Which of Your Old Posts Are Hurting You?
A systematic audit for removing outdated content and consolidating traffic to your best pages.
By James Schramko · Updated May 2026
A clean-up of your blog, YouTube, and podcast content. It removes old material and sends traffic to your best pages.
When To Run
Run a content audit when your positioning has moved and old content no longer shows what you do. Run it when people named in your content no longer fit. A partnership ended, a relationship changed, or a reputation shifted. Run it once a year as upkeep even if nothing has changed.
Do not wait until the problem is visible. By the time old content does damage, it has already been seen.
The Core Filter
One question decides most of it. Does this still help me sell what I sell today? If the answer is not a clear yes, the content is up for removal. Do not keep content for old times' sake or because it once did well. If you hesitate, it probably no longer fits.
What To Audit
Blog posts. Export your XML sitemap and match it against your Google Analytics traffic data. Sort by sessions over the last 12 months. Flag anything with very low traffic for review.
YouTube channel. Sort by views with an age filter. Videos older than two years with under 500 views are candidates. Check titles and thumbnails for dated references, old branding, or positioning that no longer fits.
Podcast feed. Check for duplicate re-uploads from show migrations. Check for episodes from old shows that were merged into your main feed. Check for dated promo episodes that name old offers, expired launches, or past events.
How To Flag Content
Use three tiers.
HIGH priority. Low or zero traffic plus dated context. These are doing harm. They name old offers, old positioning, old relationships, or give advice you no longer stand behind. Action required.
MEDIUM priority. Low traffic only. The content is fine but nobody is finding it. May be worth merging or redirecting.
LOW priority. Dated context but still getting real traffic. Something is old but people are still finding value. Leave these unless the context is harming your positioning or reputation.
LOW stays unless the dated context creates real risk. Traffic is a sign that something is working, even if you would write it differently today.
Blog Posts
Never delete blog posts. Always 301 redirect to the most relevant current page.
Map by topic. Recurring revenue posts redirect to your best recurring revenue page. Productivity posts redirect to your simplify or systems page. Off-brand posts redirect to the homepage.
Deleting a blog post loses any backlinks pointing to it. A redirect keeps the link value and sends visitors somewhere useful instead of a dead page.
If several posts cover the same topic, redirect all the weaker ones to the single best version. One strong page outranks five weak ones.
YouTube Videos
Delete confirmed low performers with dated context. Do not unlist. Delete.
Unlisted videos still exist. They still show up in playlists. People still find them through direct links. If the content is bad enough to remove, remove it fully.
The owner reviews the list before the team acts. Do not delegate the final delete decision. The person whose face is on the content makes the call.
Before deleting, check whether any videos have comments worth keeping. Screenshot them if needed.
Podcast Episodes
Remove duplicate re-uploads left over from feed migrations or platform changes. If the same episode appears twice, delete the duplicate.
Remove episodes from old shows that were merged into your main feed. If you took on another show and those episodes no longer fit your positioning, remove them.
Remove dated promo episodes that name old offers, expired launches, past events, or anything time-bound that no longer applies.
Look into any recent episodes with oddly low downloads before removing them. Low numbers on a new episode may be a tracking problem rather than a content problem. Check your hosting platform before you decide the episode failed.
Execution Process
Step 1. Export data from all three platforms. Blog sitemap plus GA sessions. YouTube video list sorted by views. Podcast episode list with download counts.
Step 2. Match against age. Anything older than two years gets a manual review.
Step 3. Flag using the three-tier system. HIGH, MEDIUM, LOW.
Step 4. The owner reviews HIGH items and approves action.
Step 5. The team runs the redirects and deletions.
Step 6. Write down what was removed and where traffic was redirected. Keep a simple log.
What This Creates
A cleaner content footprint. Visitors find your best work instead of tripping over old material.
Stronger positioning. Old content that goes against your current message is gone.
Better SEO. Merged pages with redirected link value beat scattered weak pages.
Less risk. Dated references, old relationships, and expired advice no longer speak for you.
Reference Numbers
A typical audit across 250 blog posts, 700 YouTube videos, and 300 podcast episodes flags around 100 items. Expect roughly half to be HIGH priority and needing action now.