Periodically audit site to identify and remove thin, outdated, or broken pages.
- Periodically audit site to identify and remove thin, outdated, or broken pages1 cited source1 category
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Why this matters
Removing such pages focuses crawl budget and user experience on high-quality content.
Hypothetical standard operating procedure
Adapt this example to your site, access, tools, and change process. It is our suggested procedure, informed by the sources below.
- Generate list of pages with low word count or poor metrics.
- Identify outdated or irrelevant pages based on content review.
- Fix or redirect pages returning 404s or containing broken links.
- Set noindex or remove pages that have no value.
- Repeat audits quarterly to maintain quality.
Watch for
Poor-quality pages can reduce crawl demand and spread crawl budget thinly.
Definition of done
Site contains minimal thin content, no outdated or 404 pages remain active.
Sources & attribution
Original checklist wording and example SOP by Best SEO Checklist, using source-grounded AI assistance. Editorial contact: Ted Kubaitis, @tedkubaitis on Teams. Check current source guidance before implementation.