An orphan page is a page that exists… but has no internal links pointing to it.
That means:
- It rarely ranks well
- Users can’t easily find it
- Search engines treat it as low importance
- It quietly becomes “that page we swore we published”
Most sites have them. Even good ones.
The goal isn’t to eliminate every orphan page.
It’s to eliminate the accidental ones.
What “Orphan” Actually Means (hint: not little Annie)
If your website is a city, internal links are roads.
An orphan page is a building with no roads leading to it.
It can still exist.
It can still technically be accessed if someone knows the exact address.
But it won’t get visitors naturally.
And Google won’t treat it like a priority.
Orphan pages can be one of the most common reasons content feels like it “doesn’t work.”
Why Orphan Pages Matter
Google discovers and understands your website primarily through links.
If a page isn’t linked internally:
- Google may crawl it less often
- It may index it inconsistently
- It won’t inherit authority from stronger pages
- It will struggle to rank, even if it’s great
For users, it’s simpler:
If they can’t find it, it might as well not exist.
Method 1: Find Orphan Pages Using Google Search Console
Simple, fast, and doesn’t require fancy tools
This method works best when your goal is:
“Show me pages Google knows about that humans can’t easily reach.”
Step 1: Export your indexed URLs
- Open Google Search Console
- Click Pages under Indexing
- Click into Indexed
- Export the list of URLs
Now you have Google’s view of what exists.
Step 2: Identify pages that are actually “in your structure”
Now you need a “known linked pages” list.
Start simple:
- Pages in your main navigation
- Pages in your footer navigation
- Key hub pages (Services, Industries, Resources, etc.)
If you want to be slightly more thorough:
- Grab a handful of your main pages and look at what they link to
- Especially pillar pages and resource hubs
Step 3: Compare the lists
You’re looking for pages that appear in:
- Search Console’s indexed list
but do not appear in:- your nav
- your hub pages
- or any obvious parent pages
Those are likely orphans.
They might still get traffic from Google if indexed.
But internally, they’re unsupported.
That’s the “orphan” problem.
Method 2: Manual Spot Check (No Tools)
This is the best method when you’re auditing a specific page and asking:
“Is this page actually part of our site… or is it just floating?”
Ask yourself:
- Can I reach this page in 2–3 clicks from the homepage?
- Is it linked from a relevant parent page?
- Does it belong somewhere logically in the structure?
If the answer is no to all three, you’ve got an orphan.
Common Ways Orphan Pages Get Created
Orphan pages usually come from good intentions:
- Old campaign pages that stayed published
- Blog posts that were never linked from category pages
- “Temporary” landing pages that became permanent
- Pages created for sales that never got integrated
- Pages published during migrations that lost internal links
Orphans are rarely malicious.
They’re just forgotten.
What To Do With Orphan Pages
You have three options. Pick one. Don’t overthink it.
Option 1: Link it (Best when the page is valuable)
Link it from:
- a relevant parent page
- a pillar page
- a related blog post
- a resource hub
Goal: give it roads.
Option 2: Merge it (Best when it overlaps)
If it covers the same topic as a stronger page:
- merge the content into the stronger page
- 301 redirect the orphan URL to the stronger URL
Goal: concentrate authority.
Option 3: Delete or redirect it (Best when it shouldn’t exist)
If the page is outdated, irrelevant, or never should’ve been indexed:
- remove it
- redirect it to the closest relevant page
- or let it 404 if it truly has no replacement and no value
Goal: reduce clutter and confusion.
How to Think Orphan Pages
Most people treat orphan pages like a technical issue.
It’s actually more of a strategy issue.
Orphan pages happen when content is created without a home. That’s what “random acts of marketing” look like in real life. Stuff gets published, nobody connects it to the rest of the system, and then we wonder why SEO feels inconsistent.
A healthy website is opinionated.
It has hierarchy.
It has paths.
If a page matters, you should be willing to “introduce it” to the rest of your site with internal links.
Orphan pages aren’t bad by default.
They’re bad when they’re unintentional.
What To Do After This Lab
Make an “Orphan Cleanup” list with three columns:
- URL
- Action (Link / Merge / Redirect / Delete)
- Where it should live (parent page)
Then tackle 5–10 per week.
Small cleanup. Big payoff. I promise.