How to Consolidate, Optimize, and Finally See SEO Results

Content production exploded last year thanks to AI tools, and many of us jumped on board. More content meant more chances to rank, right? Well, it's 2025 now, and the game has changed dramatically.

We're seeing reputable sites hit with serious penalties. Google's quality guidelines are actively flagging AI-generated content, and some organizations are losing millions of monthly sessions. Meanwhile, Google continues tightening crawl budgets across the board.

If your SEO efforts aren't delivering results despite investing in content, you're not alone. The solution may not be creating more content, but strategically consolidating what you already have.

The Hidden Cost of "Harmless" Content

One of the most common misconceptions we hear from clients is that low-performing pages aren't hurting anything. "They're just sitting there," people tell us. "Why bother removing them?"

Mike Witham, our Head of SEO at 97th Floor, explains it this way: "If Google finds a pattern of low-quality content on your site, it will devalue all content and will even stop crawling and indexing your site if the offense is large enough."

Think about it like this: If your site has 100 articles and only 20 are truly excellent while 80 are mediocre, those 80 pages are actively dragging down your entire site's performance. Google has become remarkably good at identifying these quality patterns, and when it spots too many low-value pages, it begins questioning everything you publish.

Do You Need a Content Consolidation Audit?

Your site would benefit from a content consolidation audit if:

✅ Your SEO efforts aren't delivering the expected results
✅ Recent Google updates have hurt your rankings
✅ You're planning a site migration or merge
✅ Your legacy site has been managed by multiple content teams over the years
✅ Too many pages are stuck in "crawled, not indexed" limbo

This approach is particularly valuable for established sites with extensive content libraries. What worked under previous Google algorithms may now be actively hindering your performance.

One of our e-commerce clients came to us with strong technical SEO but declining traffic. After implementing our Content Consolidation Audit recommendations, they saw a 20% increase in ranking keywords, 27% more organic traffic, and—most importantly—a 42% jump in organic revenue.

How the Content Consolidation Audit Works

The power of this approach lies in its systematic framework for evaluating every indexed page on your site. Here's how it works:

1. 1. Gather your data. You'll need:
   • Site architecture data (using tools like Screaming Frog)
   • User behavior metrics from Google Analytics
   • Search Console data on indexation status
2. 2. Evaluate each page against three key criteria:
   • Substantial Traffic: Is the page getting meaningful organic traffic? (We typically use 100 sessions/month as a baseline)
   • User Engagement: Are visitors engaging with the page once they arrive? Look at metrics like time on page, bounce rates, and conversion rates.
   • Business Alignment: Does the page's core message connect back to what your business actually offers?
3. 3. Use the decision matrix to determine the appropriate action for each page:
   • Keep & Optimize: Pages with good traffic, engagement, and business alignment
   • Revise for Alignment: Pages with traffic and engagement but poor business connection
   • Improve User Experience: Pages with traffic and alignment but poor engagement
   • Merge or Redirect: Pages with minimal value on their own but content that could enhance other pages
   • Remove from Index: Pages with no redeeming SEO value that should be removed using noindex tags, robots.txt directives, or 404 status codes

Real Results from Content Consolidation

For the e-commerce client mentioned earlier, we identified hundreds of product category pages competing with each other rather than collectively building authority. By consolidating these into stronger category pages and implementing redirect strategies, we transformed their organic performance.

We've seen similar results across industries. A B2B software client had a blog post about industry trends that attracted substantial traffic but had almost no connection to their core offerings. Rather than removing this valuable traffic source, we added strategic internal links to relevant product pages and introduced a targeted lead magnet. Traffic remained steady while lead generation increased by 23%.

For a financial services client, we found several pages with strong traffic and clear business alignment but poor user metrics. By aligning the calls-to-action with user intent, conversion rates improved by 35%.

Making Content Consolidation an Ongoing Strategy

The Content Consolidation Audit isn't just a one-time fix—it should become part of your ongoing content approach:

1. Evaluate all new content through the lens of business alignment. Every page should clearly connect back to your core offerings.
2. Focus on unique value over volume. As Mike notes, "AI already has all of the information you could ever possibly write about. What it wants is new perspective, new research, new ideas."
3. Use your user data as a guide. Let actual user behavior inform your content decisions rather than assumptions about what might work.
4. Schedule regular content audits. Set quarterly reviews for high-volume sites or semi-annual for others to keep your content library lean and effective.

The Bottom Line

In 2025's SEO landscape, quality trumps quantity every time. A focused collection of high-quality, business-aligned content will outperform a sprawling library of mediocre pages.

By directing your crawl budget toward truly valuable pages, you're not just improving your SEO metrics—you're building a content foundation that genuinely serves your users and supports your business goals.