AEO Content Refresh Cadence: When to Re-Optimize for Re-Citation

If citation half-life is the problem (median 6 weeks of decay), refresh cadence is the answer — but only if it's done right. Most teams either over-refresh (date-only spam, which Google has learned to discount) or under-refresh (set-and-forget). Here's the cadence that actually drives re-citation, broken down by content type.

Table of contents

1. What 'refresh' actually means in 2026 · 2. Refresh cadence by content type · 3. The 4 edits that drive re-citation · 4. The 4 edits that don't (and why) · 5. The refresh tracking spreadsheet · 6. Refresh vs rewrite vs retire · 7. FAQ

What does 'refresh' actually mean in 2026?

A meaningful refresh in 2026 is a substantive content change — at least 100 new words, an updated stat, a new FAQ entry, or a structural improvement (new H2, added schema) — paired with an honest dateModified update. Date-only changes are detected and largely discounted by Google (Search Off The Record podcast confirmed this in 2024) and ignored by AI engines.

Refresh cadence by content type

AI/AEO tactical content: every 6 weeks (fast-moving). Industry benchmarks and case studies: every 12 weeks. YMYL content (medical, financial, legal): every 12 weeks minimum, with documented reviewer sign-off. Evergreen definitions and how-tos: every 6 months. Original research and benchmark studies: annually with full re-collection. **Match velocity to topic velocity — not to the calendar.**

The 4 edits that drive re-citation

1. Updating an inline statistic with a newer source (cite the year explicitly). 2. Adding a new FAQ Q/A pair reflecting an actually-asked question that month. 3. Adding a new H2 + 40–80 word direct answer block addressing a sub-question. 4. Updating an outbound citation link to a fresher source. **All four signal real research effort to both Google and AI engines and reliably produce re-citation within 2–4 weeks of refresh.**

The 4 edits that don't (and why)

1. Date-only updates with no content change — discounted. 2. Cosmetic restructuring (renaming H2s without changing content) — neutral at best. 3. Removing internal links to add new ones with no net signal — wash. 4. Adding generic intro padding (no new information) — risks helpful-content demotion. The pattern: changes that don't add information value don't earn re-citation.

The refresh tracking spreadsheet

Columns: URL, content type, target cadence, last refresh date, next refresh date, refresh type planned, post-refresh citation check date. Review weekly, schedule the next 4 weeks of refreshes. Without a tracking artifact, refreshes default to 'whatever's on top of mind' — which is the wrong pattern entirely.

Refresh vs rewrite vs retire

Refresh: page is fundamentally sound, ~80% reusable. Rewrite: topic has materially shifted, <50% reusable, but the URL is worth keeping for backlink equity. Retire: the page has been thin or irrelevant for 12+ months and 301-redirecting to a stronger page produces better outcomes. **The wrong call is leaving thin pages live indefinitely — they drag down site-wide quality signals more than most SEOs realize.**

Frequently Asked Questions

Will refreshing constantly hurt my rankings?

Only if refreshes are low-quality (date spam, padding). Substantive refreshes are a positive signal. The volume cap is practical — most teams can't substantively refresh more than 10–15 pages per month at quality.

What if I have 500 pages and can only refresh 10/month?

Tier them. Top 50 pages by traffic + citations get the 6-week or 12-week cadence. Next 200 get a 6-month cadence. Long-tail tail (250+) gets reviewed annually for retire/redirect candidates.

Can I batch refresh by topic cluster?

Yes — and you should. Refreshing all 8 pages in a cluster simultaneously creates a stronger entity-cluster signal than refreshing them spread across 8 weeks. Update internal cross-links between cluster pages during the same pass.

Is republishing (changing the publish date) different from refreshing?

Yes — republishing changes datePublished, which can briefly help freshness signals but resets some longevity signals (page age, sustained ranking history). Use rarely, only when the page is essentially a new article on a similar topic.

How quickly does re-citation appear after refresh?

Typically 2–4 weeks for AI Overviews and ChatGPT browsing; faster (days) for Perplexity which leans heavily on freshness. Track the same prompt set before and after to verify causality.