<b>When I prune, should I delete or noindex?</b>
Q: For weak pages, what's better — actually deleting them or just adding noindex?
A: Short answer: noindex first when you're unsure, delete or redirect once you're sure. Longer answer: noindex keeps the page live for your readers and existing links while removing it from search — a safe, reversible middle step. Deleting is permanent and only makes sense once you've decided the page has no value to anyone.
My ladder:
— useful to humans, useless in search → noindex, keep it
— useless to everyone but has backlinks → 301 redirect
— useless and link-less → delete (returns 410/404)
The mistake is treating these as one decision. Pruning is about removing the page's *quality drag*, and noindex often does that without burning anything.
Anyone want me to go deeper on this? React 👍
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<b>When I prune, should I delete or noindex?</b>
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