Fixing Orphan Pages: Workflows and Tools

Orphan pages are pages on your website that have no internal links pointing to them from other pages within your site[1]. Because search engine crawlers primarily discover content by following links, these orphaned pages are often difficult, if not impossible, for them to find and index. This means valuable content might be invisible to search engines and users, negatively impacting your SEO performance. Identifying and fixing orphan pages is a crucial technical SEO task.

This chapter of the Technical SEO for Internal Linking series provides a practical guide to finding and fixing orphan pages. We've discussed crawl budget and PageRank sculpting myths; now let's focus on ensuring all your important content is actually part of your site's link graph.

Why Are Orphan Pages a Problem?

• Indexation Issues: If search engines can't find a page by crawling internal links, they are unlikely to index it, making it invisible in search results[1, 2].
• Wasted Content: You might have created great content, but if it's orphaned, it won't attract organic traffic or contribute to your site's authority.
• Poor User Experience: Users also rely on links to navigate. Orphaned pages are essentially dead ends, inaccessible unless someone knows the exact URL.
• Diluted Link Equity: Pages that aren't linked internally don't participate in the flow of PageRank (link equity) throughout your site, weakening your overall site structure[2].

How Do Orphan Pages Occur?

Orphan pages can be created unintentionally through various means:

• Website Redesigns/Migrations: Links can be broken or missed during major site updates or platform changes.
• Content Audits/Pruning: Removing old pages or categories without updating internal links pointing to them can create orphans.
• Navigation Changes: Altering site navigation structure without updating links in the content.
• Simple Oversight: Simply forgetting to link to a new page from any other relevant page.
• Technical Issues: Problems with CMS or website code preventing links from rendering correctly.

How to Find Orphan Pages

Finding orphan pages requires comparing a list of all known URLs for your site against a list of URLs discovered by crawling internal links.

1. Get a Comprehensive URL List:

   • XML Sitemap: Your sitemap.xml file should ideally list all important, indexable URLs.
   • Google Search Console: The Index Coverage report can show URLs known to Google but potentially not crawled recently. The Links report shows internally linked pages.
   • Server Log Files: Analyzing server logs can reveal URLs accessed by users or bots, even if not linked internally (though this is more advanced).
   • CMS/Database: Your website's database or CMS often contains a list of all published pages.

2. Crawl Your Website:

   • Use a site crawler tool (Screaming Frog, Sitebulb, Ahrefs Site Audit, etc.).
   • Start the crawl from your homepage. Ensure the crawler is configured to follow internal <a> links.
   • Let the crawl complete to discover all pages reachable through internal linking.

3. Compare the Lists:

   • Export the list of crawled URLs from your SEO crawler.
   • Export a list of all known URLs (e.g., from your sitemap, CMS, or Google Search Console).
   • Use a spreadsheet function (like VLOOKUP in Excel/Google Sheets) or a dedicated tool to compare the two lists.
   • Identify URLs present in your comprehensive list but not found by the crawler. These are your potential orphan pages[3].

4. Verify Orphan Status:

   • Manually review the potential orphan pages identified.
   • Check if they genuinely have no incoming internal links. Sometimes crawler settings might cause false positives.
   • Assess the value of the content. Is it outdated, thin content that should be removed or redirected (and thus intentionally orphaned)? Or is it valuable content that needs to be integrated?

How to Fix Orphan Pages

The goal is to integrate valuable orphaned pages back into your site structure:

1. Link from Relevant Category/Subcategory Pages: The most logical place to link to an orphaned page is often from its parent category or relevant subcategory page.
2. Link from Relevant Content Pages (Contextual Links): Find existing blog posts, articles, or service pages where linking to the orphaned page would provide valuable context for the user. Add a natural, descriptive anchor text link.
3. Add to Pillar Content: If the orphaned page supports a main topic covered by a pillar page, ensure it's linked from that pillar page.
4. Review Internal Navigation: Consider if the orphaned page belongs in your main navigation, footer navigation, or a sidebar (though contextual links are often better).
5. Use an HTML Sitemap: While not as effective as contextual links for SEO value, adding the orphaned page to your HTML sitemap can help crawlers find it.
6. Fix Broken Links: Sometimes pages become orphaned because the only links pointing to them were broken. Fixing those broken links will resolve the orphan issue.

Preventing Future Orphan Pages

• Establish Linking Processes: Create guidelines for your content team to ensure new pages are always linked from relevant existing pages when published.
• Regular Audits: Conduct regular site crawls (e.g., monthly or quarterly) specifically looking for orphan pages.
• Content Pruning Strategy: When removing or redirecting old content, have a process for identifying and updating any internal links pointing to those removed pages.

Conclusion

Orphan pages represent missed opportunities for SEO and user engagement. By systematically comparing your known URLs with those discovered through crawling, you can identify these isolated pages. Fixing them involves strategically integrating them back into your site's linking structure, primarily through relevant contextual links from parent categories or related content pages. Regular audits and clear processes are essential to prevent new orphan pages from being created as your website evolves. Keeping your content connected ensures search engines can discover, crawl, and index your valuable pages effectively.

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Are valuable pages getting lost on your website, invisible to search engines and users? Finding and fixing orphan pages manually can be a tedious task, especially on large sites.

Meshr helps you identify orphaned pages during its site crawl. Our platform analyzes your site structure and can help pinpoint content that isn't well-integrated. Use Meshr's internal linking audit insights to ensure all your valuable content is discoverable and contributing to your SEO performance.

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References

[1]: Ahrefs - Explains what orphan pages are and why they are bad for SEO. [2]: Screaming Frog - Describes how to find orphan pages using their tool by comparing crawl data with sitemaps/Google Analytics data. [3]: Semrush - Mentions checking for orphan pages as part of a technical SEO audit.

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Frequently Asked Questions

What are orphan pages in SEO?

Orphan pages are pages on a website that have no internal links pointing to them from other pages within the same site. Search engines primarily discover content by following links, so orphan pages are often difficult or impossible for them to find and index, negatively impacting SEO.

How do I find orphan pages on my website?

To find orphan pages, you need to compare a list of all known URLs for your site (from sitemaps, Google Search Console, or CMS database) against a list of URLs discovered by crawling your site starting from the homepage. URLs that exist but are not found by the crawler are potential orphan pages.

How do I fix orphan pages?

Fix orphan pages by integrating them back into your website's linking structure. The best way is usually to add relevant contextual links to them from other related pages on your site. You might also add them to relevant category pages or ensure they are included in your HTML sitemap. Avoid leaving valuable content orphaned.