Content hoarder lessons: 107 dead pages taught one lender what matters

A review of a large lender's blog content revealed that 107 articles received zero clicks in the last quarter, despite still ranking in search results. This finding prompted a reevaluation of content strategy, suggesting that basic informational articles are becoming less necessary as search engines and AI Overviews increasingly provide direct answers.

The lender's overall content performance showed a significant decline in clicks and impressions year-over-year, even as its search rankings improved. This indicates that while pages may be visible, they are not necessarily driving user engagement or business outcomes.

The author, Alizabeth (Allie) Leng-Barton, cofounder of RankWriters, argues that content creators should focus on pages that genuinely help borrowers make decisions rather than simply covering a topic. She proposes a framework of "Invest, Repurpose, Consolidate, or Let it go" for evaluating existing content, emphasizing that not all lost traffic is recoverable or worth recovering.

The shift suggests that content strategy needs to move beyond basic SEO coverage and focus on providing deeper, more specific information that addresses the borrower's actual needs and decision-making process, ultimately aiming to drive business and ROI.