Why Does Thin Content Hurt Your SEO?
What is Thin Content
The term "thin content" mentions content that is of little or no utility to the user. Google defines thin content pages as doorway pages, low-quality affiliate pages, or simply pages with little or no substance. However, do not fall into the snare of producing a lot of material that's all the same: non-original pages and pages with scraped and duplicate content are regarded as thin content pages. Furthermore, Google does not like pages that are crammed with keywords. Since Google Panda, Google has become more intelligent and has learned to discern between valuable and low-quality content.
The following are thin content examples:
• Content that is duplicated (though some are not duplicates, perceived duplicates because of technical mistakes such as not correctly redirecting HTTP to HTTPS).
• Content grabbed from another website (usually with minor modification or reorganization). • Content that is generated automatically (I embrace high technology, but no tool will ever replace a human writer, especially one knowledgeable and passionate about the subject).
• Affiliate pages are beneficial.
• Doorway pages - they are low-quality websites or pages created with the sole purpose of ranking for keywords. They frequently send consumers to sites with less valuable content or affiliate links. Several different web pages may redirect users to the same domain in rare situations.
Consider the following thin content examples: "Hand lotion, hand cream, and hydrating hand lotion calms the skin and softens the hands. Hand lotion with a vanilla smell that moisturizes and evens out skin tone. "Made in the United States."
This isn't a wrong product description because it informs the reader about the item. However, it is overly keyword-heavy, making it difficult to understand and not particularly imaginative.
The thin content penalty from Google
The "penalty" can also come from the algorithm, and you will be completely unaware of it because there is no warning. It's not so much a penalty since it is the reality that Google will not rank your pages due to their poor quality.
It may be more difficult to resolve things if you have a Google thin content penalty. Here are several things to remember when writing content to prevent these penalties:
1. Make sure your website appears to be legitimate.
If a Google employee examines your website and determines that it appears spammy at first glance, they are more likely to consider punishing it. To avoid this, make sure to • Use a unique template that you can tweak a little.
• Include a logo or other unique branding • Include an about page and contact information
2. Increase the amount of content and avoid titles that are too similar.
Not leaving your pages empty is the best method to show Google that they are worth looking at. In 2019, I hoped we all understand that we need to contribute more material to our websites for effective OnPage SEO. It's critical to have keywords in your title, but you should also aim to diversify them. It isn't always difficult to accomplish.
Ensure that the canonicalized pages do not receive organic search traffic. If users search for "blue dress for ladies," for example, it's a good idea to create a new page that can rank for that query instead of canonicalizing it to the black version.
3. Do not plagiarize content
Copying content from other websites will make your site appear untrustworthy in Google's eyes. Again, this is particularly common on eCommerce sites, where editors copy and paste descriptions from the producer's official website. To save time, they frequently duplicate pages and only modify a few words.
4. Web design, layout, and advertisements
5. Video, photos, text, audio, and other media
6. Remove pages that are no longer relevant from the index
Google updates thin content
To improve the user experience, Google updated its namesake search engine with narrow content. These updates' ultimate purpose is to deliver the best possible replies to any search inquiries.
Businesses and marketers rapidly discovered how significant a first-page search result might be like Google's popularity expanded in the early days of the Internet. Companies began using strategies meant to boost their search ranks in an attempt to claim some coveted first-page real estate.
Some of these strategies were and continue to be acceptable. There's nothing wrong with optimizing a web page so that Google (and readers) can better understand it. However, some of these strategies are unethical. This is referred to as "Black Hat" SEO in the digital marketing sector.
Google, as we all know, is an intelligent company. They were aware of the unethical and deceptive acts and took action against them. Google began modifying its algorithms and issuing "penalties" to websites that did not follow Google's quality requirements.
Penalties are sometimes imposed as a result of "black hat" tactics. Occasionally, they are unintentional errors made by ambitious website proprietors. It is a terrible process, regardless of why a site is penalized.
How to overcome thin content
1. Demonstrate that you are a legitimate business or brand.
A lack of trust is at the root of many of the recent SEO troubles. Google is aware that many inexperienced or brazen crooks create websites in order to extort money from users.
As a result, your website's purpose is to demonstrate that you're a natural person working for a real firm that appreciates client pleasure. You may accomplish this by displaying information about your company on your website, having a well-written and optimized "About" page, and presenting some of your work.
2. Create a website that is simple, modern, and easy to navigate.
Your website's design and colors have a direct impact on your customers' psychology. Colors elicit specific feelings and expectations in your visitors, some of which can lead to a negative perception of your brand.
3. Keep the number of adverts and affiliate connections to a minimum.
Another aspect that can harm your visitors' confidence is displaying too many advertisements or affiliate links. People will not like you if all you do is try to sell them something.
4. Avoid using dodgy formatting techniques such as hiding or masking links.
Avoid shady techniques that try to deceive people if you want to create trust and relationships with your potential customers.
5. Always create unique material that gives value to your website.
For starters, your users will respond better to the original material. It also informs Google that your content was not plagiarized in any way.
Some topics already have a lot of information published about them. Others, on the other hand, have little to no information — especially in an appealing manner. You can almost certainly score well for these topics. Therefore they're a goldmine for you to optimize around.
6. Write in-depth articles to avoid shallow material.
Your goal should always be to provide a thorough explanation of the subject. To do so, strive to anticipate the user's following inquiries after looking for what you've written. Your goal is to emulate Netflix, where every episode ends on a cliffhanger, enticing you to watch the next one. In the same way, your material should be presented in a way that encourages the reader to read more.
7. Create material, but do not plagiarize it.
Understandably, you would want to utilize content from other pages on occasion. If this happens, make sure to paraphrase the information as much as possible. Google can detect plagiarized information and is not pleased when it does.
Should you 301 redirect thin content?
One of the most successful methods to develop SEO performance using 301 redirects is to employ them as part of a content cleansing operation, which involves merging thin pages of information to produce great snippets that cover a topic in depth.
Once you've identified your website's low-performing pages, redirect them to sites that serve the same goal. Pages that don't receive backlinks or traffic (typically because they don't have a prominent position in the SERP) should be redirected to pages that serve the same function. Alternatively, you might combine several pages to make something worthwhile.
How many words per page to avoid thin content?
We recommend a minimum of 300 words for every page, despite the fact that we have separated down the essential components of your content for SEO. Develop content for each web page on a case-by-case basis. Some of your internet pages may contain only 300 words of material, while others may have 1,300 words. Take one page at a time and concentrate on the thin content's quality.
What is the best way to find thin content on your website?
The most effective method for identifying thin material on your website is to:
1. Use an SEO crawler to look for pages with the fewest words.
Download the trial version, launch your (client's) website, and look for "Content size" in the column:
2. Use an SEO crawler to look for content that could lead to an internal duplicate content problem.
In the "Issues" sidebar, use the same tool to examine the "Duplicate Titles" and "Duplicate Descriptions" sections.
What happens when Google detects thin content?
Google has discovered that your site has a thin material that adds little or no value. This crucial issue causes Google Search users to see irrelevant or low-value search results, which might hurt your site's rating. As a result, Google has taken manual action against your site. To have the manual action removed from your site, you must make significant changes to the content to comply with our criteria and request a reconsideration. We will delete this manual action once we have determined that you have followed our rules.
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