# How to Find Orphan Pages That Search Engines and AI Can't Discover

The Orphan Pages report in QueryBurst identifies content orphans (no inbound editorial links), nav-only pages (reachable only through navigation/footers), and dead-end pages (no outbound links that pass equity onwards). Each category includes page counts and drill-down into affected URLs. Use it to find pages that search engines and AI crawlers following editorial links will never discover.

## How to Access The Orphan Pages Report

1. Open a site in QueryBurst
2. Click **[Link Analysis](/content/docs/link-analysis/index.html)** in the sidebar
3. Select the **Orphans** subtab

## Understanding the Interface

### Summary Cards

Three clickable cards at the top:

| Card | Description |
| --- | --- |
| **Content Orphans** | Pages with no inbound links from content areas (only linked via nav/footer). Click to view. |
| **True Orphans** | Pages with no inbound internal links at all. Click to view. |
| **Dead Ends** | Pages with no outbound internal links. Click to switch to dead-end view. |

### Reachability Breakdown

A visual bar showing the proportion of pages in each category:

- **Reachable** — Pages with content-area inbound links
- **Content orphans** — Only linked from navigation/footer
- **True orphans** — No inbound links at all

### Orphan Filter

Toggle between viewing:

- **All orphans** — Both content orphans and true orphans
- **True only** — Only pages with zero inbound links

### Search

Search pages by URL or title within the current view.

### Page Table

| Column | Description |
| --- | --- |
| **Page** | URL path of the page |
| **Type** | Badge: True orphan, Content orphan, or Dead end |
| **SD** | Structural depth from homepage |
| **CD** | Content depth from homepage |
| **In** | Number of inbound internal links |
| **Out** | Number of outbound internal links |
|
Click the link icon to navigate to the page's crawl detail view.

## Understanding Orphan Types

### True Orphans

Pages with **zero** inbound internal links. These pages are essentially invisible to crawlers and users navigating your site. They can only be discovered via sitemaps or direct URL access.

**Fix:** Add internal links from relevant content pages.

### Content Orphans

Pages that are linked from navigation or footer elements but **not from within page content**. While technically reachable, they lack editorial endorsement from related content.

**Fix:** Add contextual in-content links from topically related pages.

### Dead Ends

Pages that receive internal links but don't link out to any other pages. They accumulate link equity without distributing it.

**Fix:** Add relevant outbound internal links within the content.

## Interpreting Results

### Healthy Signs

- **Zero true orphans** — Every page is reachable via internal links
- **Few content orphans** — Most pages receive editorial in-content links
- **Few dead ends** — Pages pass link equity to related content

### Warning Signs

- **Many true orphans** — Pages that crawlers can't discover
- **High content orphan count** — Pages rely only on navigation for discoverability
- **Many dead ends** — Link equity is being hoarded instead of distributed

## Tips

1. **Fix true orphans first** — These are the most critical linking gaps
2. **Prioritise content orphans for important pages** — Key content should have in-content links, not just navigation
3. **Add outbound links to dead ends** — Every content page should link to at least one related page
4. **Re-run the link graph** after making fixes to see updated orphan counts