There are many times when being thin is desirable: When you’re trying
on bathing suits, for example, or when you’re trying to squeeze into a
wedding dress.
But when it comes to content, thin is most definitely not in.
Thin content is also known as low-quality content, and it’s the bane
of smart SEOs and marketers. The web remains chock full of examples of
thin content, despite the fact that Google began devaluing it long ago,
after the search site realized people were gaming the system by slapping
together low-quality posts with hot keywords, backlinks and duplicate
content in search of cheap traffic.
In fact, your site may even have some
thin content,
whether you meant it to be that way or not. No web site is perfect, and
it’s not uncommon for lower-quality posts or pages to be hiding amongst
your higher-quality stuff. The problem is thin content can hurt you in
search rankings.
Google Webmaster Tools sniff it out like a bomb-seeking dog, and your site could be punished for having this undesirable content.
With that in mind, here’s a primer on how to identify thin content and what to do with it once you’ve found it.
So What Is Thin Content?
Thin content is, in the simplest terms, a page with no real value
besides building traffic. It contains no great insights into the
industry, no good information about your product, and nothing that you
couldn’t find on another, similar site.
When Google searches for thin content, it’s looking for:
- Duplicate content
- Pages with lots of affiliate links
- Doorway pages
- Automatically generated content
- Article syndication
- Lots and lots of images on one page
Identifying Thin Content
If you have pages with any of those five qualities, that’s a signal
that you need to take action. But sometimes thin content isn’t as easy
to suss out, depending on how many pages you have on your site.
Google actually suggests that you ask friends or family to look at
your pages, giving them a fresh eye, and report back whether or not they
are helpful. For instance, if you have services in 16 different
counties and you’ve made a special page for each of them but you only
change one word on each page, an outsider might suggest you remedy that
problem.
Google Webmaster Tools will send you notifications if there’s a thin
content problem. However, it’s better to be proactive. You can also
consider using one of these thin content-flagging tools:
- Google Analytics:
Use the exit rate to sort on the “Review All Pages” section, and look
at pages with a 75 percent bounce rate or higher. Take a look at the
content on those pages, which clearly aren’t keeping people’s attention.
- Screaming Frog:
Use the URL scrape tool and then sort the exported URLs by word count.
If you have a lot of pages with fewer than 250 words, you have a
problem.
- Open Site Explorer:
Look at the backlinks on your site and where they’re coming from. Also
note the social media statistics to see if your pages are resonating
with Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and other users.
You’ve Found the Thin Content. Now What?
Once you have identified the thin content, it’s time to play a little
game called plump up or get out. The objective – to either eliminate
the problematic page or add to it in order to turn it into a
high-quality resource page. No matter what you decide, this process will
take time, but ultimately it will help both your search ranking and
your sales.
Consider yourself an editor in this process. A good editor knows that
sometimes the best solution is to cut something, even if you’ve spent
lots of time on it. If a page has no discernible value, and you don’t
think it could be improved by adding more detail, more words or better
links, then best to let it go.
However, if you see potential in the page, and you’re willing to put
in the time to improve it, then by all means give it a shot.
Here are some ideas on how to plump up your thin content:
1. Send it to Rewrite
Poorly written or thin copy can be improved with a major rewrite. You
may need to call in a freelance copywriter for this task, but it will
be well worth the money. Decide beforehand what keywords you are
targeting, and aim for at least 300 words per page. Keep away from
sales-y talk and instead
go into greater detail about your product, your services, or what makes you unique.
2. Merge Your Pages
Do you really need a page for every single city where you provide
plumbing services? Probably not. Consider merging your pages so that you
have one page with decent content, rather than seven with thin content.
3. Consider Interactive Content
Interactive content is not the answer to every thin content problem,
but it can be a great way to engage readers and improve metrics on a
page, which will lead Google to back off. Some examples of interactive
content include:
- Surveys
- The ability to “favorite” something on the page
- Embedded Google Maps
- Quizzes
- Interactive FAQs
4. Decrease the Internal Links
If you have a page with loads of internal links, but you still think
the content on it is useful and doesn’t require rewriting, try
eliminating some of those links.
5. Beef Up Regionalized Pages
Do something to differentiate your duplicate content pages such as
going into greater detail about the area you are targeting. This will
eliminate the problem of pages being exact copies of one another, and
it should also help with SEO.
Avoiding Thin Content in the Future
It’s great to get your site cleaned up and all the thin content taken
care of, but you also should be looking to the future. Once you’ve
taken the above steps, make sure you revisit your site’s content
regularly to ensure you’re not continuing to add thin content to the
site. Remember: Every piece of content on your site should serve a
purpose, otherwise it’s just filler.
