We have mentioned it a few times that quality content is important to your website. And above all else, quality content is far better than a large amount of low quantity content. But we often get asked, how important is quality content to Google, really? So join BSO Digital today as we discuss the latest word from Google on website content.
Low Quality Content and Google
Early this month, Google’s John Mueller, finally cleared up any remaining confusion on the importance of content to Google’s algorithms. So what is the Google definition of low quality content? Mueller says, “…in general, when it comes to low quality content that’s something where we see your website is providing something but it’s not really that fantastic.” In other words, Google will carefully look at the content on your page and see if it is actually providing authority on the subject at hand.
What Else Affects Website Content Quality?
Google looks at click-through rate and bounce rate when evaluating the quality of your content. This means how valuable users find your SEO title tags and meta descriptions, whether users click on your search results, and how long a user stays on your page. Pages with a high bounce rate signal that the content on them is not particularly relevant to the term or phrase the users searched for. This means Google will likely drop your ranking for those search terms. Quality content that encourages users to click through and stay on your page.
Further, duplicate content on your pages is met unfavourably by both Google and users. It is important, even on pages meant for different regions – even different countries – that the content be unique. It strengthens your domain authority and ensures users find the information they need.
How To Write Better Content
So if you find you have low quality content on your website, what should you do? Before you jump to deleting them entirely, Mueller suggests looking at your content, using it to help you rank better.
1: Add More Value To Your Web Content
Firstly, you should try to keep the content where it is and improve on it. As Mueller tells us, “…you can improve your content, and from my point of view if you can improve your content that’s probably the best approach possible.” As such, it is important to look at the content on your website and consider why you published it in the first place. Are you trying to prove your authority on a subject? Provide information to your customers or users? If you find the content has a purpose then make sure it adds value to your users’ searches.
Mueller states, “You clearly had a reason for putting this out, now be serious about the content you put out and make sure it’s useful.” Study the content on your page and see if it really says and explains what you want it to do. If it doesn’t, consider better ways to word it and present it to your users.
2: Thin Content SEO
Another option for pages with low quality content is to noindex it. No Indexing is the process of telling Google not to look at your page or content. While it means that that page will no longer rank on search engines, it does mean that Google won’t count the low quality content against you. This is useful when you are in the process of improving content and you don’t want Google to index it as you work. Just don’t forget to allow indexing again once you are finished.
3: Increase Your Google Ranking With Consistency
No matter what you choose to do, Mueller warns that it is best to be consistent. Go through all your content and either improve all of it. If you have a site with only a small amount of low quality content, then it is acceptable to alter small amounts rather than improving the whole site. However, if you have large amounts of low quality content, you will need to improve all of it, rather than picking and choosing.
4: Content Removal – The Last Resort
While it is not recommended you delete low quality content, there are circumstances where this might be the only option. If you have a large site with a lot of low quality content, or content that was automatically generated, it can be easier to delete and rebuild your content.
Communications online are primarily text based. Even our method of finding websites and information requires text-based searches. So it is important that your website content be the best it can be. If you’re struggling with improving your content, or you need help auditing the quality, contact BSO Digital on 1300 884 865 or get a quote here. Our team has a number of maintenance plans that can be used to improve the quality of your content with a focus on natural use of keywords.
