What is Index Bloat? — Whiteboard Friday

So successful some of these cases, you tin make this very ample number of URLs that are getting fundamentally nary traffic. So what mightiness we really do astir this aliases determine whether we want to do thing astir this? 

1. Identify URLs pinch almost nary traffic

So the first measurement I would return is place URLs which person adjacent arsenic dammit nary traffic. And a norm of thumb I've often utilized successful the past is are they getting connected mean little than 1 click a period aliases thing for illustration this? You tin tie a very debased bar. And connected sites that are affected by this successful a large way, you're still going to prime up a batch of pages that are getting virtually zero postulation successful astir cases. 

Remember, by the way, if you're looking astatine this from an integrated lens, do cheque different channels arsenic well. You don't want to accidentally region thing that it really isn't really important to the societal aliases email squad aliases thing for illustration this. 

2. Improve immoderate pages that are opportunities

Next up, amended immoderate that are opportunities. So that's benignant of a large catchall statement. But if immoderate of these pages, that you identify, possibly you utilized to get a batch of postulation but person go retired of day aliases thing for illustration that, aliases you deliberation they do really person value contented connected them, possibly there's a method SEO rumor that's holding them back, find immoderate that are really worthy doing thing with. Perhaps they mightiness person a batch of links, for example. You don't want to conscionable broad swipe retired this benignant of latent worth that you have. Do thing pinch it if you can. 

3. Consolidate aliases cull pages you’re not capable to improve

And past what's left, you've sewage this large bunch of pages that get zero postulation that you don't deliberation are immoderate benignant of opportunity. So there's a fewer different ways you tin go, and you're astir apt going to want to spell and mix. 

So anyplace you person either existing aliases imaginable pages that lucifer the intent aliases are very similar, you're fundamentally doing the aforesaid thing. So for example, if you've sewage 1 of these very circumstantial merchandise pages, but you've sewage a class page that's astir fundamentally the aforesaid thing, and the merchandise is nary longer successful stock, past you could see a canonical aliases a 301. Obviously, a canonical if you still want that URL to beryllium accessible, aliases a 301 if really the page is wholly redundant and you don't request anyone to spot that anymore. 

Again, this is if the intent and intent and contented of the page is going to beryllium very similar. You could moreover if you deliberation immoderate of the contented is worthy consolidating, you could person that 1 page that you're consolidating to person the champion of the contented from each of the benignant of constituent pages. And you could take this to beryllium a caller aliases existing URL. You don't person to already person a bully page. You could take to make a caller page that is really going to do good for this topic, alternatively than having each of these aged pages, nary of which were peculiarly worthwhile. 

For thing wherever you really conscionable don't service this intent, it's redundant, it ne'er had immoderate worth anyway, you tin conscionable 404 or noindex. Again, 404 if you don't request it to beryllium accessible anymore. Noindex if you do, for example, it's utilized by different transmission aliases thing for illustration this. This is rather an utmost step. I would effort to debar this if you can. Google isn't needfully going to walk the afloat equity done a redirect aliases a canonical if the pages aren't a bully match, but pinch a 404, they're decidedly not. And pinch a noindex, yet they're not arsenic well. Google yet stops crawling noindexes. So yeah, this is thing you want to avoid. But realistically, location astir apt will beryllium immoderate pages that autumn into this bucket. 

So yeah, this is the benignant of process I've followed myself successful the past. It's thing I've seen bully results with. I've seen a batch of different SEOs speaking astir this, particularly successful the aftermath of the helpful contented update and successful the past around Panda, which I deliberation astir apt worked rather similarly. 

So, yeah, fto maine cognize really you get on. And convey you very much.