Not All Traffic Is Good Traffic: Why Hidden Risks in High-Performing Pages Deserve a Closer Look

Corrosive content isn’t just underperforming—it’s actively working against your goals.

Corrosive content refers to high-traffic pages that fail to convert and distort performance metrics, making it harder to spot what’s truly working. Here’s how to spot it faster, fix it smarter, and build a stronger content portfolio with quadrant-based analysis.

Key takeaways:

• High traffic doesn’t equal high value—in fact, 31% of all content analyzed fell into the corrosive quadrant: high views, low conversions.
• B2C brands are more vulnerable to corrosive content than B2B brands.
• With normalized View Scores and Conversion Scores, teams can quickly identify what to scale, where to optimize, and what to overhaul.

The Problem with High-Traffic, Low-Conversion Content

Most content audits start with a familiar script: find what’s not working, then decide whether to rewrite, redirect, or remove. But when content draws a lot of attention—and fails to convert—that’s not just a missed opportunity. It’s a risk.

At Knotch, we call this corrosive content: pages that earn high visibility but deliver poor outcomes. Left unchecked, they quietly erode trust—and performance.

The Quadrant Framework

Instead of reacting to surface-level stats, we use quadrants—a visual, data-driven model for understanding how and where content impacts outcomes. Here’s how it works:

• The X-axis measures View Score—a normalized indicator of page views.
• The Y-axis tracks Conversion Score—a normalized indicator of conversion rate.
• Pages are plotted across a 0–10 scale on each axis.
• Bubble size reflects how many pages fall into a given range of performance.
  
  

This method allows teams to see their entire content portfolio at once—and pinpoint not just what’s failing, but why.  The quadrants are built into KnotchOne and are constantly updated.

What the Data Shows

After analyzing more than 70,000 pages across industries, here’s how content performance breaks down:

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These insights offer more than a label—they offer a roadmap. 

• Prime content sets the standard to learn from. 
• Promising content is ready for an audience  boost. 
• Concerning content should be deprioritized. 
• But corrosive content? That’s where the stakes are highest.

‍Why Corrosive Content Matters

A single corrosive page can see tens of thousands of views—while converting almost no one. These pages can:

• Draw in traffic that doesn’t convert
• Skew your averages
• Mask underperformance
• Damage brand perception

And because they often look “healthy” on the surface (thanks to high view counts), they’re easily overlooked in traditional audits.

Corrosive Content Hits B2C Harder

When we segmented performance by industry, a key pattern stood out: B2B content tends to be more evenly distributed across quadrants, while B2C content has a higher concentration in the corrosive and concerning zones.

The biggest gap shows up in the Promising category—B2B brands have nearly double the percentage of mid-performing content compared to B2C. Meanwhile, B2C brands are more vulnerable to corrosive content, with over one-third of pages attracting high visibility but delivering low conversions.

Turning Insights into Action

With quadrant-based analysis, content decisions become clearer—and faster. Here's how leading brands are putting this framework into action:

Prime Pages

What to do: Use them as blueprints.
How: Mirror structure, CTAs, and layout for lower-performing pages.

Promising Pages

What to do: Amplify them.
How: Add internal links, refresh keywords, or promote via social, email or other channels.

Corrosive Pages

What to do: Investigate, then overhaul.
How: Identify friction points (e.g., vague CTAs), A/B test fixes, and monitor lift.

Concerning Pages

What to do: Assess relevance.
How: Adjust UX, reposition content, or sunset if no longer aligned to goals.

Build quadrant thinking into your regular flow:

1. Monthly heatchecks: Schedule a quick snapshot to spot pages sliding toward corrosion.
2. Learning loops: Track which fixes move pages up fastest and turn those into repeatable recipes.

From Corrosive to Prime: An Hypothetical Scenario

To show how quadrant-based thinking can guide real improvements, imagine this scenario:

You have a newsletter landing page that pulls 50,000+ views per month but converts at just 0.5%. It falls squarely in the corrosive quadrant: high visibility, low performance.

Here’s how you might approach the fix:

• Identify the barrier: Data shows most visitors drop off at the weak CTA (“Learn more”).
• Strengthen the call to action: Swap in something more benefit-oriented like “Reserve your spot for exclusive tips” and reposition the CTA button above the average scroll drop-off point. 
• Test and iterate: Run the new version for a few weeks, compare lift, and roll out the winner.

The result? A cleaner experience, stronger messaging, and a measurable move toward the prime quadrant.

Final Thought

Corrosive content is sneaky. It looks successful, but it works against you. With quadrant analysis, you don’t just flag the risks—you turn them into results. By pairing smart segmentation with consistent optimization, your team can move faster, waste less, and grow more.

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Published June 11, 2025