An audit produces a list of pages earning nothing. What to do with them is a separate decision, and the wrong choice either loses link equity or leaves the archive rotting.
The decision rule
Does a better page on the same topic exist or could it? If yes, consolidate the useful parts into it and redirect. If no, and the page has no inbound links, delete and return 410.
410 tells search engines the page is intentionally gone, which is cleaner than 404 and stops recrawling faster. Use it when there is genuinely no successor.
Check inbound links before deleting
A page with no traffic may still hold links. Deleting it discards that equity. If anything external points at it, redirect to the closest relevant page rather than removing it.
Do not redirect everything to the homepage
Bulk redirecting dead pages to the homepage is treated as a soft 404 and helps nobody. A redirect should land somewhere that answers the same question. If nothing does, 410 is the honest answer.
Consolidation is more work than it looks
Merging three thin posts into one strong one means rewriting, not concatenating. Three mediocre sections stapled together is still mediocre and now longer. Take the useful paragraphs, discard the rest, and write the connective tissue fresh.
General information, not legal advice. Rules current as of July 2026.