn't needed.

What if nothing is decaying?

Hugh says so, shows your site's overall trend and the closest near-misses, so a quiet week is still useful information.

// THE REST OF THE PACK
WRATH Click GapBLINK Depth ScannerTRACE Entity LensSCOUT Link BuilderCOIN Google Ads

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