I run a site with 15k long articles. About 5k of them aren’t getting any traffic. Rewriting them isn’t possible. What’s the best thing to do here?
- Use Screaming Frog and link it to your Google Search Console and GA4 data (last year’s data)
- Export all the info
- Filter for articles that got 100 clicks or less
- You can either unpublish and redirect those pages or update and republish
- Resubmit the updated URLs in Google Search Console.
@Barbara
Republish* (whoops, typo there!)
Barbara said:
@Barbara
Republish* (whoops, typo there!)
Haha! ‘Republican your content’ sounds like a fun challenge =)
@Barbara
That’s a good tip, thank you.
You say rewriting isn’t possible… but in my experience, updating old articles can bring them back to life. What’s your traffic history like? Did these articles used to get traffic? And how do you know they aren’t supporting other pages?
@EdwardGenesis
Google doesn’t ‘read’ content the way we do. Republishing helps because it lets Google index it fresh, but rewriting alone doesn’t necessarily help unless your site already has solid authority.
Time to prune your content. It’s not fun, but sometimes necessary.
TechTitan said:
Time to prune your content. It’s not fun, but sometimes necessary.
What’s your process when it comes to content pruning? What’s the actual benefit?
TechTitan said:
Time to prune your content. It’s not fun, but sometimes necessary.
What’s your process when it comes to content pruning? What’s the actual benefit?
Pruning means going through and either updating or removing content that isn’t performing anymore. The goal is to get rid of pages that aren’t bringing traffic or value, so Google can focus on the good stuff. It’s like cleaning out a garden, you get rid of the dead plants to help the healthy ones grow better.
The benefits include:
- Better rankings because search engines focus on what’s relevant.
- Improved user experience, as visitors won’t have to wade through outdated junk.
- Higher engagement from keeping everything relevant and fresh.
It’s not just about deleting, it’s making sure that what’s left is useful.
@TechTitan
Totally agree! I’ve found pruning to be super helpful. Using tools like Ahrefs to spot low-performing content or Google Analytics to check trends helps. It’s like cleaning out a cluttered room – makes everything else easier to find.
You might want to add Schema Markup. It helps Google understand what your article is about and who it’s for, which could send more traffic your way.
Alex said:
You might want to add Schema Markup. It helps Google understand what your article is about and who it’s for, which could send more traffic your way.
Thanks, I’ve already done that.
@DolphGabbana
Actually, Schema doesn’t do that. It helps Google understand the data on your page, but it doesn’t magically increase traffic. Lots of pages with Schema still don’t get any clicks.
A lot of advice here on what to do, but nobody’s really asking the right questions.
- Did those 5k articles ever get traffic?
- If so, how did it drop off? Slowly or all of a sudden?
- Are the articles on similar topics or different?
You need to figure that out before making any decisions.
@Troy
I was thinking the same thing. Glad someone finally said it!
To delete or not to delete? That’s the struggle… I’m dealing with the same issue.
How do you know those articles aren’t helping the ones that do get traffic?
SHAWN said:
How do you know those articles aren’t helping the ones that do get traffic?
I’m not 100% sure. I’m debating whether I should redirect most of them to similar topics or leave them alone.
@DolphGabbana
You could use Search Console to look at the traffic trends over time for those articles. Some might be worth redirecting or linking from newer, fresher content, while others might need to be removed. Be careful though – removing content can sometimes do more harm than good.