More Content Is Not Always Better
Controversial take incoming:
Some of your content is actively hurting your SEO.
Thin pages. Outdated posts. Content with zero traffic and zero backlinks that just sits there, lowering Google's perception of your overall site quality.
Deleting it can actually improve your rankings. For everything else.
What to Prune
Zero-traffic pages. If a page has had zero organic visitors for 12+ months, it's dead weight.
Thin content. Pages under 300 words with no unique value.
Outdated beyond repair. Content so old that updating it would essentially mean rewriting from scratch.
Duplicate or near-duplicate pages. Content that covers the same topic as another page but worse. These are prime candidates for consolidation.
Off-topic content. Pages that don't align with your current content strategy or pillar topics.
How to Prune
Option 1: Delete and redirect. Remove the page. 301 redirect to the most relevant existing page.
Option 2: Noindex. Keep the page but tell Google not to index it. Useful for pages that serve users but not search.
Option 3: Merge. Combine with a better page (see content consolidation).
The Counter-Intuitive Result
Fewer indexed pages often means higher average content quality, which can improve your entire domain's perceived authority.
After pruning, monitor your remaining content's performance through Google Search Console. You'll likely see improvements within 4-8 weeks. Before you prune, though, consider whether some pages just need a content refresh instead.
Keep what remains fully optimized. SEO Checkup -- 113 tasks, 4 checklists, free, 30 seconds.
Less is more. Sometimes literally.