Is More Content Always Better for SEO?

In this week’s Q&A section, we have selected the following topic from our subscriber:
“Is More Content Always Better?”

Question From Derek Sebastian

“I noticed something weird, the more pages I deleted on my website, suddenly some of the pages that never ranked on search engine before, began rising. So, is there any correlation between number of pages with the overall website SEO? I thought initially that the more content we publish, the more rank we will get. But this fact, is it just coincidence?”

Are you wondering whether deleting old or underperforming content can actually boost your website’s rankings? You’re not alone. This is a common observation that often surprises many website owners.

After you read this article, we promise you’ll have a clearer understanding of how the number and quality of your website pages can impact your SEO.

Here’s what we’ll cover in this article:

  • Is more content always better?
  • The truth about content bloat and SEO.
  • What happens when you delete poor-performing pages?
  • How does Google perceive low-quality or thin content?
  • What kind of content should be deleted, merged, or kept?
  • Actionable strategy: how to audit and clean your site properly.

Is More Content Always Better?

Many SEO beginners (and even some veterans) believe that having more content = better rankings. The logic seems to make sense: more pages means more keywords, more indexation, and more opportunities to be found in Google.

But in reality, quantity without quality leads to what’s called content bloat — a situation where your site becomes cluttered with too many low-value, thin, or irrelevant pages. Google doesn’t just look at your content in isolation — it assesses your site holistically, judging your authority, relevance, and overall quality signals.

If a significant portion of your site is filled with weak content, it can drag down the perceived quality of your entire domain.

What Is Content Bloat (and Why It Hurts)?

Content bloat refers to having too many low-quality or underperforming pages that provide little to no SEO value. These could be:

  • Pages that never get any traffic.
  • Articles with outdated or thin content.
  • Keyword-stuffed, low-quality blog posts.
  • Pages with duplicate or near-duplicate content.
  • Tags, archives, or thin category pages.

When search engines crawl your site and encounter hundreds of low-value pages, it sends the wrong signals about your site’s authority. Even worse, it dilutes your crawl budget — meaning Google may stop crawling and indexing your important pages efficiently.

What Happens When You Delete Underperforming Pages?

Now, let’s go back to Derek’s situation.

He deleted some pages, and suddenly, other pages started ranking better. Coincidence?

Not really.

In fact, what he observed is a textbook example of what happens when you reduce noise and improve your site’s overall content quality.

Here’s why this happens:

1. Improved Crawl Efficiency

With fewer low-value pages, Googlebot can crawl your site more effectively. It means your important pages get crawled and re-evaluated more frequently.

2. Better Site Quality Signals

Google wants to reward high-quality websites. If a site has 1,000 pages and only 50 are good, that’s a 5% quality ratio. But if you delete 800 bad pages and keep the best 200, suddenly your site looks far more authoritative and focused.

3. Consolidated Topical Relevance

Fewer but better-focused pages often improve topical relevance. When you delete overlapping or similar content, you’re strengthening the signal of the remaining pages.

4. Less Internal Link Dilution

Internal links help distribute page authority. If you’re spreading your link juice across 1,000 pages, each page gets very little. But with fewer, better pages, your internal linking becomes stronger and more effective.

How Does Google Treat Low-Quality Pages?

John Mueller from Google has addressed this repeatedly. If a website contains a high volume of low-quality content, Google may:

  • Crawl the site less frequently.
  • Choose not to index many of its pages.
  • Consider the entire domain as low authority, even if some pages are decent.

In other words, bad pages hurt the good pages.

That’s why pruning your content — just like pruning a tree — can allow the healthiest parts to grow stronger.

So… Should You Delete Old Content?

Not all low-traffic pages are bad. But many are.

Here’s a general framework:

✅ Keep

  • Evergreen content that still gets traffic or backlinks.
  • Informative articles that may be under-optimized, but have potential.
  • Branded pages and content that adds trust or credibility.

🔁 Merge or Update

  • Multiple similar blog posts about the same topic? Combine them into a single, powerful guide.
  • Thin articles with outdated info? Revamp and re-optimize.

❌ Delete (or Noindex)

  • Content that’s irrelevant, outdated, and no longer useful.
  • Pages with no traffic, no backlinks, and no engagement for a long time.
  • Auto-generated, filler, or duplicate content.

Be careful with deletion: always use proper 301 redirects if the deleted content has backlinks or traffic history.

How to Do a Proper Content Audit

Here’s a simple 5-step content audit strategy:

  1. Export All Your URLs
    Use Screaming Frog, Ahrefs, or Google Search Console to export all indexed pages.
  2. Analyze Traffic & Engagement
    Use Google Analytics and Search Console to see which pages get traffic and clicks.
  3. Check Backlinks
    Some low-traffic pages may still have valuable backlinks. Check using Ahrefs, SEMrush, or Moz.
  4. Categorize
    Divide your content into: Keep, Update, Merge, or Delete.
  5. Take Action Gradually
    Don’t delete everything at once. Start with obvious poor performers. Monitor how your rankings change after pruning.

Final Thoughts: Was It Just a Coincidence?

Derek, your observation is backed by data and SEO best practices. Deleting pages — when done strategically — can absolutely improve your site’s performance. What happened wasn’t a fluke. It was a classic case of content pruning done right.

Remember, SEO is less about how much you publish, and more about how valuable each page is. Quality beats quantity.

So if you’re seeing signs of content bloat, consider doing a content audit. You might be surprised how much growth comes — not from adding more — but from removing the noise.