Thin Content: What It Is and How to Improve User and Website Experience

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Thin content is a type of text that uses keywords to please search engines, but offers nothing more than information to the average user. By definition, thin content not only fails to satisfy site visitors, but also confuses them because it does not provide what the user came to the site for.

How Thin Content Can Hurt SEO
It may seem like creating superficial content won't dobusiness owner database much harm. However, it's a trickle-down effect that relies heavily on rankings and user impressions.

High bounce rate
When visitors land on a page with limited content, they begin to feel dissatisfied. This dissatisfaction quickly leads to high bounce rates, with users leaving in search of quality, informative, and relevant content.

SEO is closely tied to user experience, and the connection often manifests itself in high bounce rates, a clear signal that the content is not meeting the needs or expectations of the audience. The impact of high bounce rates goes beyond the immediate loss of traffic. It impacts the conversion potential of a site. If visitors are not interested or do not find value, they are less likely to engage further, which impacts the site’s ability to achieve its goals, whether that’s sales, signups, or engagement. High bounce rates are sometimes not such a bad thing. If a page is responding to a user’s needs, it’s okay if someone lands on the page and leaves without taking any further action.

Decline in search engine rankings
Little-known content is less competitive in search results because it lacks the key information that the audience is looking for. Google continues to encourage website owners to create useful content, and it also aims to eliminate little-known or spammy content from search results.

If your content is not relevant to the topic and is not comparable to your SEO competitors, you can only expect low rankings and low traffic.



6 Examples of Thin Content
Easier to show than to tell. You may have already understood the features of thin content, but on a website it may still go unnoticed.

Incomplete content
Incomplete content is like a story that is missing important details. The lack of depth and context is a common problem with this type of content, leaving the reader with more questions than they started with.

Lack of depth in content directly impacts user engagement. Visitors who are faced with incomplete information will quickly leave the site, leading to a high bounce rate. Not only is this a missed opportunity for meaningful engagement, but it also potentially reduces SEO effectiveness. To avoid this trap, it is important to cover topics in depth.

Duplicate content
Duplicate content across different web pages has roughly the same impact on users. It's like browsing a digital marketing blog and finding the same advice on improving SEO or how to engage on social media in multiple posts.

The problem is that there is no change in content, meaning the advice is not nuanced, fresh, or relevant to the context. When search engines see these copy-paste jobs, they get confused about which page to show users in search results. This confusion can make a site appear less visible in search results.

Original automatically generated content
Thin content is generic material that leaves more questions than answers. It typically offers little in the way of new opinions, insights, or research. Content written primarily by generative AI, with little or no supporting research from a subject matter expert, will feel flat and formulaic.

Syndicated content
Syndicated content is when you take content that has already been published elsewhere, such as an article or blog post, and publish it on your own site. It's a common practice that can be extremely beneficial if done correctly.

If multiple sites have the same article, Google has to decide which one to prioritize in search results. Most often, it will choose the original source. If a site is filled with content that is available elsewhere, it will likely have a hard time climbing the SEO ladder.

Low quality affiliate pages
Affiliate pages can be a really useful resource for shoppers who want more information about a product. But in an effort to make a quick buck, some affiliate marketers create “product review” pages that lack the comprehensive advice, insights, and expertise that users are looking for.

If the content is only aimed at promoting products, you risk your reputation and may be penalized by Google for poor quality content. Such pages have minimal value and can negatively affect the SEO effectiveness of the site.

Pages with doorways
Doorway pages (or gateways) are a bit like misleading turns in a maze. They are designed to attract attention and draw users to other revenue-generating areas of the site.

These pages often use a lot of keywords in the hopes of convincing search engines of their relevance, but they don't give users what they really want. In practice, this can look like a site with several individually indexed pages that contain the same content except for a few different words.



How to Identify and Fix Thin Content
There are several ways to address the lack of content and fill the gaps to improve SEO.

Conduct a website audit
The first step is to figure out what the issues are. Conducting a site audit is similar to a website health check and can help pinpoint the areas that need to be addressed. Regularly checking your site to detect and fix any copycat content is also a good step.

Original automatically generated content

A survey conducted last year found that most American adults are aware of ChatGPT, and many digital marketers are well aware of its content creation capabilities.

However, most AI-generated content without editing or adding information can result in poor content.

Use canonical tags
Canonical tags help indicate to search engines which version of a similar page is the “master.” Let’s say a site has multiple pages that are similar in content. Without canonical tags, search engines may be confused about which one to give preference to, leading to SEO issues such as a decrease in page authority.

Optimize Low-Performing Pages
Updating content is not just about republishing it with a new date. It is about making meaningful updates. This may include:

Analyze competing URLs to see what they do differently
Finding new opportunities to create extended snippets
Identifying relevant keywords to expand your content
Screenshots and video update
Reviewing important data such as statistics and dates
Update CTAs and forms to align with your current conversion strategies
How often should you update content? There is no one-size-fits-all answer, but a general rule is the 25% rule. If you add new content regularly, aim to spend about a quarter of your effort updating existing content. This approach helps ensure a balanced content strategy, keeping your site fresh and relevant.

Combine or shorten content
Sometimes less is more. If you have several short blog posts on similar topics, each one will be like a puzzle piece that reveals part of the picture but not the whole story. By combining these posts, you will have a comprehensive guide that will not only provide more value to readers, but will also strengthen search. While SEO should not be the only factor when combining content, if the content is reducing the effectiveness of keywords, then this is definitely something to look at.

Share your experience or expertise on topics
Nothing beats a personal touch. If you know your subject well, don’t hold back. Share your experiences, ideas, and personal stories. Search engines actively reward and prioritize pages that demonstrate expertise.

Poor quality content can easily slip under the radar of SEOs, but if left unchecked, it can lead to more serious issues and side effects that are more difficult to fix.