When is it time to retire a URL?

Never. Don’t believe me? Check out Seth Godin’s latest.

OK, but what about IT’s argument – and you know they have one – that it increases overhead, management, blahdee, blah, blah, blah? They’re probably right. That’s where analytics come in. If your traffic has:

1. Completely vanished; OR
2. Results in zero revenue

Then, you can set up a 301 redirect to your home page or other suitable content. Perhaps a human-friendly 404 that leads to useful information. But, the URL itself should never vanish into a black hole. Trust, me, your IT team will get over it eventually.