The first step is to review the page’s current traffic in Google Analytics and Search Console and check the “intent” of the content. Is this a helpful blog post? Is this a product page? Why is it being removed?
If you’re “pruning” content that isn’t ranking well, isn’t getting any traffic, then it’s important to add a 301 redirect to the closest related piece of content or page. Don’t fall into the habit of just redirecting it to the homepage.
For well established content it’s usually worthwhile to also check if there’s external links sending any value or traffic to the page, and think through how that visitor would best be served with arriving at a post or page that most closely matches what the old content was SUPPOSED to deliver.
Jeremy Rivera Changed status to publish January 21, 2023