The SEO Portfolio: Which Pages Should Be Improved, Merged or Removed?

Category: SEO and Content Strategy

Many company websites continue to accumulate pages, but rarely remove any. New services, campaigns, departments and expert articles are published without anyone assessing what already exists. The result is often multiple pages competing for the same search, important pages buried deep in the structure, and outdated content that still receives traffic without helping users move forward.

The solution is not necessarily to produce more. A better starting point is to treat the website as a page portfolio. Every page should have a defined purpose, a clear target audience and a natural place in the customer journey. Pages that do not serve such a function should be improved, merged, redirected or removed.

Start with a consolidated overview of the pages

Before assessing quality, you need a list of all searchable pages. The overview should include not only articles and service pages, but also categories, location pages, campaign pages, profile pages and other content that search engines can find.

Record at least the following for each page:

• page title and content type
• which topic or service it covers
• which search intent it is meant to address
• which step in the customer journey it supports
• organic traffic and relevant actions
• internal links pointing to the page
• technical status and indexability
• responsible person or subject-matter team
• date of the last substantive review

This is not just an SEO spreadsheet. The overview makes it possible to see the website as a whole. Two pages may each seem reasonable, but be redundant when considered together.

Give each page one clear purpose

You should be able to describe a page in a simple sentence: “This page should help this target audience solve this need.” If the sentence becomes unclear or includes several entirely different needs, the page is probably too broad.

For example, an accounting service page may be designed to explain what the company offers, answer questions about pricing, cover several industries and recruit new employees. Different goals are then competing for attention. It becomes difficult for both the reader and the search engine to understand what the page is primarily about.

This does not mean that every page must be short or target just one keyword. A good page can answer several closely related questions. The point is that the questions must belong to the same search intent and lead towards a natural next action.

Sort by search intent, not just keywords

Two searches containing the same words can express different needs. Someone searching for what a service involves needs an explanation. Someone searching for a provider, price or quote is closer to making a purchase. If both needs are forced onto the same page without prioritization, the result may be imprecise.

You can divide intent into practical categories:

• Learn: The user wants to understand a problem, concept or option.
• Evaluate: The user is comparing methods, solutions or providers.
• Act: The user wants a price, meeting, quote, booking or contact.
• Find: The user is looking for a specific business, service or subpage.

You should then check that the page type and intent fit together. An expert article can support learning and evaluation, while a service page should usually make it easy to understand the offering and take the next step. Articles that try to act as sales pages, or sales pages that hide the offering behind lengthy professional explanations, often perform poorly.

Choose one of four actions for each page

Once the role and intent have been clarified, each page can be placed in one of four groups.

1. Keep and maintain

The page has a clear purpose, the right placement and content that is still useful. It only needs regular checks. Look for outdated claims, changed services, broken elements and internal links that are no longer relevant.

2. Improve

The page addresses a relevant need but does its job poorly. It may lack specific answers, have an unclear introduction or present important information too late. Improvement does not automatically mean adding more words. It may be more useful to include a clear example, describe the process or give a specific answer about what the customer needs to prepare.

3. Merge

Several pages target the same or very similar intent. Choose the page with the best content, the strongest relevant signals, and the right place in the structure. Move useful content from the other pages to it, and redirect old URLs to the consolidated page. At the same time, make sure internal links point directly to the new primary page.

4. Remove

The page has no clear user task, is outdated, and has no relevant replacement. In that case, deleting it may be the right choice. First investigate whether the page receives traffic, has external links, or forms part of important user journeys. Do not automatically redirect everything to the homepage. A redirect should lead to a genuinely relevant alternative.

Use the information architecture to show priority

The website structure should reflect what the business offers and what customers need to understand. The most important services should not be hidden several levels deep under internal category names. They should be easy to find from the main navigation, relevant overview pages, and other related content.

A clear structure can be built around main areas with distinct subpages. The overview page explains the area and helps users move forward, while the subpages cover specific services or needs. Avoid creating categories simply because the organisation is internally divided into departments. Customer terminology and tasks should carry more weight than the organisational chart.

Also check breadcrumbs, page titles, and URLs when pages are moved. The structure shown to users should correspond to the technical structure as far as practical.

Make internal linking an editorial task

Internal links help search engines understand the relationships between pages, but they are primarily signposts for people. A useful internal link answers the question: What is the reader most likely to need next?

An article about a problem can link to a relevant service when the reader is ready to consider getting help. A service page can link to an expert article that explains a difficult choice. A high-level page can guide users towards more specific services.

Use descriptive link text instead of general phrases such as “read more”. Prioritise links within the content itself when they fit naturally. A large section of automatically generated related articles at the bottom can be a supplement, but it does not replace editorial judgement.

Check technical SEO for each page type

Technical errors often affect entire groups of pages. Checks should therefore be carried out by page type and template, not just by testing the homepage.

Check whether pages can be crawled and indexed, whether canonical URLs are correct, and whether titles and main headings are generated as intended. Look for unnecessary duplicates created by filters, parameters, archives, or alternative page variants. Also verify that deleted and moved pages return the correct response.

Review Core Web Vitals for the most important page types. LCP concerns how quickly the main content becomes visible, INP how quickly the page responds to user interactions, and CLS unexpected layout shifts. An article template may have different issues from a service template. Large hero images can delay the main content, heavy forms can affect responsiveness, and elements without reserved space can move the text while the page loads.

Prioritise template issues that affect many important pages. One improvement to a shared component can be more valuable than many small adjustments to individual pages.

Assess value before traffic

A page is not necessarily good because it receives visits. The traffic may come from searches that are not relevant to the business, or the page may answer a question without guiding the user further. Conversely, a page with few visits may be important because it supports a specialised, profitable service.

Therefore, assess both visibility and business purpose. Ask whether the page attracts the right audience, addresses the need, builds the necessary trust, and offers a relevant next step. Useful content is often characterised by concrete descriptions, clear boundaries, and answers based on the organisation’s actual experience.

Generic copy can rarely replace information about how you work, what the delivery includes, who the solution is suitable for, and which choices the customer needs to make.

Make portfolio reviews a regular routine

Start with the pages that represent the most important services, receive substantial organic traffic, or are close to generating an enquiry. Then review related articles and support pages. It is better to complete one topic area than to make superficial changes across the entire website.

1. Create a comprehensive page inventory.
2. Define the target audience, intent, and task for each page.
3. Identify pages that overlap or lack a clear purpose.
4. Decide whether each page should be kept, improved, merged, or removed.
5. Update the structure, redirects, and internal links.
6. Test technical status and Core Web Vitals for each page type.
7. Monitor visibility, relevant actions, and the user’s next steps.

A well-organised page portfolio makes SEO work more manageable. You have fewer pages to maintain, clearer priorities, and better alignment between technology, content, and the customer journey. The goal is not to have as many indexed pages as possible, but to have the right pages and ensure that each one serves a clear purpose.