The fix was removing more than we added.

The problem. A publication deindexed after a scaled-content run done the cheap way — thin volume across thirty categories, paid placements in the profile, nothing a reviewer would call a reason to exist.

The approach. Narrow from thirty categories to five. Thousands of legacy posts triaged — keep, fix, or noindex — handled with a custom plugin, because no off-the-shelf tool manages sitemap and noindex state at that scale sanely. Real tools were added so the site earned utility, not just word count.

The honest caveat. Recoveries are probation, not absolution. The site returns to the index on behaviour, and the behaviour has to stay changed — anyone promising a date is selling something.

What it proves.

Content Systems run the way this project taught me to — and the plugin work is the Build service.