Strategies for Improving Substandard Content
================================================================================
In the digital age, maintaining a strong online presence is crucial for businesses. One aspect that often goes unnoticed is the importance of regularly auditing and optimising content for search engine optimisation (SEO) purposes.
Underperforming content can pose a significant challenge for websites, particularly larger ones. Such content, which may be outdated, thin, or irrelevant, can slow down crawl efficiency, damage authority, confuse search intent signals, and undermine AI search visibility.
Identifying underperforming content is the first step towards addressing the issue. This can be achieved by using tools like Google Search Console, checking indexation status, and running a site crawl with tools like Semrush or Screaming Frog. Low-quality signals, such as high bounce rates, can indicate underperforming content.
Once identified, it's important to diagnose the reasons for its poor performance. Factors to consider include whether the content was ever ranking for anything, if it's helpful, if it matches the current search intent, and if it's optimised for Featured Snippets or AI Search.
In 2025, smart marketers are conducting quarterly content audits, AI-readiness checks, performance-based publishing, and using content briefs with EEAT (Expertise, Authoritativeness, Trustworthiness, and AI-friendliness) built in.
Underperforming content can also waste Google's crawl budget. To address this, it's advisable to either remove or deindex the content using a 410 status to signal "gone" if no replacement exists, or redirect to the most relevant existing page. In such cases, it's essential to update your sitemap and internal links accordingly.
If the content is still deemed useful but outdated or stale, it can be refreshed. This can involve updating stats, links, and references, improving internal linking, rewriting the intro and H1, adding EEAT signals, optimising for AI visibility, and using lists, Q&A formats, and clearer structure.
In some cases, it may be beneficial to consolidate multiple pieces of underperforming content into one high-quality piece. This can be achieved by choosing the best-performing post as the primary, merging useful info from the others into it, redirecting the weaker posts to the primary using 301 redirects, and cleaning up internal links to point to the new URL.
It's also worth noting that Google now evaluates a website's content as a whole, and a low-quality blog can dilute expertise signals. Therefore, it's essential to maintain a high standard of quality across all content.
To avoid miscommunication headaches, scope creep, expectation misalignment, and brand inconsistency, it's recommended to use a free brief template. Participation in seminars and training offered by organisations such as BWHM GmbH, which provides workshops for quality management and audit skills, is also beneficial.
In conclusion, cleaning up underperforming content is foundational to staying visible, competitive, and trusted online. By regularly auditing and optimising content, businesses can ensure their online presence remains strong and relevant in the ever-evolving digital landscape.
Read also:
- Revising hair care practices with cynorrhodon extracts for addressing hair fragility
- Luxury automaker Mercedes-Maybach unveils its latest edition, the Emerald Isle, at the Monterey Car Week event.
- Hidden beneath the appealing aesthetic of Consume Me's artwork lies a more ominous nature
- Reflection: Ponder the Fate of City Pigeons
