Best way to delete category pages?

[2bloggers]

This post is deleted!

[AndieF]

I'd probably advise that if there is a like-for-like category you can merge with, 301 the old category to the new category. If there's no category to replace it with but you still want rid of it then 404 it - after awhile Google will deindex it.

In other words: if you don't want it, Google probably doesn't either.

[2bloggers]

Thanks for the prompt reply. So the category pages I will delete will not hurt my SEO or rankings?

[AndieF]

Might have an initial knock-on effect, but in the long run it sounds like it'll be beneficial. Keep your content manageable and working for you.

As long as your blog posts are great, don't worry too much about deleting unnecessary categories. It sounds like a good spring clean to me.

Just remember to 301 when you merge categories, 404 when you delete.

[2bloggers]

Thanks!