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Thin Content: What it is and how it impacts your Google ranking

Are you wondering why your Google ranking has suddenly dropped? The answer could be thin content.

If your site has recently lost its position in Google search results it could be due to changes in the Google algorithm. In this article we’ll address what exactly those changes are, and how ShopFactory can help.

What is thin content?

Google loves websites which provide original, valuable content. Anything which informs, educates or entertains will be promoted by Google.

Anything which Google considers poor quality content, however, will be demoted in search results. This poor quality content is sometimes referred to as ‘thin content’, as it lacks substance.

Any webpage which has little or no original content, or has many errors, is classified as ‘thin content’. The more pages a website has of thin content the lower it will show in search results.

Google will also punish sites which simply copy content from other sites. Posts with less than 300-400 words that lack a clear focus, along with duplicated pages, outdated pages and unoptimized pages all also count as thin content.

How we can help

If you’re a ShopFactory user, you’re in good hands. Using our ShopFactory search engine optimization tools - SEO tools App you can constantly monitor your website for errors, warnings and misspellings. You can also generate a report which will tell you where your website has thin content.

Once you’ve identified thin content on your site it’s easy to make the necessary changes.

What you can do

Once ShopFactory has identified which of your pages have thing content you can decide on one of three strategies.

1. Get rid of them!

If one of your pages is outdated or irrelevant, consider removing it. Or, if you have a second page with more accurate, up to date information you can simply redirect the old page to the new one.

If you’re not sure how to tell if a page is outdated, take the following things into consideration.

Does you page provide value to your customers?

Do you have other pages with more relevant information?

Is the page an accurate depiction of your business today?

Does the page have information relating to a past year on it?

If you decide to redirect the page to a newer one, make sure the redirect works! If you’re not sure all your redirects are functional, you can use the website audit tool in ShopFactory SEO tools App to identify any issues.

2. Update them!

If you don’t want to delete or redirect a page, you can always update it. Make sure your pages are relevant to your customers today.

Showcasing past events and products can be tempting as it makes your site look ‘fuller’, but it confuses customers and damages your google ranking.

If you have a page you want to update you can use this list –

Remove any outdated information and past dates.

If your content is relevant but isn’t very detailed add more information.

Make sure any links you have embedded still function.

Consider adding fresh content such as videos, photos or infographics.

3. Leave them!

If your page is classified as thin content but is still getting visitors or a high ranking, you can simply leave it. If you decide to leave content on your site simply ensure it is always up to date.

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Even if your website has lost its ranking due to the recent changes, don’t worry. By implementing these simple changes and using ShopFactory SEO tools App you can get back on track. Click here to find out more.

- Lena Klein

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