Delete vs. Update vs. Consolidate: What to Do With Underperforming Pages

Underperforming pages can hurt your SEO efforts. They may get no traffic, rank poorly for keywordsWords or phrases that users type into search engines to find information., or clutter your site’s index without adding value. The immediate reaction might be to delete them, but that’s not always the best choice.

You have four main options: delete, update, consolidate, or redirect. Each comes with its own costs, risks, and rewards, depending on the page's current SEO value and long-term potential. This guide will help you evaluate each option and make the best choice for each page.

Takeaway: Deleting pages isn’t harmful for SEO, but deleting without a plan can cost you more than keeping them.

The Four Options Explained

Each option serves a different purpose and carries unique risks. Here's what you need to know:

• Delete: If a page has no value, deletion is the cleanest option. It removes clutter and avoids any risk of the page causing SEO harm.
  
• Update: Refreshing content on an existing page helps you preserve SEO value while making it more useful and competitive. Updating can improve ranking and traffic over time.
  
• Consolidate: If you have multiple pages covering the same topic, merging them can focus authority and improve rankingsThe position at which a website appears in the SERP.. This option works when pages are weak individually but have good potential when combined.
  
• Redirect: Redirecting is useful when a page has valuable backlinks but is obsolete or no longer relevant. A 301 redirectA permanent redirect from one URL to another. transfers the page's link equity to a more relevant page.
  

When to Delete a Page

Consider deleting a page when it’s clear that the page no longer has any value or relevance. Deletion works best for pages that have no traffic, no backlinks, or outdated content that can’t be updated. For instance, if a page has been dormant for over a year with no traffic or backlinks, it’s likely not contributing to your SEO.

Also, pages with thin contentLow-quality content that offers little value to users. (e.g., a 200-word page) that offerThe specific product or service being promoted by affiliates. little value should be removed rather than updated. Content about discontinued products or obsolete events should be deleted because it no longer serves the user’s intent.

If you do choose deletion, ensure that 301 redirects are set up to avoid losing any link equity from pages that have backlinks.

When to Update Instead

Updating a page is often the most effective approach to improve its performance. If the page is already receiving traffic or ranking well (even modestly), it’s often easier to refresh the content rather than creating a new page from scratch. Updating a page with backlinks is also highly beneficial because you maintain the link equity and SEO value.

Updating is also the best option when the page's topic is still relevant but the content is outdated. Improving the content, whether by adding recent data, revising outdated references, or making the page more comprehensive, can bring the page back to life and give it a better chance of ranking.

Finally, if your page ranks just outside the top positions (like on page 2 or 3), it's a strong candidate for updating. Pages with rankings that are just short of the top results often need a little extra push, which an update can provide.

When to Consolidate

Consolidation is a great solution when multiple pages cover the same or related topics. Instead of letting those pages compete with each other, merging them into a single comprehensive page can focus your authority and improve rankings.

This strategy works best when you have keyword cannibalization happening (multiple pages ranking for the same keyword) or when you have a series of thin articles that could perform better if combined into one detailed guide. The process of consolidating pages helps avoid confusing users with duplicate contentContent that appears on more than one web page, which can negatively impact SEO. and boosts SEO by combining backlinks into one, stronger page.

When consolidating, always choose the strongest URL to serve as the destination and set up 301 redirects from the retired URLs to the new consolidated page.

When to Redirect Only

Redirecting pages is useful when you want to preserve the value of backlinks while eliminating outdated or irrelevant content. If a page has backlinks but the content is obsolete (e.g., a product you no longer sell), a 301 redirect ensures that the link equity from those backlinks isn’t lost.

Redirects are also necessary if you’re restructuring your site or migrating to a new URL architecture. In these cases, setting up redirects from old pages to their new equivalents will preserve your SEO value and avoid errors or broken links.

You should always redirect to the most topically relevant page, not just the homepage, to maintain the best possible user experience and SEO impact.

5 Questions to Ask Before You Decide

Before taking action on any underperforming page, ask yourself these five questions to determine the best course of action:

1. Does the page receive traffic? If it gets even a small amount of traffic, it might be worth updating rather than deleting.
   
2. Does the page have backlinks? Backlinks represent link equity that can help boost your rankings. Don’t delete pages with backlinks without a plan for redirecting them.
   
3. Is the topic still relevant to your audience? If the page is outdated but the topic still has interest, consider updating or consolidating it. If it’s no longer relevant, deletion or redirection might be the best choice.
   
4. Is there a better page to redirect to? If a stronger page exists, redirecting the old URL will consolidate traffic and preserve its value.
   
5. Can the content be improved or merged with other pages? If the content can be made more valuable, updating or consolidating might offer the best long-term benefit.
   

Decision Checklist

Here’s a quick checklist to guide your decisions for underperforming pages:

• Delete if:
  
  • No traffic for 12+ months.
    
  • No backlinks to the page.
    
  • Completely irrelevant or outdated content.
    
  • Thin content with no potential for improvement.
    
  • No relevant page to redirect to.
    
• Update if:
  
  • The page has organic trafficVisitors who come to a website through unpaid search engine results. (even small amounts).
    
  • The page has backlinks worth preserving.
    
  • The topic is still relevant.
    
  • Content is outdated but fixable.
    
  • The page ranks on page 2–3 (close to competing).
    
• Consolidate if:
  
  • You have multiple pages targeting the same keyword.
    
  • Several thin articles cover related topics.
    
  • Keyword cannibalization is a concern.
    
  • The pages have backlinks but low traffic.
    
• Redirect if:
  
  • The page has backlinks but the content is obsolete.
    
  • A stronger page exists on the same topic.
    
  • You are restructuring your URL architecture.
    
  • You want to maintain a good user experience from external links.
    

How to Execute Each Option

Here’s how to implement each strategy quickly:

Deleting a Page:

• Verify there are no valuable backlinks (or set up a redirect if necessary).
  
• Update internal links to point to alternative pages.
  
• Delete or unpublish the page and remove it from your XML sitemapA file that lists a website’s important pages to ensure search engines can find and crawl them..
  
• Monitor Google Search ConsoleA tool by Google that helps monitor and maintain your site's presence in search results. for crawl errors.
  

Updating a Page:

• Audit content against top-ranking competitors.
  
• Rewrite outdated sections, update stats, and add new information.
  
• Expand thin sections and improve formatting.
  
• Update internal links and request re-indexing in Google Search Console.
  

Consolidating Pages:

• Identify all weak pages that should be merged.
  
• Choose the strongest URL to serve as the destination.
  
• Combine the best content from all source pages into the consolidated page.
  
• Set up 301 redirects from all retired URLs.
  
• Update internal links to point to the new page.
  

Redirecting a Page:

• Identify the most relevant destination URL.
  
• Implement 301 redirects for SEO.
  
• Test the redirect to ensure it works correctly.
  
• Update internal links to point directly to the new page.
  

Conclusion

Deleting pages is not inherently harmful to SEO; what matters is making the right choices based on each page’s value and SEO potential. Deleting pages with no traffic, no backlinks, and outdated content is often the right move, but updating or consolidating pages with potential can provide more long-term value. Redirecting helps preserve link equity from valuable backlinks when pages are removed.

Takeaway: Conduct a content auditA thorough review of existing content to assess its effectiveness and identify gaps. to identify the pages with the lowest traffic, assess their backlinks, and run them through the decision checklist to determine the best action.