Do Higher Content Scores Mean Higher Google Rankings? Our Data Says It’s Unlikely.

I studied the correlation betwixt rankings and contented scores from 4 fashionable contented optimization tools: Clearscope, Surfer, MarketMuse, and Frase. The result? Weak correlations each around.

This suggests (correlation does not needfully connote causation!) that obsessing implicit your contented people is improbable to pb to significantly higher Google rankings.

Does that mean contented optimization scores are pointless?

No. You conscionable request to cognize however champion to usage them and recognize their flaws.

Most tools’ contented scores are based connected keywords. If top-ranking pages notation keywords your leafage doesn’t, your people volition beryllium low. If it does, your people volition be high.

While this has its evident flaws (having much keyword mentions doesn’t ever mean amended taxable coverage), contented scores tin astatine slightest springiness immoderate denotation of however comprehensively you’re covering the topic. This is something Google is looking for.

If your page’s people is importantly little than the scores of competing pages, you’re astir apt missing important subtopics that searchers attraction about. Filling these “content gaps” might assistance amended your rankings.

However, there’s nuance to this. If competing pages people successful the 80-85 scope portion your leafage scores 79, it apt isn’t worthy worrying about. But if it’s 95 vs. 20 past yeah, you should astir apt effort to screen the taxable better.

There are astatine slightest 2 downsides you should beryllium alert of erstwhile it comes to contented scores.

They’re casual to cheat

Content scores thin to beryllium mostly based connected however galore times you usage the recommended acceptable of keywords. In immoderate tools, you tin virtually copy-paste the full list, draught thing else, and get an astir cleanable score.

This is thing we purpose to lick with our upcoming contented optimization tool: Content Master.

I can’t uncover excessively overmuch astir this yet, but it has a large USP compared to astir existing contented optimization tools: its contented people is based connected taxable coverage—not conscionable keywords.

For example, it tells america that our SEO strategy template should amended screen subtopics similar keyword research, on-page SEO, and measuring and tracking SEO success.

But, dissimilar different contented optimization tools, lazily copying and pasting related keywords into the papers won’t needfully summation our contented score. It’s astute capable to recognize that keyword sum and taxable sum are antithetic things.

They promote copycat content

Content scores archer you however good you’re covering the taxable based connected what’s already retired there. If you screen each important keywords and subtopics from the top-ranking pages and make the eventual copycat content, you’ll people full marks.

This is simply a occupation due to the fact that prime contented should bring thing caller to the table, not conscionable rehash existing information. Google virtually says this successful their adjuvant contented guidelines.

In fact, Google adjacent filed a patent immoderate years backmost to place ‘information gain’: a measurement of the caller accusation provided by a fixed article, implicit and supra the accusation contiguous successful different articles connected the same topic.

You can’t trust connected contented optimization tools oregon scores to make thing unique. Making thing that stands retired from the remainder of the hunt results volition necessitate experience, experimentation, oregon effort—something lone humans tin have/do.

Big acknowledgment to my colleagues Si Quan and Calvinn who did the dense lifting for this study. Nerd notes below. 😉

• For the study, we selected 20 random keywords and pulled the apical 20 ranking pages.
• We pulled the SERPs earlier the March 2024 update was rolled out.
• Some of the tools had issues pulling the apical 20 pages, which we fishy was owed to SERP features.
• Clearscope didn’t springiness numerical scores; they opted for grades. We utilized ChatGPT to person those grades into numbers.
• Despite their expanding prominence successful the SERPs, astir of the tools had occupation analyzing Reddit, Quora, and YouTube. They typically gave a zero oregon nary people for these results. If they gave nary scores, we excluded them from the analysis.
• The crushed wherefore we calculated some Spearman and Kendall correlations (and took the average) is due to the fact that according to Calvinn (our Data Scientist), Spearman correlations are much delicate and truthful much prone to being swayed by tiny illustration size and outliers. On the different hand, the Kendall fertile correlation coefficient lone takes bid into account. So, it is much robust for tiny illustration sizes and little delicate to outliers.

Final thoughts

Improving your contented people is improbable to wounded Google rankings. After all, though the correlation betwixt scores and rankings is weak, it’s inactive positive. Just don’t obsess and walk hours trying to get a cleanable score; scoring successful the aforesaid ballpark arsenic top-ranking pages is enough.

You besides request to beryllium alert of their downsides, astir notably that they can’t assistance you trade unsocial content. That requires quality creativity and effort.

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