Whittle guide
How to clean up AI-written blog posts on a Shopify store
Thin, copied and competing AI-written blog posts drag a Shopify store down. How to audit your blog and decide what to keep, rewrite, merge or delete.
Short answer: List every post with its traffic and main topic, then sort each one: keep the posts that are original and useful, rewrite thin ones, merge posts that chase the same search into one strong post, and delete posts with no value. Redirect every deleted or merged post's address to the closest page so links and rankings carry over.
Why bloated blogs hurt
- Thin content: short, generic posts give Google too little to rank.
- Duplicate content: the same ideas or text repeated across posts, so Google picks one and ignores the rest.
- Competing posts: several posts chasing the same search split Google's attention, so all of them rank lower than one strong post would.
Step 1: List every post
Export your blog posts and add each post's clicks and impressions from Google Search Console for the last 12 months, plus the main search it targets.
Step 2: Sort each post
| Decision | When |
|---|---|
| Keep | Original, useful, gets clicks or targets a search nothing else covers |
| Rewrite | Good topic, weak post: thin, generic or out of date |
| Merge | Two or more posts chasing the same search; combine into the strongest one |
| Delete | No clicks, no useful topic, nothing worth saving |
Step 3: Redirect what you remove
For every deleted or merged post, add a 301 redirect from its old address to the most relevant remaining page. Shopify's URL redirects let you do this; search for "URL redirects" in your admin.
Step 4: Make the posts that stay worth reading
- Answer the question in the first paragraph.
- Add what only you know: your products, your experience, real photos.
- Link to the products and collections the post talks about.
Step 5: Write fewer, better posts
Before writing a new post, check it doesn't target a search an existing post already covers. One strong post beats three that compete.