Deleting old pages to improve search rankings?

andyj00 · 01-26-2012, 07:00 AM

I have a website with about 170 pages and has took a hit from Google Panda. Looking through Google Analytics for the past month or so I’ve realised that about 50 pages are not in GA and hence have had no visits to them. Would it be a good idea to delete these pages so that only the most visited page remain and would this improve its position in Google SERPS?

pdrs · 01-26-2012, 07:20 AM

I wouldn't worry too much about deleting anything... can just cause crawl errors. Just start publishing fresh, 100% unique content (1000 words plus preferably but as long as it's unique it's fine) on a fairly regular basis and slowly builiding some new links and you'll get your rankings back.

paulgl · 01-26-2012, 07:23 AM

It might "improve" your website. I've improved at
least one that way.

But SERPs are a different animal. Improving a
website on its own does not improve rankings,
but it's a start. You should check to see if
the pages are indexed. If they are, you
may want to just improve the pages. 50 is
a lot, so you may want to just delete some
and do a custom 404 page.

If the pages are not indexed by google, you
probably should just delete them. But again,
that's really nothing for SERPs.

Paul

timbarker · 01-26-2012, 07:30 AM

In my opinion, the best thing to do for that is create a new versions of your contents and redirect the deleted pages/posts. This may give you some benefits. And if you deleted pages/posts, it will give you crawl errors.

Al amin · 01-26-2012, 07:39 AM

I think you should edit those pages and make those quality.

andyj00 · 01-26-2012, 08:09 AM

Thanks guys for the fast replies! Looking at a lot of these pages, they are a bit light on content and I’m wondering if they have a global affect on the whole site. This is main reason for thinking about deleting them. I’ve read that for the Google Panda update, if there are a few pages that it doesn’t like – it can affect the whole site.

jimmyn · 01-26-2012, 08:42 AM

Refresh the old pages rather than delete them.

faysal969 · 01-26-2012, 08:49 AM

Good quality content is the key to success now a days. So you can rewrite those articles and make them high quality, unique and error free. Then they will work good for your sites ranking.

01-26-2012, 07:00 AM	#1
andyj00 Adsense Junkie War Room Member Join Date: Jun 2009 Location: UK Posts: 79 Thanks: 8 Thanked 8 Times in 6 Posts	Deleting old pages to improve search rankings? I have a website with about 170 pages and has took a hit from Google Panda. Looking through Google Analytics for the past month or so I’ve realised that about 50 pages are not in GA and hence have had no visits to them. Would it be a good idea to delete these pages so that only the most visited page remain and would this improve its position in Google SERPS?

01-26-2012, 07:20 AM	#2
pdrs Advanced Warrior War Room Member Join Date: Jun 2010 Posts: 603 Thanks: 27 Thanked 73 Times in 56 Posts	Re: Deleting old pages to improve search rankings? I wouldn't worry too much about deleting anything... can just cause crawl errors. Just start publishing fresh, 100% unique content (1000 words plus preferably but as long as it's unique it's fine) on a fairly regular basis and slowly builiding some new links and you'll get your rankings back.
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01-26-2012, 07:23 AM	#3
paulgl Plundering the Web War Room Member Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: , , . Posts: 4,851 Thanks: 804 Thanked 1,200 Times in 887 Posts	Re: Deleting old pages to improve search rankings? It might "improve" your website. I've improved at least one that way. But SERPs are a different animal. Improving a website on its own does not improve rankings, but it's a start. You should check to see if the pages are indexed. If they are, you may want to just improve the pages. 50 is a lot, so you may want to just delete some and do a custom 404 page. If the pages are not indexed by google, you probably should just delete them. But again, that's really nothing for SERPs. Paul
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01-26-2012, 07:30 AM	#4
timbarker Banned Join Date: Jan 2012 Location: United Kingdom Posts: 85 Thanks: 11 Thanked 15 Times in 9 Posts	Re: Deleting old pages to improve search rankings? In my opinion, the best thing to do for that is create a new versions of your contents and redirect the deleted pages/posts. This may give you some benefits. And if you deleted pages/posts, it will give you crawl errors.

01-26-2012, 07:39 AM	#5
Al amin Senior Warrior Member War Room Member Join Date: Sep 2011 Location: Around all of you! Posts: 130 Thanks: 5 Thanked 4 Times in 4 Posts Contact Info	Re: Deleting old pages to improve search rankings? I think you should edit those pages and make those quality.
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01-26-2012, 08:09 AM	#6
andyj00 Adsense Junkie War Room Member Join Date: Jun 2009 Location: UK Posts: 79 Thanks: 8 Thanked 8 Times in 6 Posts	Re: Deleting old pages to improve search rankings? Thanks guys for the fast replies! Looking at a lot of these pages, they are a bit light on content and I’m wondering if they have a global affect on the whole site. This is main reason for thinking about deleting them. I’ve read that for the Google Panda update, if there are a few pages that it doesn’t like – it can affect the whole site.

01-26-2012, 08:42 AM	#7
jimmyn HyperActive Warrior Join Date: May 2011 Location: Angleterre Posts: 144 Thanks: 18 Thanked 4 Times in 4 Posts	Re: Deleting old pages to improve search rankings? Refresh the old pages rather than delete them.

01-26-2012, 08:49 AM	#8
faysal969 Advanced Warrior Join Date: Jan 2011 Posts: 886 Thanks: 41 Thanked 60 Times in 57 Posts	Re: Deleting old pages to improve search rankings? Good quality content is the key to success now a days. So you can rewrite those articles and make them high quality, unique and error free. Then they will work good for your sites ranking.
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