At Wild Creek Web Studio, we focus on SEO strategies that help growth last. But sometimes, growth isn’t about adding more. It’s about getting rid of what doesn’t work.
One of our clients learned this the hard way.
After many years of steady growth, their website lost 90% of its traffic suddenly because of a Google SPAM update. The fall was significant and impacted their leads, sales, and overall performance.
They got in touch with us feeling upset. They had already tried some common advice, such as:
- “Share more content.”
- “Focus on more keywords.”
- “Post every day to stay in the game.”
None of it worked.
Rather than making more content, we chose a different way. We removed half of it.
The Challenge
When we checked the client’s website, we found that Google might have punished them for having low-quality content. The site had:
✅ A lot of thin or old pages
✅ Duplicate or overlapping content
✅ A weak internal linking structure
✅ Content that didn’t offer real value
Just posting more articles would not solve the problem. We needed to make the site easier to use, enhance the top content, and get rid of what wasn’t working.
The SEO Strategy That Worked
To make a change, we focused on three main actions:
1. Deleted 50% of the Website’s Content
We did a thorough check of our content and found pages that were:
- Outdated or not needed (old statistics, expired trends)
- Low-value (thin content with less than 500 words)
- Duplicate or like other articles
These pages were not helping the client’s rankings. They were actually harming their SEO. So, we took them down.
This told Google that the site was neater, more trustworthy, and more specific.
2. Optimized 25% of the Best-Performing Content
We decided to improve the content that already had some ranking power. Instead of chasing new keywords, our focus was on this.
- Updated old information
- Added more detailed insights
- Improved layout for better reading
- Strengthened internal links to help SEO
By improving the current content instead of making new ones, we helped Google see the value of the site again.
3. Published Very Little New Content
Instead of the usual advice to “publish more,” we suggested the client to take a break from creating new content. They should focus on:
✅ Good, lasting content that will bring results over time. ✅ Smart publishing—only when needed, not just to increase numbers. ✅ Content with a clear reason (not just created to fill gaps).
This helped the site earn trust from Google again. It also avoided having too much content.
The Results
In a few months, the website began to get more traffic. The rankings for important pages got much better. The other content did better than before.
While we didn’t get all the lost traffic back, we did get 90% – a big win considering how bad the drop was.
Even better, the site is now simpler, stronger, and better for lasting results.
SEO Recovery Google Search Console
SEO Recovery Google Search Console Data Comparison
Traffic Recovery Ahrefs Screenshot
Key Takeaways
More content does not always lead to better rankings: A lot of low-quality content can do more damage to your site than good.
Quality > Quantity: A few strong pages do better than many weak ones.
Google likes content that is well-organized and useful: Cleaning up and improving your site is better than just posting without thought.
Struggling with Traffic? Let’s Fix It.
If your website is getting less traffic or not ranking well, the solution isn’t just to “publish more.” Sometimes, you need to clean it up, make it better, and optimize it.
At Wild Creek Web Studio, we assist businesses in creating SEO plans that really work.
Need help turning your traffic around? Contact us today and let’s get started!
