Have you ever wondered about the blog you published years ago?

Is that performing, still relevant and valuable to the users? 

If the answer is no, you should revisit and consider “content pruning.” 

When I heard this term, I wasn’t quite sure what it was.

So I searched for the word “pruning” and Google results displayed: ”Pruning means to cut branches or parts of branches off a tree or bush in order to make it a better shape.”

Now replace the word tree with content marketing, that’s all, now you have the better grasp of it. 

How Do We Approach Content Pruning?

We’re in this situation where we badly need content pruning for our site.

The reason was that our site is filled with countless unhelpful resources. It can be categorized as

• Not relevant
• Outdated
• No traffics
• No rankings
• No purpose

Deleting all the blogs would have a big impact, and neither is right though. So we categorized each page as ‘delete,’ ‘edit,’ and ‘complete revamp.’

The aim is to provide users with helpful, relevant, and updated content.

We just got started; I will update the result and all after we did this.

And we don’t want bots to find too many unhelpful content.

What Can you Expect Out of Content Pruning?

Before setting your expectation level, let’s clarify one thing.

Content pruning is not about just deleting the content. 

It also involves editing or merging similar pages, instead of deleting them. 

Now move on to what you can expect.

1. Improved SEO

Search engines favor websites with high-quality, relevant content. 

Therefore, the process of pruning ensures your website is filled with rich content, satisfying the user intent, and up to date information. 

As a result, it makes sure you are providing a better site for users and bots. 

2. Enhanced User Experience

User experience plays a big role in ranking. Users appreciate clear, concise, and up-to-date information.

By embarking on pruning, you provide content without clutter and ensure that the users find what they’re looking for quickly and easily.

3. Increased Website Traffic

More content doesn’t mean more traffic.

Let’s say you have myriad content on your site—you either left that untouched without enhancing it or don’t know what to prioritize.

Either way, you get mediocre results.

On the other side, by embracing pruning, you prune the idle content and focus on the content that has potential.

This is how you can bring more traffic to your website, leading to potential conversions and increased brand awareness.

4. Crawl Budget

It is well-known that the Google bot has limited resources. 

It won’t spend time crawling your page alone. 

Pruning the unwanted pages ensures that your crawl budgets are well spent on the pages that deserve better.

In a nutshell, content pruning is a perfect fit if you’re having a huge site.

Thighs to Know before Getting Started 

Before diving headfirst, consider these key points:

1. Set Goals

Why do you want to embrace content pruning—and for what reason?

Is it improved SEO ranking, better user experience, or increased traffic? 

Having clear goals guides you right.

2. Identify Content to Prune

Figure out the metrics you should probe about. That tells you what content should be pruned of 

It could mean pages with low traffic, high bounce rate, and minimal conversions.

To find out, You can use tool such as Google Search Console, Google Analytics or any other paid tools.

3. Not All Pruning Means Deleting

You should not only focus on deleting the web pages.

The pages that still have potential can be updated with the information, improved visuals, or other engaging elements.

The point is to consider revitalizing content before deleting it completely.

Getting Started with Content Pruning

Let’s start!

1. Crawl and Analyze

Use website crawlers or analytics tools to find out all your indexed pages. 

Then, analyze those pages using metrics, such as traffic, conversions, and bounce rates to pinpoint underperformers.

Now, you have a list of pages.

2. Categorize Content

With the list of pages in your hand, categorize them into categories like “keep,” “refresh,” “redirect,” or “delete.” Or use your own term. 

Out of that, prioritize high-performing content to see the results instantly.

3. Revitalise or Redirect

Not every content you create goes to the bin.

As discussed above, it’s not just about deleting every page you see.

Some need just a revisit—and that will do.

Let’s say you have two different pages covering the same topics. 

Here, you can merge both or redirect anyone. 

4. Delete Strategically

Deleting content is way easy, but it comes with some pitfalls, such as broken links and loss of page authority. 

The key is to redirect it to the relevant pages.

5. Monitor and Repeat

It’s not a one-time work, but an ongoing process.

Monitor the website periodically to maintain a healthy and optimized website.

Only for a large website?  

Not only for a large website, but content pruning also helps websites that want to promote high-quality, user-friendly, search-engine-optimized websites. 

By embracing content pruning, which means editing, merging, and sometimes deleting content, you can ensure that your site remains relevant, authoritative, and efficient.

But on the way, you shouldn’t forget that it takes clear planning, goal setting, and using data to drive your decision. 

Start pruning today and watch your website thrive!