Being a brand, you strive to aid your audiences in delivering the ideal experiences and useful information. But, there are times during the pursuit of the ideal SEO we tend to forget this main principle and focus instead of using distinctive keywords and publishing specific pages in the blog or thin content.
Google wishes to start showing valuable content to these users, and when the content does not have any depth or substance where it seriously hurts our rankings while damaging the authority existing on Google. The content requires fixing and removal from the site to avoid damage and aid in offering the readers the right type of information.
In our post today, we will start addressing the thin content to assist you in understanding what it is in reality. We will also help you learn about the thin content penalty Google can face and ways to identify them on the site with ideas on how to start to fix the thin content issues you might have.
What is Thin Content?
SEO-thin content is the site offering little to no value to the customers lacking depth of any type, structure, and even quality. Sometimes we start producing thin content only to avail something out of it with a bit of effort in creating content, keeping up with the competitors’ pace, and hitting the keywords.
However, instead of assisting us, the thin content, in reality, starts damaging the SEO; therefore, you should remove thin content SEO.
Google is always searching for content matching the users’ search intent. Whenever the users enter the search query, they aim to avail themselves of the answer they are searching for.
It is entirely your job to convince Google that you are answering the right question where the user is asking and where you are falling short on it, having content copies that are not helpful and you cannot accomplish it. It is where you need to start locating the thin content by using the thin content checker tool on your site.
Why is Thin Content Bad for SEO?
When you start understanding the key principle of search engine optimization and why Google emphasizes a few specific ranking factors, you will start understanding how detrimental this thin content is to the aspirations of organic traffic. You can use a thin content checker for this.
You will Lack Backlinks
The backlinks might not have the potential they stood for in the past; however, they are still acknowledged as one of the top three ranking signs. However, if you aim to earn them, you need to give people a better reason to link back to you.
You need to start writing attractive Meta tags that include attractive titles and alluring Meta description that someone would check out in the SERPs and considers as if it is made right for the article. It is the reason they are clicking on it and finding nothing that has any value.
The user might not return to the site as they will not link right back to it.
Keyword Cannibalization
There is a common misconception with SEO campaigns where you publish tons of content targeting a similar keyword that will help you rank higher in the search result pages. In reality, the alternate one is true. If you are rehashing a similar topic repeatedly, you will start weakening the trust, which will confuse Google while sacrificing traffic.
Greater Bounce Rate
The higher bounce rate will not affect or hurt your SEO, as it is still worth mentioning since it will hurt every conversion while costing you money. One way to decrease the bounce rate is by creating good content offering real value.
How to Identify Thin Content?
There are varied factors that are used for determining whether it is a thin content or not. A few of the commonest indicators for the thin content will include the following:
Lack of Detailing & Depth
Thin content starts lacking detailing or depth, which offers the overview of the surface level of the topic without delving into it across any type of depth. It is mainly since this type of content gets published for real purposes other than offering greater value to their users, and the site focuses on attaining a few types of monetary benefits from this content.
Lower Word Count
Thin content might have a lower word count as it would not offer greater information or just skim the topic across surfaces. There is an article regarding the massive topic that you should not have a word limit of fewer than 200 words, and it is an easier indication that it consists of thinner content.
But, several topics would never need heaps of content, and in these cases, you might have to check whether the content will satisfy the user’s search intent.
Lacking Originality
Thin content gets copied and paraphrased through other sources instead of being unique and original. This kind of content is often spinner or rephrased to check out the original one.
However, with NLP-based Language Models and advancements in Machine Learning made by Google, this type of content falls under the radar.
Inferior Quality
Thin content is often written poorly with loads of spelling and grammar errors or might be tough to keep in mind. It is because most of the sites publishing thin content will never care about it, or they would not have any proficient content team that identifies the thin content.
Keyword Stuffing
Would you ever find articles using numerous precise matching keywords that would never make contextual sense? You should look at the classic instances of thin content.
Thing content gets packed with the right type of phrases or keywords in an attempt to manipulate the search engine rankings; however, it does not offer much value to the readers.
How to Fix Thin Content?
The essential part is to identify the thin content into taking the right steps to correct and fix the issues you might have with thin content. There are a couple of varied approaches you can take to address the issues with thin content and resolve them positively to help enhance your existence on the algorithm of Google Search.
1. Reveal that you are an Authenticated Brand or Company
Several recent issues with SEO happen due to the lack of reliability. Google is aware that numerous unqualified individuals or direct scammers create sites to squeeze money out of people.
Luckily, Google is fighting against scammers and spammers online with their continuous algorithm updates passed over the years. Identically, it represents how users feel regarding specific purchases and digital behavior.
No one wishes to get scammed, and people look for signs of trust on the site they arrive on. It informs them whether they are purchasing through a real company or the one who tries finding the sneakiest way into their credit cards.
Generally, Google aims to represent the value of the users in finding content if the users rely on the sources, as the content should always rank well.
2. Use a Cleaner, Contemporary, Usable Design for the Website
The colors and the design of your site have a direct impact on the mindset of the buyers. The colors cause a few specific expectations and reactions in your visitors, a few of which can make users have an outlook of your company as less reliable.
The same thing is mentioned regarding the outdated layouts featuring negative formatting. For instance, sites almost like the ones from the early 2000s are seen as spam by visitors. In these cases, the conversion rates are lower than they should be, and in the worst scenarios, these would destroy the trust of the new customers.
3. Restrict the Number of Affiliated Links & Ads
The other factor that impacts the trust of your visitors is shown through several affiliate links or ads. If you try selling, it hurts the individuals. Furthermore, Google mentioned that useless affiliate content would often fall under the thin content category.
Lastly, loading way too many external scripts through the ad networks would dramatically reduce the site’s pace and lower the rankings even if your content is not thin.
4. Do Not Hide or Cloak the Links
If you look to build relationships and trust with your potential customers, you should start steering clear of any shady practices that might try scamming users. To name a few, formatting or cloaking links are of a similar color as the background of the site. Open and transparent companies would earn visitors’ trust with greater chances of ranking on Google.
5. Always Create Original Content to Add Value
Initially, original content is well-received by the users. Furthermore, it informs Google regarding your content, assuring that it is not copied from elsewhere.
Original content comes in varied types. Mainly, you should ask yourself whether your content would add something new and valuable to the subject. You need not arrive at entirely new details related to the topic by only presenting them in a better way. Making it helpful and connecting the latest dot would become enough to make your content original.
6. Always Write Comprehensive Articles to Avoid Thin Content
Your goal should always try to explain the subject thoroughly. To get this done, try predicting whatever follows with the user’s question after searching for whatever you have written.
Your main goal here is almost like Netflix, where each episode finishes with a cliffhanger, allowing you to watch more. Your content should be presented in a manner that helps your reader to read more.
7. You can Paraphrase by Never Plagiarizing Your Content
As you might know, there are times when you would aim to use the content on the other thin content pages. Whenever it happens, ensure you paraphrase the content wherever required. Google can detect plagiarized content easily and is never happy regarding finding it.
8. Always Write a Minimum of 1000 Words of an Article
At first, we have to establish the length of the content, which is not a requisite for offering you higher rankings. The official statement of Google does not feature any magical number you must follow to avoid the thin content penalty.
But, the page ranking and length of the content correlate where the longer content is better with added depth.
9. Write a Minimum of 700 Words on the Landing Page
If you want to avoid any thin content on the key landing pages, then ensure that you add sufficient in-depth content. When you are creating the landing pages, you need to plan out the usefulness of the content, which you can add to help the decision-making process of the visitors. After this, you need to start examining the way you can start adding content to the pages.
10. Use Duplicate Pages to Redirect the Pages
After you are done with the above analysis, you should start making sure you do not have pages with duplicate content. Duplicate content is considered one of the varied factors which Google considers for thin content.
When did Thin Content Become an Issue?
Earlier, Google’s ranking was entirely different. Reusing relevant content from other sites would have allowed you to appear on top for the vital keywords. Generally, Google was not happy with this since it affected the end-users.
The recycled content was often of low quality and did not offer anything useful or new for users who were in search of answering questions to resolve the issue. The practice would eventually spiral out of control throughout the time, and SEOs would start playing their game using an algorithm of their own or the client’s profit.
The Panda Algorithm Update of Google in 2011 aimed at searching for highly relevant ones by removing low-quality websites that rank well across the SERPs. The algorithm often targeted the pages with little to no content and duplicate, plagiarized pages combined with user-generated spam and keyword-stuffed content.
Now, you would have noticed a pattern to avoid creating pages lacking value and filled with low-quality content. You should start taking a step further by looking at exactly the factors you should consider to avoid triggering the Panda Algorithm of Google.
Looking for SEO Services?
If you continue doing things the way you did them earlier, you will end up right back where you began. Therefore, before publishing new high-quality content, always learn keyword research and map out the best SEO strategies.
It is a highly complex process for which you should leave them to the hands of the SEO agency. Google has propagated the SEO practices that serve the best to the end-users, and it is where SEO services can help you. But ensure the company has enough knowledge and experience to perform the task without a single error.
Conclusion
Thin content does not offer value to the audiences and hurts your website in the SERPs like Google. Fortunately, after you have identified the thin content on your site, you can start fixing it and reverse the errors by having duplicate, short, or incomplete content on your website. Creating content is a complex process, especially when you do not know how to use the right keywords, leading you to generate issues with your content, i.e., thin content. So, always hire SEO experts who can get things right for you!
