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Some things on your website are better removed. They drag down your Google ranking and your visitor numbers, no matter how much attention you pay to good content and backlinks. Google assesses your site as a whole, so one weak link holds the rest back. These are the nine things to clear out so you rank better.
If you have a slightly older website, Google asks for content that stays fresh and current. Dive into Google Search Console, open "Performance" and compare your traffic now with that of six months ago. Some pages did brilliantly and are now slipping. Those are exactly the ones to grab and update. Refresh and deepen them. You will often rank much better than if you leave them as they are.
Low-quality pages cost you traffic. 500 words used to count as plenty, back in 2014 anyway. Today the searcher expects depth. If you are answering a specific question, 100 to 200 words is sometimes enough, but a half-hearted page rarely delivers value. Assess every page with Google Analytics, looking at traffic, time on page and bounce rate, then choose. Deepen the page or redirect it with a 301 redirect to a stronger, more complete article.
Too many ads slow down your loading time, because every ad pulls in external resources. They also drive visitors away as soon as they get in the way of the experience. Think of videos that start by themselves or a pop-up that interrupts your browsing session. Many people then leave the page early. Ads are fine, as long as they are well thought out. Keep them calm and in line with your design. Give your reader value first before you interrupt them.
Google frowns on pop-ups that block a large part of your content, the so-called intrusive interstitials. Pop-ups are still allowed. It is all about timing. Use one as an exit pop-up, or let it appear only after a few seconds. A tidy version adds value, such as a discount voucher in exchange for an email address. For leads, inline opt-in strips, an attention bar at the top and CTAs in your text also work, all calm and at the right moment.
There is an important nuance here for 2026. Google has long judged AI content on quality, regardless of where it comes from. What Google does tackle is content produced at scale with little care, purely to feed search engines. Scale without quality, that is the problem. So feel free to use AI as a helper and make sure every page adds value beyond the rest. In doubt? Look at the SERP analysis for your keyword in a tool such as Semrush, see what the top results do and then deliver something that is clearly better.
Internal links are valuable, until you overdo it. A forest of anchor texts gets in the way of the reading experience and dilutes your value. Keep it natural. Choose links that genuinely help the reader further on the page they are on. Does a link add little for your visitor? Then leave it out.
Google rarely penalises duplicate content heavily. The original simply keeps its place above you. So publish unique, fresh content. Using other people's figures or a quote is perfectly fine, as long as you credit them properly. It is all about adding something new. How many articles about how a protein shake works does the world need? Look it up and you will see how well-trodden that path is. Find your own angle that genuinely stands out.
Link rot sounds harmless, yet it is surprising how many sites forget to check their links. Does the target page still work, is the link correct, does the site still exist? People click and end up stranded. Google follows those same dead paths when crawling. So check your links regularly and clean up the broken ones.
Finally, links to spam sites or penalised domains. These get you tangled up in what Google calls link spam. Many people swap links back and forth purely for the sake of swapping, known as reciprocal linking. That harms your ranking over time. Only link when you genuinely think it gives your reader something. Do it for the value and it works in your favour by itself.
Go through these nine, clear out whatever holds your site back and you lay the foundation for a clean, strong website that Google is happy to rank.
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About the author
Dominic Pietersz
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Dominic helps SMEs grow through Google and other channels. With his international experience, he turns challenges into concrete growth.
Follow Dominic on LinkedInInspiration Β· During a clean-up round, I kept running into the same weak links. That urge to tidy up became this piece on nine things to remove.
