The Somewhat Irrelevant Yet Well-Performing Article Quandary: To Remove or Retain?

We've all talked about how to make content rank better... but what to do you do when you've got a top-performing page - SEO-wise - that is irrelevant, off-brand, or otherwise the target of scorn from someone on your team (for valid reasons)?

Enter: The Somewhat Irrelevant Yet Well-Performing Article Quandary: To Remove or Retain?

How do you decide what you should do?

For those looking to "rip the bandaid off” keep in mind that in the short term (and possibly long term!), yes, deleting the asset will categorically cause SEO pain.

Not just for the direct traffic it drives, but for the site as a whole.

Because of this, it can be a difficult call for a biz to make, especially if the content is actively incorrect, or harming the brand image in some way.

So... what should you do?

Ask yourself where this piece falls along the spectrum of "not totally relevant" to "actively bad or harmful".

The more harmful the content it is, the greater the likelihood that you should remove it (and redirect it, or not, depending on how harmful you find it.)BUT FIRST! Make sure to set expectations ✨ well ✨ with your boss/client for the inevitable SEO fallout. If it's the right thing to do, it's worth the pain!

If it falls more on the "not as relevant as you want it to be" side, consider retaining the piece. You can always update the content and improve it over time!

Be sure to maximize internal linking from this piece to other content you want to perform well. Derive as much value from it as you can.

If it's somewhere in the middle of the spectrum, you can explore a few options:

✸ Slowly, over time, silo off or orphan the page, and leave it un-updated. Over time performance will naturally reduce - until such time where you can retire it with little to no regrets.

AKA: let it die a slow death.

✸ Create OTHER great content with lots of links, so you're less dependent (over time) on the value this outlier piece is currently driving.

AKA: diversify!

✸ Get creative with potential "replacement" content.

Is there a piece of content (on a new or existing URL) that's related to the subject matter of irrelevant post, but is more closely aligned with business objectives?

**If you are successful, maybe in the future you can retire the old piece, and redirect it to this new piece, and get the best of both worlds!

Ready to bring it on home? Here it is:

💫 Don't "just delete" unless:

1. It's important to the biz to do so,
2. Everyone understands the risks/repercussions, and
3. Y’all are ready & willing to make that change (e.g., consider business seasonality, and don't make big changes when it'll hurt the most!)

Consider the long-term gains vs the short-term losses - and do the right thing for you!

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