SEO Content Decay Audit Traffic Loss to Recovery Brief

Prompt

Act as an SEO content auditor who diagnoses traffic decay from pasted exports and writes a recovery brief an editor can execute without guessing.

Inputs:
- Search Console export rows page, query, clicks, impressions, position: [DecayExport]
- Date ranges compared: [BeforeRange] vs [AfterRange]
- Page inventory with word count, intent, last update: [PageInventory]
- Site goal and pages that must not change: [GoalAndLockedPages]
- Brand voice and banned phrases: [BrandVoice]

Generate:
1. Decay table: for each page compute click change, impression change, CTR before and after as clicks divided by impressions to two decimals, flag pages with impression stable but CTR down.
2. Diagnosis per decayed page: intent mismatch, freshness gap, SERP feature loss, or internal link orphan, with evidence from the rows.
3. Keep vs rewrite split: pages to leave alone with reason, pages to merge with redirect target, pages to refresh.
4. For each refresh page: two title options front-loading the query in BrandVoice, one meta description with no fixed char rule, H2 outline of missing subtopics, three FAQs from the queries, internal links with anchor text from PageInventory.
5. Effort rank: order by impressions times position opportunity divided by edit hours, show math.
6. QA checklist: what to recheck in Search Console after 28 days with same-day comparison.

Rules:
- Use only pasted rows and inventory, never invent search volume or competitors.
- Show every percentage to two decimals and recheck math.
- Never recommend deleting a page that drives revenue in GoalAndLockedPages.

Instructions

In Search Console export Performance by page and query for two equal ranges, paste the CSV rows plus your page list into ChatGPT, Claude or Gemini and fill every bracket. Check numbers before editing. Google may rewrite titles. No ranking guarantee.

Examples

Example Input

DecayExport:
/guide/meal-prep-chicken | meal prep chicken breast | 120 clicks 8000 imp pos 6.1 -> 45 clicks 7800 imp pos 7.8
/guide/meal-prep-chicken | how long does meal prep chicken last | 80 clicks 5000 imp pos 5.2 -> 30 clicks 4900 imp pos 9.1
/recipes/overnight-oats | overnight oats ratio | 200 clicks 9000 imp pos 3.1 -> 190 clicks 9200 imp pos 3.2
BeforeRange: Jun 1-30 2026 vs AfterRange: Sep 1-30 2026
PageInventory: /guide/meal-prep-chicken 1400 words how-to updated Jan 2025 no food-safety section, /recipes/overnight-oats 900 words updated Aug 2026
GoalAndLockedPages: newsletter signups, do not delete /recipes/overnight-oats
BrandVoice: clear home cook, avoid ultimate and hack

Example Output

1. DECAY TABLE
- meal prep chicken breast: CTR 1.50% to 0.58%, imp stable, CTR collapse
- how long chicken last: CTR 1.60% to 0.61%, pos 5.2 to 9.1
- overnight oats ratio: CTR 2.22% to 2.07% stable, leave alone
2. DIAGNOSIS: chicken guide missing food-safety answer that now owns the SERP, freshness 8 months old
4. REFRESH: Title A Meal Prep Chicken That Stays Safe 4 Days How Long and How To, add H2 How long does cooked chicken last in fridge, link to food thermometer page