What is an Orphan Page?
An orphan page is a webpage that doesn’t have links pointing to it from other pages on the same website. Links are a key method for search engine web crawlers like Googlebot to discover and index pages on your site so searchers can find them in results.
Most of the time, you should avoid orphan pages on your site, as they prevent users from being discovered and send signals that the pages aren’t important to them. Certain SEO tools, such as Ahrefs and Semrush, can crawl your site and identify orphan pages, helping you manage them effectively.
An orphan page can be fine if you don’t intend for people to see it, such as a new page in development. However, if you want the page to show up well in search engines, you should try linking to it from other pages on your site.
Common Causes of Orphan Pages
Orphan pages are undesirable but pretty common. They can occur for various reasons:
- A page was created but never linked to from other pages.
- The page was previously linked to, but those links were removed during a site update or redesign.
- The orphan page is intended for a specific audience with a direct URL given to them, not for general site navigation or discovery. (This is fine!)
If your situation aligns with #3, you shouldn’t need to worry about the page for SEO reasons. However, you should likely use the noindex tag on the page to ensure searchers can’t find it in search results.
How to Find Orphan Pages
Discovering orphan pages can require some detective work since they’re not directly linked. While there are many methods, we recommend these for ease of use:
- Use the Ahrefs Orphan Pages report: Ahrefs offers a weekly report of orphan pages through its Site Audit feature. View their tips.
- Use Screaming Frog. Screaming Frog offers another, more cost-effective solution. Follow their instructions for finding orphan pages. This method involves accessing the Google Analytics API and other technical steps.
While there are other, more manual methods, it’s best to take advantage of any advanced techniques that already exist. You might naturally find an orphan page and realize it needs to be linked. Just make a note of it or handle it when discovered.
How to Fix Orphan Pages
Orphan pages don’t perform well because they lack internal links. To resolve this:
- Identify Orphan Pages: Use tools like Ahrefs or Screaming Frog.
- Link to Them: Add internal links from relevant pages on your site.
- Update Your Sitemap: Ensure it includes these newly linked pages.
This ensures every page is accessible, improving your site’s SEO and user experience.
Bottom Line
Orphan pages are those on your site that don’t have any internal links to them. You can find orphan pages with popular SEO tools.
Once you’ve identified orphan pages, link to them from other relevant pages where it makes sense. This will signal to search engines that these pages are worth showing.
