Why Is Content Pruning Difficult?

Creating content often requires a great deal of effort, from writing to designing original visuals. After publishing, it can be disheartening to see that an article isn't attracting any visitors months later. In such cases, deleting the content may be the best course of action, but this is only true in specific situations. I will clarify when it is appropriate to take this step.

What Exactly Is Content Pruning?

As I mentioned, content pruning is an SEO technique that focuses on identifying and removing content that is not performing well on your site. This practice has numerous benefits, including enhanced crawling efficiency, improved user experience, and decreased chances of keyword cannibalization (for more on this, check out my guide on resolving cannibalization issues).

Identifying Content That Needs Pruning

To pinpoint which pages to prune, Google Search Console is an invaluable resource. If you haven't started using it yet, I highly recommend doing so—it can also inspire new content ideas.

To analyze your pages, navigate to Google Search Console, click on "Search Results," then select "New" and choose "Page." Enter the URL you wish to evaluate and press Enter. This will provide insights into the performance of individual pages.

For example, consider a page that has only received 242 searches and a single click over three months. If its average position is represented by a dotted line, this indicates that it has not been consistently appearing in search results.

Removing Outdated Content

Another category of content to consider for removal includes articles that are no longer relevant, such as those detailing how to create a Google+ account—given that this platform is defunct. Similarly, a review of the iPhone 4 is likely outdated and unnecessary.

Don't Forget to Implement Redirects

After pruning content, it’s crucial to set up redirects for the pages you’ve deleted to avoid 404 errors, which can diminish the benefits of content pruning. If your site is built on WordPress, consider using plugins like Rankmath, Yoast, or AIOSEO for this process.

Here are some video tutorials that can help:

Repurposing Deleted Content

While certain articles may be obsolete, elements from them can be repurposed. For instance, I have taken insights from such articles to enhance the quality of other content, which subsequently improved their search rankings.

Old pages can also be the foundation for creating new content. For example, instead of a standalone iPhone 4 review, you could compile information from various iPhone models into an article that chronicles the evolution of the iPhone—an evergreen topic.

Traffic Growth

The most significant benefit of content pruning is the potential for increased traffic. For instance, after removing underperforming pages, I observed a traffic boost of over 32% in just three months. While I did publish new content during this period, the majority of the increase can be attributed to the pruning process.

Enhanced Crawling Efficiency

Search engines like Google allocate a limited amount of resources—known as "crawl budget"—to each site daily. By pruning low-quality content, you enable Google to focus on crawling your most valuable pages. This can lead to better visibility for those important pages in search engine results.

Preventing Keyword Cannibalization

In my experience, content pruning also helps mitigate keyword cannibalization. A while back, I discovered that an older article I had forgotten about was competing with a new piece I wrote on the same topic. After removing the older page, the new article began to rank much better.

In Conclusion

Content pruning is an effective strategy for boosting your website traffic. By removing underperforming and irrelevant content, you can enhance your site's overall performance. Just remember to set up redirects to avoid 404 errors, and consider repurposing any valuable insights from the deleted content for other uses.

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