ExperimentsContent and topical coverage
I rewrote one pillar article and it went from 14 clicks in four weeks to 140
In short
Same address, same topic, a full rewrite with local names added. Its position moved from about 9 to under 6 within a week.
What I did
My fruit seasons article was the biggest page on one of my content sites, but it ranked around position 9 with a low click rate. On 6 to 8 August 2026 I rewrote it fully: a clear month-by-month answer at the top, a season table, the local name of every fruit, and links to new child pages. I kept the address and the section anchors that already ranked.
Where
One of my own content websites, August to September 2026
What changed
In the four weeks before the rewrite, the article had 3,457 impressions and 14 clicks at position 8.8. In the four weeks from 10 August, it had 11,086 impressions and 140 clicks at position 5.7. Its new table of contents links added about 22,000 more impressions as separate rows, which I do not count. The same weeks a year earlier were flat, so this was not the fruit season.
Did it work
It worked
What you should do
Find your page that earns the most impressions at positions 5 to 15. Rewrite it to answer the main question at the top, and keep its address and any anchors that rank.
How long it took
One day
A pillar article is the main article on a topic, which smaller related articles link to.
Why it matters
The old article was close to the top but did not answer the question people asked most: which fruit is in season now. The rewrite put that answer first and made the article complete for the topic, with names people in the country actually use.
Keeping the address and the anchors meant the rewrite built on the existing rankings instead of starting again.
How to check your own site
- In Search Console, sort pages by impressions and look at the ones ranking 5 to 15.
- Before rewriting, note which searches and anchors bring traffic, and protect them.
At a glance
ResultIt worked
Effort to copyAbout a day
Type of businessContent publisher
SubjectContent and topical coverage
14 to 140clicks, four weeks before vs after
8.8 to 5.7average position
3,457 to 11,086impressions on the article's own address
| Status | Done |
|---|---|
| Hypothesis | A full rewrite of the top pillar, keeping its address and anchors, will lift its position and clicks. |
| Started | 2026-08-06 |
| Measured by | Impressions, clicks and position, four weeks before vs after, with the same weeks of 2025 as a check |
What this changed in how I work
A page that already ranks on page one has the most to gain from a rewrite. I now start content upgrades with the strongest page, not the weakest.
End of Lab entry No. 046
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