Thin Content is low-quality content with little or no value to the users. Most of the time, low-quality or shallow pages that provide no benefit to the users are considered Thin Content. This article will explain how to deal and fix Thin content for SEO optimization and improvement.
A common misconception about Thin Content is that content with fewer words is thin content. But it’s not just the number of words on a page that makes it thin content.
How do you deal with thin content for SEO?
To gain a general sense of the quality of your content for SEO purposes, look at your page bounce rates. Google’s Panda update from 2011 created new standards for the quality of webpages. It enables website crawlers to weed out weak, duplicated, and untrustworthy sites. The update has existed for years, but many brands struggle with thin content-related penalties. Content marketers often fall into thin content traps when they fail to balance quantity with quality.
How To Find Bad Contents?
Firstly, most of your pages have an unusually high bounce rate. Bounce rates show how many site visitors leave a site after only clicking on one page. While a high bounce rate can signal thin content, some bounce rates are reasonable. They can signal that a reader received the information he or she needed from the site’s first page.
Secondly, there are poor keyword correlations within web pages. Thin content pages may include highly relevant keywords but fail to answer a search engine user’s query. For example, someone who searches “how to cut hair” may not be interested in an article espousing the benefits of going to a professional salon.
Generic information within webpages. If every other page on Google contains the same information, your content is thin. SEO-friendly content in 2020 is unique and delivers perspective and value to the reader. Research, references, and examples are all great ways to move content from the general to the specific.
Finally, many mistakenly believe that upping their word counts will solve the thin content problem. In reality, thin content may include pages with 200 words and pages with 1,000 words. Adding more meaningless content will not resolve the issue. Brands must invest in uniqueness and relevance to overcome thin content penalties.
Deal With Thin Content For SEO: Fixes
have identified the thin content on your site. It’s time to roll up your sleeves and fix it. There are four options to consider. Thin Content is low-quality content that has little or no value to the users, we’ll explain how to deal with & fix Thin content for SEO.
There are two instances where expanding content can help you out. First, you can expand on content with a low word count. But don’t expand on content for the sake of word count alone. If you add volume without providing value, your thin content becomes shallow, and you haven’t solved your problem. Beef up your content only if doing so will prove your expertise and add helpful information for users.
Second, if you have two pieces that are similar and both are relatively short, you can expand one of them to give it more depth or to cover a subtopic that the other doesn’t include.
Let’s say you have two pieces on the importance of good oral hygiene, one for kids and one for toddlers, but they’re both very similar. You could expand the part for toddlers to include a section on baby teeth versus adult teeth or the best time for your toddler to start going to the dentist regularly.
Remove
Of course, if a piece is horrible and gets no ranking, you can remove it from your site entirely. If you have another article on the website that is related or a landing page from which someone would find what you’re deleting, it’s best to redirect to one of those pages. That way, your user doesn’t end up at a 404 error page.
If you have duplicate pieces on the same site, you also want to remove one of them. To do that, go into your Google Analytics and see which of the two pieces is pulling less traffic for you. That’s the one you’ll want to remove and redirect.
If you have two almost identical pieces, except your lower-ranking piece has one unique section, consider pulling that section into the higher-ranking piece and deleting the lower-ranking piece. Again, redirect the removed URL to the one you preserved.
Deal With Thin Content For SEO: Rewrite
If your content is shallow, has many spelling and grammar mistakes, or is too similar to another piece, rewriting may be in order. My shallow piece on thin content will need a full explanation of what it is, how to identify it, and how to fix it, with linked sources to back up my facts.
For poorly written pieces, run them through Grammarly or have them looked at by your editor. It may take only a quick copy edit or need entire sections rewritten for readability.
And, of course, if you have two pieces that are too similar, it may be worth it to rewrite one. Let’s go back to our Christmas ornament example. If you have two articles about Christmas ornament crafts you can make with kids, you may want to rewrite one to focus on crafts for toddlers. Or maybe one highlights popsicle stick crafts while the other uses pipe cleaners.
When you rewrite a piece, it won’t be enough to change the text on the page. Changing the metadata, images, and title will signal to search engines that the two pieces cover different angles of the same topic. And don’t forget to link these two articles to each other. They are similar enough that users may be interested in the other if they stumble on one.
Replace
Some content is so thin, shallow, or poorly written that you’re better off replacing it with a new piece. This has a few advantages: You will have more control over the tone and message of the article. You can tailor it to hit long-tail keyword rankings for that topic. You can determine precisely what you want the writer to cover to produce the best piece possible.
A word of wisdom when replacing a piece of content: When you delete the old article and publish the new piece, make sure the old URL redirects to the new one. Search engines don’t like a lot of 404 errors on a site, either.
Do-Do Checklist on How To Fix Thin Content
- Audit Your Content Regularly:
- Utilize tools like Google Analytics and SEMrush to identify underperforming pages.
- Look for pages with high bounce rates and low engagement metrics.
- Enrich with Valuable Information:
- Enhance pages with thin content by adding detailed, relevant information.
- Focus on providing comprehensive answers to user queries.
- Integrate Keywords Smartly:
- Conduct keyword research to find relevant, high-volume keywords.
- Incorporate these keywords naturally into your content.
- Improve User Engagement:
- Use interactive elements like videos, infographics, and polls to increase engagement.
- Ensure your content is easy to read and navigate.
- Utilize Internal Linking:
- Link to other relevant pages on your site to increase dwell time.
- This approach helps search engines understand the structure and value of your content.
- Update and Repurpose Old Content:
- Regularly update outdated posts with new information and insights.
- Convert old blog posts into videos or infographics for a fresh approach.
- Focus on Long-Form Content:
- Aim for comprehensive, in-depth articles that cover topics extensively.
- Long-form content often ranks better and provides more value to readers.
- Optimize for Mobile Users:
- Ensure your content is mobile-friendly, as mobile usability is a key ranking factor.
- Use responsive design and optimize loading times for mobile devices.
- Incorporate User-Generated Content:
- Encourage and feature reviews, comments, and testimonials.
- This not only adds content but also boosts credibility and trust.
- Monitor Your Progress:
- Regularly check your SEO performance through tools like Google Search Console.
- Adjust your strategy based on what works best for your content and audience.
