
Glossary
Zombie Pages
Zombie pages are webpages that generate little to no human traffic from search engines and often have low search rankings. These pages typically contain outdated, irrelevant, or thin content that provides minimal value to users. They remain on websites despite contributing nothing to the site's performance or user experience.
Context and Usage
The term zombie pages is primarily used in the field of search engine optimization (SEO) and digital marketing. Website owners, SEO specialists, and content managers use this concept to identify and address underperforming pages that may harm overall site performance. The term is commonly encountered during website audits, content strategy planning, and technical SEO analysis sessions.
Common Challenges
Zombie pages can consume crawl budget, preventing search engines from efficiently indexing valuable content. They may dilute domain authority and negatively impact overall site rankings. Website owners often struggle to identify these pages systematically, and their removal or improvement requires careful analysis to avoid accidentally deleting potentially valuable content.
Related Topics: crawl budget, thin content, site audit, page indexing, domain authority
Jan 26, 2026
Reviewed by Dan Yan