Q: My pillar page is slipping in rankings. What's the refresh checklist?

Short answer: diagnose before you rewrite — most slipping pillars need new coverage and fresh links, not a full rewrite. Work through this:

— Compare your headings against the current top 5 — what subtopics have they added that you lack?
— Re-run entity extraction; the topic may have new entities (tools, terms) since you wrote it
— Check for new cluster pages you've published that should link UP to the pillar but don't
— Update stats, dates, and any examples that aged out
— Add the missing subtopics as new sections, each routing to a cluster page
— Update the modified date honestly and resubmit in Search Console

In practice: pillars decay when the topic evolves and the page doesn't. Re-covering the topic as it exists today usually recovers rankings faster than chasing the original keyword.

Got a slipping pillar? Send the URL in.