How to Find and Fix Thin Content to Boost Engagement?

Have you ever clicked on the website in the hope of finding answers for your questions and value for your time?

Yes.

But what happens when the site has shallow information? You are left with a feeling of being let down. The result is that you will close the site and move to another one that will address your queries better.

You might know this feeling. You are scrolling endlessly, hoping for that nugget of wisdom, that fuel of inspiration. But you end up finding bland, meaningless text. This is what we mean by thin content. It is the silent killer of online engagement and SEO dreams.

Picture this- you are searching for a solution to a pressing problem. Maybe it’s a complex tech issue, health concern or critical business strategy. You click on something that looks promising. But the article is just a few generic sentences, keyword mumbo-jumbo and zero actual help. Frustrating, right?

This is the nightmare of thin content. It’s not merely poor writing. It is the digital wasteland that kills user experience. This could lead to the murder of your search rankings and possibly drive potential clients away. But here is the good news-you can do something about it.

We are going to explore the world of valuable and meaningful content. We will see how to identify thin content. Also, we’re going to discuss tactics for modifying your website’s content.

What does thin content mean?

In simple terms, thin content refers to website pages that offer little to no value to users.

A decade back, low value websites were able to rank in top results for competitive keywords via keyword cloaking and stuffing.

These keywords helped businesses supercharge their bottom line. To get their content to rank higher than the original content creators, a lot of marketing teams, SEO specialists, and business owners stole content from value-driven websites and employed dubious link-building techniques.

This and other spammy tactics urged Google to release its first Panda algorithm. This happened in February 2011. The goal of this update was simple-Google wanted low quality websites to stop ranking high.

The update fined sloppy content practices such as poor quality copywriting and duplicate content that did not provide a relevant answer to a user’s intended search query.

Continuous algorithm updates are released by Google. It now also provides EEAT guidelines which every website must follow. When you stick to this guideline, you can create valuable content and steer clear of thin content territory.

How does thin content affect your SEO negatively?

The consequences of thin content extend far beyond just disappointing readers. Search engines view these pages as low-quality. This can severely impact your website’s overall performance:

[1] Reduced search rankings

Google’s algorithms are designed to prioritize good quality, informative content. Thin content signals to search engines that your website may not be a reliable source of information. This can cause your pages to drop in search results.

[2] Increase in bounce rates

When users land on a page with little substance, they quickly move away. High bounce rates tell search engines that your content isn’t meeting user expectations. This can further damage your SEO efforts.

[3] Lower domain authority

Persistent, thin content can erode your website’s overall credibility. Search engines may view your entire domain as low-quality. This can make it harder to rank for any keywords.

[4] Potential penalties

Google may issue manual penalties in extreme cases. It might remove your pages from search results or significantly reduce their visibility.

What are the typical characteristics of thin content?

Google will devalue content that has any of these traits-

-Content that lacks original insights or information

-Content primarily created for search rankings and does not help users

-Content that lacks demonstrating expertise

-Regurgitated or copied writing from other sources that does not add value

What are the types of thin content?

Understanding the various forms of thin content helps you identify and address these issues more effectively. Let us get into it-

[1] Poorly written blogs

Does your blog or webpages have spelling mistakes or errors? Google might perceive them as thin content or low quality. You can think of it as visiting a restaurant and finding out too many typos on their menu. You won’t be able to trust them. The same thing applies to your website. Poor writing can make it difficult for readers to interact with your content, even if you have important information to share. As a result, they may look for more polished options.

[2] Website content that lacks depth

Just because a webpage has a lot of content does not make it good. Similarly, in depth information does not mean it deserves to rank high. Google’s ranking system favours content that is trustworthy and helpful for users. Thin content fails to meet these criteria and often lacks EEAT.

For example-a travel guide for Tokyo that only lists three major tourist attractions without providing details on local transportation or hidden neighbourhood gems would fail to truly inform and assist travellers.

Good content that deserves to be on the top answers all doubts and questions users have. When pages have comprehensive content that meets (and sometimes exceeds) the needs of the user, they are not thin.

[3] Low quality affiliate pages

These are basically websites that try to manipulate the user. They redirect or hide content with the goal of ranking higher. The purpose of all this manipulation is to give the user the impression that they have found a “good enough” search result.

These could include websites that only display a portion of their content to search engines or that simply reroute users to another website in order to earn affiliate commissions. Such actions are strictly prohibited by Google since they are malicious and deceptive.

[4] Repetitive or duplicate content

This type of content is a strong signal for low quality content that falls under the thin category. There may be duplicate content on multiple pages of your website, or redundant content on a single page. Google and end users get lost as to which page is the original source of information when numerous pages on your website have identical or strikingly similar content.

[5] Syndicated or scraped content

When it comes to SEO, stealing content is a big NO! This is because such content does not provide more value to the users than the source. It’s like taking someone else’s recipe and forwarding it as your own. This is a form of plagiarism.

This is why Google doesn’t show such pages to readers. Furthermore, stealing content from other websites on a regular basis can damage your reputation. It can keep you from establishing a rapport with writers and editors. The long-term success of your website may suffer as a result.

[6] Pages with overwhelming ads

Ads are a common way used by websites to generate cash flow. But too many of them can ruin user experience. You can think of it like a road full of signage. This can be distracting and detract you from the journey.

Users find such ads irritating and frustrating. When a webpage is dominated by ads, it can distract readers from the main content. Google may penalize websites that overburden their pages with advertising because it understands how important a positive user experience is.

[7] Thin category on tag, category or author pages

These are some of the most common examples of thin content. This usually happens when your website has been running for some time. In such a case, you might have leftovers from previous work.

For instance, author pages on websites with active blogs that permit large-scale guest posting are frequently extremely superficial. Or perhaps you have so many distinct blog tags pages that search engines are having a hard time figuring out the structure of your website. All of this will be termed as thin content.

This is the crux of the recent site reputation abuse policy of Google that hit large players like Forbes Advisor.

[8] Webpages with irrelevant links

Many website owners use spammy links to try to manipulate search engines. This is done to gain traction. Because the author doesn’t make any meaningful use of them or impart any helpful knowledge, these links to commercial websites are “thin.”

Google uses links to assess a webpage’s relevancy to a search query. Additionally, they are how search engine crawlers navigate your website and comprehend its hierarchy.

How to identify thin content

You can identify thin content manually. But that will take a lot of time and effort from your side. Do not worry! There are faster ways available to check thin content. Also, there are tools available. Here is what you can do-

[1] Look for URL parameters that are producing duplicates

Are you an ecommerce store? Then, you can use Google Console to tackle a potential big issue. Go to the Settings options located at the bottom of the left-hand sidebar of Google Search Console. Click “Open report” under Crawl Stats once you’re there. Scroll down to “Crawl requests breakdown” in your crawl stats, then select “OK (200)” from the “By response” tab.

By doing this, a list of all legitimate URLs that Google has crawled, along with a timestamp, will be pulled. Here, you’re searching for URLs with parameters that don’t typically modify the content of the page.

You can use the “URL Parameters” tool to deal with the URL parameters (modifiers) after you’ve identified them. It is located in Google Search Console’s left-hand sidebar under “Legacy tools and reports.”

[2] Utilize Google Search Console to examine thin pages

One of the greatest resources for spotting thin content is Google Search Console. This is because it provides you with useful, easy-to-understand data. Plus, it also shows you how Google views your website. This is what most people are interested in.

Blog posts or landing pages that receive no search traffic, even though they should, are excellent markers of thin content. In other words, you should search for pages and posts that you have given enough time to rank correctly. Any pages that should rank but don’t may be a sign that the content is poor, or at the very least, thin.

[3] Search for duplicate meta descriptions and titles

You can use tools that can help you determine whether any of your title/meta descriptions are duplicates. Original page titles and meta descriptions are important because they avoid confusing readers and Google. It may also be more difficult to navigate the content of your website if two pages are identical.

You should examine the following for duplicate content-

• Title 1
• Length of Title 1
• Meta description
• Length of meta description

How to fix the issues of thin content

We have established the fact that thin content means content that is of low value. This is why; in order to avoid any thin content penalty, your goal should be to make your content powerful. It should stand out in front of viewers and Google’s eyes.

Here are ways to fix the content of your page-

[1] Use modern and usable website design

The colour and design of your website are very important. They affect the psychology of your target audience. Colours can cause expectations and reactions in your visitors. They might see your brand as less trustworthy.

The same can be said about old layouts. People wouldn’t trust a company that does not keep their website updated. Your conversion rates will be lower than they should be. This is why you need to ensure your website is modern and looks professional. Use pleasing colours that attract customers.

[2] Showcase yourself as a real brand/company

Many recent SEO issues stem from a lack of trust. Google is aware that many unqualified individuals or outright con artists create websites to defraud people of their money.

Thankfully, Google is actively combating online scammers and spammers by regularly updating its algorithm over time. Likewise, this reflects the attitudes of users toward their online activities, especially their purchases.

Nobody wishes to get scammed. This is why they look for signals of trust from a website. This tells them they are interacting with a real brand and not a bunch of scammers. Your website should therefore demonstrate that you are a real person running a legitimate business that prioritizes client satisfaction.

You can accomplish that by displaying some of your work. You need to have a well-written and optimized “About” page. It is important to provide information about your business on your website. You can also optimize for other sources of information like Google My Business.

[3] Limit the number of ads

This is another factor that can affect your client’s trust. If you show too many ads, this can be off-putting. Google also explicitly states that unhelpful affiliate content falls under thin content. Also, too many external scripts from ad networks can slow your website down. It can low your ranking even if your content is not thin.

[4] Write valuable content

Good and original content is often well received by the audience. This shows Google your content is not copied from somewhere else. There are numerous ways to create original content. In essence, consider whether your content contributes a new angle to the topic.

Your content can be sufficiently different if you just improve its presentation or make it more useful. You can even connect the dots in a fresh manner. You don’t always need to create completely original information on the subject.

There are topics which are covered too many times. But there also will be the ones that are not written well about. Pick these topics; they are a goldmine for you to optimize. You can rank well for them.

[5] Avoid cloaking and shady links

Do you wish to build trust with new potential customers? Stay away from shady practices. For example- avoid formatting the links to match the background colour of the website or cloaking them. Open and transparent companies earn the trust of users. They have high chances of ranking well too.

[6] Go for in-depth articles

The goal should be to explain a topic in detail. In order to do this, predict what questions will arise in the user’s mind when they are searching for the topic you are writing about. The goal here is to be like a good OTT series. Every episode should end with a cliffhanger, which makes you watch more. You need to present your content in an interesting way.

For example-imagine you are trying to cover the topic “How to rank on Google”? The goal here is to answer this question. It should satisfy the users properly. But doing just that means the page might end up having thin content. It won’t rank well on Google. This is why you would need to cover each and every aspect of this topic.

You might find these points scattered across Google. You can combine them all and write a good in-depth article. This can work well for your website.

You need to also know about the search intent of the reader. Your content must answer the question people have in their minds. You must also keep your content to the point.

To conclude

Thin content can negatively affect your website. Now that you know more about it and understand ways to remove it, get to work. You need to diagnose your website’s content issues.

You should make content audits a part of your yearly ritual. You may end up finding severe issues that need to be addressed. Are you a larger site owner? Then, your website may need quarterly checks. You should always look out for opportunities to freshen up your content. Add relevant data and new links to it.

You need to partner with modern content writers and digital marketers like Textuar. We understand the importance of high-quality content crafted to genuinely help readers. Such blogs and articles also follow the best SEO practices. This collaboration will eliminate your chances of ending up with thin content that adds no value to either your business or to your readers.