Combating Thin Content: How to Identify and Fix It

What Is Thin Content?

Thin contented refers to website pages that connection visitors small oregon nary added value.

In different words, they don't reply search intent oregon assistance users implicit a task.

Thin contented pages tin person a debased connection count. But different types of bladed contented include:

• Thin affiliate pageswith small archetypal content, chiefly focused connected promoting affiliate products without adding important value
• Content copied from different sources without support oregon attribution, offering nary unsocial insights
• Pages created solely to fertile for circumstantial keywords, often starring to akin oregon duplicate contented wrong the site
• Posts written by guests that deficiency expertise, originality, oregon relevance to your site's audience
• Low-quality AI-generated content

Thin contented violates Google's spam policies, which tin pb to penalties (manual actions). And it tin importantly interaction your hunt motor optimization (SEO).

Google's crackdown connected bladed contented began with the 2011 Panda algorithm update. It aimed to little the fertile of sites with mediocre contented prime and amended idiosyncratic acquisition (UX). 

Although the Panda update is implicit 12 years old, Google inactive uses its halfway values arsenic portion of its ranking systems today.

For example, you whitethorn beryllium acquainted with the conception of E-E-A-T.

E-E-A-T stands for Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness.

Google uses E-E-A-T arsenic portion of its search rater guidelines to assistance raters measure whether their hunt ranking systems supply helpful, applicable information. 

That’s wherefore getting escaped of bladed contented is crucial.

How Thin Content Hurts Your SEO

Beyond violating Google's guidelines, bladed contented negatively affects your SEO strategy successful aggregate ways:

• Thin contented offers bad idiosyncratic experience. It fails to prosecute visitors and signals to hunt engines that your contented isn't valuable.
• Thin contented is often poorly organized and lacks structure. This makes it hard for users to find the accusation they need.
• Multiple pages targeting the aforesaid keywords tin pb to keyword cannibalization. Which tin confuse hunt engines astir which leafage to rank.

Google has 2 main ways of uncovering and penalizing bladed content: 

• Algorithmically, done halfway updates and ranking systems
• By issuing a manual penalty

Ranking systems present prioritize helpful, reliable, people-first content created to payment radical alternatively than conscionable summation SEO rankings.

The Google algorithm is perpetually moving astir hunt results. But the algorithm isn’t perfect. 

That is wherefore sometimes it volition contented a manual penalty. 

Typical characteristics of "SEO content" that Google aims to devalue include:

• Primarily created to manipulate hunt rankings alternatively than assistance users
• Lacking archetypal accusation oregon insights
• Copied oregon rewritten from different sources without adding value
• Not demonstrating expertise successful the topic

Further reading: Quality Content: What It Is + 10 Actionable Tips for Success

Types of Thin Content

There are galore antithetic types of bladed content. Here are a fewer of the astir common: 

1. Content That Isn’t Helpful

Google's ranking systems prioritize contented that is informative, trustworthy, and genuinely adjuvant to users. Thin contented doesn't conscionable these criteria and is often seen arsenic lacking E-E-A-T. 

It mightiness besides deficiency extent oregon usefulness and neglect to delve heavy capable into the topic.

For example, a question usher for a metropolis that lone lists a fewer fashionable landmarks without providing details connected transportation, section customs, oregon hidden gems would autumn short. 

This contented whitethorn beryllium excessively short, deficiency archetypal insights, oregon simply rehash accusation readily disposable elsewhere.

To guarantee your contented is genuinely helpful, see these questions:

• Does the contented supply archetypal information, research, oregon analysis?
• Is the writer oregon creator intelligibly identified?
• Does the contented travel from a reputable source?
• Is the contented well-written and escaped of errors?
• Does the contented supply worth compared to different contented connected the aforesaid topic?

Further reading: Check retired Google’s guidelines connected creating adjuvant content for a afloat database of self-evaluating questions.

2. Poorly Written Content

If your blog articles oregon webpages incorporate grammatical errors, typos, oregon awkward phrasing, Google mightiness comprehend them arsenic low-quality oregon bladed content. 

Think of it similar this: 

Would you spot a edifice with a paper afloat of spelling mistakes and nutrient descriptions that don't marque sense? 

Probably not. 

The aforesaid rule applies to your website. 

Even if you person invaluable accusation to share, mediocre penning tin marque it hard for readers to prosecute with your content, starring them to question much polished alternatives.

Let’s accidental you constitute an nonfiction due to the fact that you privation to fertile for a circumstantial hunt query. 

You don’t deliberation astir teaching the assemblage anything. And alternatively of creating a adjuvant guide, you unit successful the keywords repeatedly. 

You’d extremity up with a portion of contented similar this:

This illustration is older since astir bloggers nary longer constitute similar this. 

This contented is bladed due to the fact that it lacks a existent strategy oregon travel and is laden with grammatical errors. 

However, important pages for ecommerce businesses tin besides beryllium deemed “thin” for the aforesaid reasons.

For example, buying carts and class pages. These whitethorn not look to Google to beryllium invaluable for the aforesaid reasons.

In those cases, you tin usage the “noindex” directive to archer Google not to fertile them. 

3. Low-Quality Affiliate Content

Affiliate marketing is simply a performance-based advertizing method. Businesses wage radical oregon different companies a committee connected conversions they acquire.

In different words, you tin gain wealth by promoting different people’s products without holding immoderate stock.

Affiliate selling is simply a morganatic arrangement. Done right, you tin usage it to marque passive income oregon get targeted postulation of your own.

Here’s a bully illustration of however location barista tract Homegrounds includes affiliate links successful its useful guides:

This is the URL to Atlas Coffee Club that pops up erstwhile you click the title:

https://atlascoffeeclub.com/?ref_coupon=HOMEGROUNDS&utm_source=pepperjam&utm_medium=affiliate&utm_campaign=164971&utm_content=3-211372&clickId=4428030818

The URL is truthful agelong due to the fact that it’s tracking wherever visitors to Atlas came from. This 1 shows it’s an affiliate nexus from Homegrounds.

Whenever a visitant comes from the Homegrounds tract and makes a acquisition connected Atlas, Homegrounds volition get a commission.

If Homegrounds utilized bladed affiliate content, they would simply transcript the wording connected Atlas Coffee Club’s homepage:

Instead, they explicate successful their ain words wherefore they deliberation Atlas Coffee Club is truthful great.

To debar Google labeling your affiliate pages arsenic “thin,” you request to make a wide transportation betwixt some sites.

Plus, you request to adhd worth with archetypal content.

Otherwise, what caller accusation is your affiliate tract offering that the archetypal isn’t?

If you're unsure whether your affiliate contented is hitting the mark, cheque retired Google's guidelines connected creating high-quality reviews. 

They connection immoderate useful tips, similar evaluating your contented from a user's perspective, demonstrating your expertise, and providing grounds to enactment your claims.

4. Scraped Content 

Scraped contented is simply contented copied from different sources without support oregon attribution. 

This tin scope from outright copying and pasting to somewhat modifying the archetypal substance utilizing synonyms oregon automated techniques. 

It's similar taking idiosyncratic else's look and passing it disconnected arsenic your own—it is simply a signifier of plagiarism and offers nary unsocial worth to readers. 

Think of it this way: 

Imagine uncovering 2 websites with the nonstop aforesaid information. Which 1 would you spot more? 

It's astir apt the 1 who wrote it first. That's due to the fact that the archetypal creator spent clip and effort sharing their knowledge.

Search engines similar Google are astute capable to spot scraped contented and tin punish websites that usage it by making them harder to find successful hunt results. 

If you're disquieted idiosyncratic is stealing your content, you tin usage a instrumentality similar Copyscape to find copies online.

For example, we recovered a website copying from our Semrush homepage:

And if we cheque this website successful Semrush’s Organic Research tool, we tin spot the website has zero visibility successful hunt engines.

5. Pages With Too Many Ads

While ads are communal for websites to make revenue, excessively galore tin make a mediocre idiosyncratic experience. 

Think of it similar a billboard-filled highway: Too overmuch ocular sound tin beryllium overwhelming and detract from the travel itself. 

This popular Reddit thread intelligibly shows that galore users find excessive ads frustrating and disruptive to their browsing experience.

When ads predominate a webpage, they tin distract from the main content, dilatory down loading times, and adjacent marque it hard to navigate the site. 

Google recognizes the value of a affirmative idiosyncratic acquisition and whitethorn penalize websites that overload their pages with excessive advertising.

This aligns with Lily Ray's observation successful her tweet that galore websites experiencing ranking drops aft the March 2024 halfway update (which seemingly targeted spammy, low-quality content) are steadfast sites relying heavy connected advertisement revenue.

Striking a equilibrium betwixt monetization and idiosyncratic acquisition is crucial. 

Ads should complement your content—not overshadow it.

6. Duplicate Content

Google whitethorn presumption duplicate content (with the aforesaid titles, leafage content, and meta descriptions) arsenic different benignant of bladed page. 

This tin use to contented copied from different sites, as good as contented that’s the aforesaid crossed your ain site.

And swapping a fewer words unsocial won’t separate the pages arsenic abstracted content.

For example, sticking to the aforesaid condemnation format but utilizing synonyms:

Google dislikes aggregate versions of the aforesaid content. 

Why?

Because it doesn’t privation to amusement users the aforesaid results and discarded crawling resources. The hunt motor is each astir answering users’ questions arsenic rapidly arsenic possible.

But what astir those times you’re duplicating connected purpose? 

For example, you request to amusement the aforesaid contented connected your class and merchandise pages.

In these cases, you tin “tell” Google it's intentional with a snippet of code. Canonical tags constituent from the alternate leafage (the duplicate) to the preferred page.

These tags forestall Google from penalizing intentional pages.

7. Doorway Pages

Doorway pages are pages of low-quality contented that effort to fertile by stuffing successful keywords oregon links to low-value sites. People usually make them to summation their site’s footprint successful the SERPs with little effort.

These beryllium to funnel visitors to different pages. And doorway pages are usually afloat of keyword variations, links, oregon ads.

Here’s an example:

Image Source: Search Engine Land

There’s nary unsocial worth here. This page’s sole intent is to nonstop users to these linked pages.

People tin make doorway pages to manipulate hunt engines deliberately. Or by mishap due to the fact that they don’t recognize the contented is thin.

Google tin besides mislabel morganatic pages arsenic doorways.

For example, these variations connected the Hertz van prosecute landing page mightiness look suspicious astatine archetypal glance:

But successful this case, each landing leafage creates clarity for users. 

The work whitethorn beryllium the same. But radical looking for van prosecute successful London volition request antithetic accusation from those successful Belfast.

8. Pages With Spammy oregon Irrelevant Links

People usage spammy links to manipulate hunt engines and summation traction successful the SERPs. For instance, buying links connected different sites oregon selling your own.

Here’s an illustration from Google’s Spam Policies of what that looks like:

These links to commercialized pages are “thin” due to the fact that the writer doesn’t usage them meaningfully oregon thatch thing useful.

Links assistance Google find however applicable a webpage is to a hunt query. 

They’re besides however hunt motor crawlers determination astir your tract and recognize the hierarchy:

Using them deceptively oregon incorrectly is simply a accelerated mode to driblet down the SERPs. 

How to Identify Thin Content

There are 3 main ways to cheque if your tract contented is thin:

1. Check Google Search Console and Analytics

Check to spot if Google has deed you with immoderate manual enactment penalties by logging into Google Search Console. 

Head to the “Security & Manual Actions” tab successful the sidebar. 

Then click “Manual actions” to uncover immoderate penalties:

You’ll spot a database of issues you request to hole oregon a connection that says “No issues detected.” 

Once you update your bladed content, you tin petition a reappraisal successful Search Console. The webspam squad volition cheque your changes and (if sufficient) whitethorn region your penalty.

Once your manual actions are clear, caput to Google Analytics to cheque for further bladed content. 

Here, you privation to survey your integrated postulation and look retired for immoderate drops. 

These dips could beryllium owed to: 

• Previous manual actions
• Algorithm changes
• Seasonality
• Reporting glitches

You’re looking for patterns similar those connected the near wherever a driblet successful postulation doesn’t bounce back:

Both of these reasons for a driblet successful postulation whitethorn effect from bladed content.

Assess some types of “technical issue” drops and enactment which pages aren’t getting immoderate visitors. 

They could beryllium the cause.

If postulation is consistently debased for these pages, enactment them successful your spreadsheet and see them successful your read-through.

2. Run a Site Audit and Fix Technical Issues

Perform a afloat tract audit with a instrumentality similar Semrush’s Site Audit to item method issues causing bladed oregon low-quality pages, specifically those caused by duplicate content. 

To acceptable up an audit, you archetypal request to make a project.

Next, you’ll request to acceptable up your audit. There are rather a fewer steps to that. So, cheque retired our guide for a much elaborate walkthrough.

Once you’ve created your task and configured your audit, click “Start Site Audit.”

The instrumentality past crawls your pages. 

And the Site Audit dashboard volition look similar this:

The SiteHealth people volition bespeak the wide method wellness of your website. 

We basal this metric connected the fig of issues recovered and their seriousness.

Site Audit divides issues into 3 categories:

1. Errors (most severe)
2. Warnings (medium severity)
3. Notices (least severe)

Use these distinctions to prioritize your fixes. 

You’ll besides find a “Thematic Reports” conception that allows you to analyse assorted aspects of your technical SEO.

To spot each your site’s problems successful 1 place, click connected the “Issues” tab astatine the apical of your tract audit dashboard.

Then, reappraisal the issues and commencement fixing them. 

Clicking connected each volition amusement you each the audited URLs the contented affects.

You whitethorn encounter:

• Duplicate contented issues
• Internal linking issues 
• Redirect issues
• Title tag issues
• Performance issues

If unsure wherever to start, click the “Why and however to hole it” nexus adjacent to an issue.

You’ll get an mentation and a abbreviated how-to usher for each optimization.

Once you’ve fixed everything, you’ll cognize method issues aren’t liable for immoderate bladed contented issues.

3. Read Through Your Webpages

Read done the contented connected your tract similar a caller reader. 

High-quality contented should thatch readers something. They should understand:

• What you're explaining
• Why it relates to the topic
• How to bash it 

If your leafage doesn’t reply their questions, it’s apt bladed content.

Identifying bladed contented done speechmaking is simply a slow, manual process. But it’s necessary.

Create a spreadsheet to support your content audit organized:

Check disconnected the pieces of contented you’ve read. And enactment the ones you’ll request to update. That way, you tin enactment connected track.

How to Fix Thin Content

Add Value to It

The astir nonstop mode to hole bladed contented is to enrich it with invaluable information. This tin involve:

• Expanding connected the topic: Dive deeper into the taxable matter, providing much details, examples, data, oregon adept opinions. Aim for a broad word number that covers the topic without adding unnecessary fluff.
• Answering idiosyncratic intent: Consider your people audience's questions and code them straight successful your content. Ensure your contented aligns with the search intent down their search queries.
• Updating outdated information: If your contented is old, tally a content audit to place outdated pieces. Then, refresh them with your industry's latest data, trends, oregon developments. 
• Incorporating visuals: Break up ample blocks of substance with applicable images, infographics, oregon videos to heighten readability and supply further information.

Further reading: Check retired our usher connected creating quality content for circumstantial examples.

Redirect It

What bash you bash if you find unhelpful, irrelevant pages with nary traffic? Redirect them to different pages oregon delete them. 

A 301 redirect is an HTTP presumption code indicating a permanently moved webpage. 

It sends users and hunt engines from the aged leafage to the caller one. 

If the older leafage has backlinks, redirecting it passes connected immoderate of the worth you’ve gained determination alternatively of losing it. 

So, however bash you instrumentality a 301 redirect?

If you person a WordPress site, you tin usage the redirect manager successful a plugin similar Yoast SEO Premium. 

Or if you person a Shopify store, caput to the “Navigation” tab successful the drop-down menu.

Follow our 301 redirect guide for a walkthrough of some and much options.

If you take to delete contented with a 404 codification instead, users volition spot a page similar this:

While a 404 codification lets hunt engines cognize to disregard the page, it’s not large for UX.

That’s wherefore it’s often preferable to redirect if you can.

Combine It With Other Content

If you person aggregate pieces of bladed contented connected akin topics, see merging them into a broad resource. 

Let’s accidental you person a abbreviated nonfiction called “Can dogs devour apples?” And different called “Can dogs devour bananas?”

You could harvester the 2 into an eventual usher called “Can dogs devour fruit?” Then, screen each the types of harmless effect to provender dogs.

This improves idiosyncratic acquisition and increases your SEO visibility for that leafage by targeting a wider scope of applicable keywords related to the topic.

Refocus it 

Implementing a keyword research strategy tin assistance refocus bladed content. 

That’s due to the fact that it increases the likelihood of answering idiosyncratic intent and teaching the scholar thing (the other of bladed content).

Semrush’s Keyword Magic Tool tin marque this process a breeze.

Before you start, fig retired your bladed content’s cardinal message. If it doesn’t person one, take the closest related topic. 

You’ll usage this word arsenic your effect word successful the tool.

Let’s accidental it’s “dogfood.” Start by entering it into the hunt bar.

Then, participate your domain into the “AI-powered feature” field, take your people location, and click “Search.”

This volition make a study with related keywords, each accompanied by invaluable data: hunt intent, hunt volume, Personal Keyword Difficulty (PKD%), and Keyword Difficulty (KD%).

• KD% indicates however hard it is to fertile for a peculiar keyword
• PKD% considers your website's unsocial strength. And gives you a personalized people of however hard it would beryllium for your tract to rank.

The near sidebar displays the astir fashionable topics related to your effect keyword. 

In this case, these are:

• Best (e.g., “best canine food”)
• Dry (e.g., “dry canine nutrient brands”)
• Can (e.g., “can dogs devour X”)

Clicking connected 1 volition amusement each the keywords relating to that topic.

If immoderate topics aren't applicable to your content, fell them utilizing the oculus icon.

Clicking genitor subgroups volition amusement kid radical keywords. 

For example, “can” + “puppy” + “eat” volition amusement question-based keywords astir the kinds of foods puppies tin eat.

Now, here's wherever the magic happens: 

Click connected the "PKD%" drop-down paper and prime "Easy." 

This volition filter the results to amusement keywords that should beryllium comparatively casual for your tract to fertile for, provided you make high-quality contented that aligns with the hunt intent.

This volition filter the results to amusement keywords that should beryllium comparatively casual to fertile with high-quality contented focused connected the hunt intent.

From this refined list, take a keyword that champion reflects your desired taxable and tin pull applicable traffic. 

This focused attack volition assistance you revitalize your bladed contented and summation its visibility successful hunt results.

Repurpose It

You tin besides repackage bladed contented into a caller format to marque it much invaluable and gully renewed attention. This is called repurposing.

You’ll apt have to optimize it archetypal to adhd value (e.g., code caller trends, adhd caller applicable sections, oregon spell deeper into an explanation). Then, repurpose it.

For example, crook a written portion of contented into a caller multimedia version, similar an infographic summarizing a blog post.

Infographics harvester engaging visuals with absorbing information to gully the scholar in. They tin beryllium a large summation to blog posts, making the worth of the contented much instantly apparent.

For instance, see this infographic from our 10 SEO copywriting tips blog post:

Plus, infographics are ace shareable. So, you tin get much visibility for your contented erstwhile readers repost the images connected X oregon Instagram.

Another mode of repurposing bladed contented is to spell deeper with video. For example, grounds a webinar oregon interrogation different guests utilizing the communicative of your bladed contented to make talking points oregon questions.

This provides you with much opinions, information, and experiences for richer content.

Upload the finished signaling connected the archetypal leafage to boost its value.

You tin adjacent repurpose these recordings further into abbreviated clips for your ain societal media accounts.

In 2023, 90% of marketers said video contented helped them make leads. And 87% said it helped them summation sales.

So, it’s worthy a shot.

To streamline the repurposing process, see utilizing content repurposing tools similar AI Video Marketing Automator, an app that lets you easy repurpose blog contented into YouTube, TikTok, and Instagram videos.

Further reading: Repurposing Content: How to Get More Out of Every Piece

Delete It

You tin delete contented that is wholly useless, is out-of-date, oregon has nary backlinks. 

This helps tidy up your website and ensures hunt engines lone spot your champion content.

Before you delete anything, cheque if the pages person immoderate backlinks. 

If they do, see redirecting those pages truthful the backlinks inactive supply immoderate SEO benefits. 

Redirecting means sending radical who click the aged nexus to a new, applicable leafage instead. Check retired our guide to redirection for much information.

You volition besides privation to double-check internal links pointing to the URL. Choose if you privation to delete them oregon update them to the redirected page. 

Further reading: Check retired our content pruning usher to larn much astir identifying and deleting low-value content.

Find and Fix Thin Content connected Your Site 

The quickest and easiest mode to commencement your “thin content” audit is to basal retired method issues causing Google to statement your tract arsenic “thin.”

Take this archetypal measurement by heading to the Site Audit instrumentality and reviewing each contented individually.

Once you’ve done that, instrumentality your contented prime to the adjacent level with Semrush's suite of tools designed to streamline your contented instauration process:

• Organic Research: Uncover your competitors' top-performing contented and summation insights to refine your contented strategy
• Keyword Magic Tool: Discover applicable keywords with little contention to people and optimize your contented for amended hunt visibility
• Keyword Strategy Builder: Visualize and physique an full SEO contented strategy utilizing Topics and Pages
• SEO Writing Assistant: Get real-time feedback connected your content's readability, originality, and code of voice, ensuring it's clear, engaging, and optimized for hunt engines