What is a Zombie Page and what impact does it have on SEO?

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What is a Zombie Page?

The term “Zombie Page” refers to web pages that are still displayed in search engine results pages (SERPs), but are no longer accessible or have been abandoned without any real or useful content.

These pages are typically created due to changes in site structure, content deletion or relocation, domain name changes, or migration to a newer version of a content management system.

Zombie pages can lead to issues such as decreased site importance in search results, increased unsuccessful visits, and decreased site credibility from a search engine perspective.

Therefore, finding and improving the status of Zombie pages is crucial for improving SEO and maintaining website ranking.

An example of a Zombie Page could be an online store page where products that are no longer available have been removed from the store, but are still accessible in search results.
Users who access these pages will see unsuccessful results, leading to a loss of trust in the store.
To solve this problem, the online store should remove these pages from search results or redirect them to new pages that display alternative products.

Which pages turn into zombie pages?

As mentioned, zombie pages are pages that are no longer accessible or have less content that is no longer attractive to users and search engines. Therefore, zombie pages may include the following:

1- Pages with low content: Pages that have less than 300 words of content and cannot be useful and attractive to users.

2- Product or blog categories without content: Pages that exist as product or blog categories but do not have enough interesting content.

3- Old blog posts: Old blog posts that have not had a decent amount of visits in the past 6 months and have not been able to create useful traffic for the site.

4- Product or article tag pages without content: Pages that have been created as tags for a product or article but do not have useful and interesting content.

5- Tag pages with similar and close names: Pages that have been created with similar and close names as tags for different content, but in reality, have little difference from each other.

6- Tag pages with the same name as other important and main pages of the site: Pages that have been created with similar or the same names as important and main pages of the site, but in reality, have no useful and interesting content.

7- Unavailable product pages without credibility and visits: Pages that have been placed on the site as a product but are currently unavailable and have no value for users and search engines.

8- Old news site pages: Pages that contain old news and events of the site, but no longer have news value and are not useful for users and search engines.

Various pages can turn into zombie pages, but the following common reasons can lead to the creation of zombie pages:

Pages with deleted content: If there are pages on your website that are no longer used due to updates and changes in content, these pages will turn into zombie pages.

Pages that have become obsolete due to changes in website structure: If pages have been removed due to changes in website structure and are not redirected to other content on the site, they will turn into zombie pages.

Pages that have changed due to domain name: If pages are not redirected to other content due to a change in domain name, they will turn into zombie pages.

Pages that are no longer accessible due to server error or technical problems: When pages become inaccessible due to server errors or technical issues, but are still displayed in search results, they become zombie pages.

Pages with external backlinks but are no longer accessible: Pages with external backlinks that are no longer accessible, but still appear in search results, become zombie pages.

Pages that have been removed from search results due to duplicate content: Pages that have been removed from search results due to duplicate content and are not redirected to new pages become zombie pages.

In general, any page without sufficient and engaging content, and is not updated regularly, is at risk of becoming a zombie page.

To prevent the creation of zombie pages, the website content should be updated regularly, and pages that are of no value to users and search engines should be removed.

In general, any page that no longer refers to any other content or is not accessible for other reasons may become a zombie page.

Therefore, deleting or updating zombie pages is crucial for maintaining optimal website performance and SEO.

The impact of zombie pages on SEO

Zombie pages can have negative effects on a site’s SEO.

In fact, these pages may cause a site to rank lower in Google search results, and as a result, relevant keywords related to the site may be difficult to find in user searches.

These pages may be perceived as pages without value due to insufficient or irrelevant content, or because they have duplicate content.

Therefore, it is better to remove these pages or update them regularly to restore their content value.

By removing zombie pages, a site’s ranking in search results can be improved, and users can more easily find relevant content related to their search queries.

According to statistics published by Ahrefs in 2021, approximately 21% of web pages on the internet are zombie pages.

Ahref

How can we find zombie pages on a website?

To find zombie pages on a website, you can use web analytics tools such as Google Analytics, Google Webmaster, SEMrush, Ahrefs, and Screaming Frog.

In Google Analytics, you can go to the Behavior > Site Content section and identify pages with low or no traffic. Additionally, in the Site Coverage section, you can find pages that have not been indexed by Google.

To find zombie pages using Google Search Console, you can use the “Coverage” report.

This report informs you about the status of site indicators such as indexed pages, non-indexed pages, error pages, etc.

To find zombie pages, first, you need to log in to Google Search Console and select your site’s domain on the main page. Then, from the left menu, select “Coverage.”

In this report, you can find pages that have not been indexed due to various issues such as 404 errors, redirect errors, or other problems.

These pages may be zombie pages. In addition, pages that have been indexed due to issues such as short content, duplicate content, ambiguous content, etc., can also be zombie pages.

By finding these zombie pages, you can optimize or remove them and accelerate the SEO of your site.

Using SEMrush and Ahrefs, you can find pages with low traffic or fewer links. Additionally, these tools allow you to identify pages with low traffic or low rankings in search results.

Finally, using Screaming Frog, you can find pages that are similar to each other or have duplicate content. Also, with this tool, you can identify pages with technical issues such as broken links, 404 errors, pages with irrelevant content, etc.

According to Moz’s 2020 report, approximately 29% of web pages among the top 100,000 pages in internet search results are affected by zombie pages

Moz

How to get rid of zombie pages?

To remove zombie pages from your website, you can use the following methods:

Delete zombie pages: First, you need to identify the zombie pages and then manually delete them. To delete pages, you can use the site content editor, content management plugins, or PHP codes.

Review pages with low and short content: If the pages have content, but their length is less than 300 words, it may be better to review and improve them instead of deleting them.

Review pages with duplicate content: Pages with duplicate content may not be visible in search results, but it is still better to delete them or improve their content.

Use canonical tags: If the pages have duplicate content and you cannot delete them for some reason, you can use canonical tags to tell Google which page should be considered as the main and valid page. In this case, Google only indexes the main page and ignores the other page.

301 redirect: If there is another page available for a zombie page, you can refer to that other page with a 301 redirect. This will direct user traffic to a more valid and useful page with better content.

Review site structure: In some cases, zombie pages are created due to site issues.

If a page is indexed in Google and is scheduled to be removed, it is better to use a 301 redirect instead of deleting it so that users and search engine bots are directed to another page.
It is important that the destination page is related to the previous content so that there is no problem with page ranking.

Content update: If a zombie page has usable content, it is better to update it and use its value to improve SEO.

Page deletion: If a zombie page is not usable for any purpose, it is better to completely remove it.

Use of noindex: If a page cannot be updated and still has no value for users, it can be excluded from Google index by using the noindex command in the robots.txt file.

Search and remove broken links: In some cases, zombie pages are created due to broken links. Therefore, you should find broken links and refer them to the desired page or 404 page.

If the pages you intend to delete previously had useful content and other pages have linked to them, you should use Redirect 301 to transfer visitors to new pages and maintain the SEO ranking of the site.

Use of sitemap: Using a sitemap helps Google correctly list all site pages. If zombie pages exist in the sitemap, they should be removed to prevent creating zombie pages.

By taking these actions, you can eliminate zombie pages and improve the site’s SEO ranking. This not only helps improve SEO ranking but also enhances the user experience and increases visitors.

Google statistics show that pages that have not been accessed by users for at least 4 months and have no links are recognized as zombie pages. Therefore, to prevent the creation of zombie pages, old pages should be updated and their content improved.

Google

How to prevent the creation of zombie pages?

To prevent the creation of low-quality and outdated content pages, you can consider the following:

Regularly review the website content: To prevent the creation of zombie pages, review the content of your website periodically and update pages that are no longer up-to-date.

Use diverse and accurate tags: Using precise and relevant tags related to the content of website pages helps users easily access their desired content and prevents the creation of zombie pages.

Remove old and unavailable pages: Pages that are no longer useful to users should be removed. Also, pages with invalid or unavailable content should be reviewed and deleted.

Upgrade the structure and design of the website: Using an appropriate website structure and design helps users easily access desired pages and prevents the creation of zombie pages.

Proper management of tags and categorization: Using appropriate tags and categorization related to the content of pages helps users easily access desired content and prevents the creation of zombie pages.

• What are orphan pages and how can we find them?
• What is cannibalization and how can cannibalization issue be solved?
• What does indexing in Google mean? Why is Google indexing important?
• What is Canonical Tag and its usage in website SEO?

Final words

In summary, zombie pages are a serious problem for SEO and website optimization.

These pages are pages that are not initially attractive to browsers due to a lack of content and are eventually abandoned, but still exist in Google search results and appear as zombies.

Instead of discovering and removing these pages, it is better to focus on preventing the creation of zombie pages. To prevent the creation of zombie pages, quality content writing and regular website reviews should be used to remove old pages.

Additionally, we should remove pages with short and worthless content and avoid irrelevant and repetitive tagging for product categories and labels.

Finally, using monitoring and optimization tools such as Google Search Console and Google Analytics can help identify and remove zombie pages and be effective in improving SEO and website optimization.

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