How to Fix Thin Content
What this means
A site audit flags two content problems:
- Thin pages: pages with under 200 words of text.
- Placeholder text: "lorem ipsum" left over from a theme or template.
Word count isn't a goal in itself. A contact page doesn't need 1,000 words. But a page you want to rank for a search needs enough to answer it.
Why it matters
Google ranks the page that best answers a search. A page with two sentences and a photo rarely does that, so it rarely ranks, however well the rest of your site is built.
Placeholder text is a different problem: it looks unfinished to visitors and tells Google the page isn't real content. It's usually on a page or section nobody noticed, such as a theme's demo testimonials.
How to fix placeholder text
Search your site for "lorem" (most site builders have a search, and Google's site:yoursite.com lorem works too). Replace the text with real content or delete the section. Check theme demo pages, footers and hidden sections in page builders.
How to fix thin pages
Start by asking what the page is for.
Pages that don't need to rank
Contact, thank-you, login and basket pages are short by nature. Leave them as they are. If they're cluttering Google's results, you can hide them with noindex.
Pages that should rank
Services, products, categories and locations. Add the information a customer would ask you for on the phone:
- What it is, in plain words, and who it's for.
- The details: sizes, ingredients, what's included, how long it takes, the area you cover.
- Prices, or at least a starting price or what affects the price.
- Answers to common questions. The questions customers email you are a good list.
- Proof: photos of real work, or a short example of a recent job.
Write for the customer, not for a word count. If you run out of useful things to say at 300 words, that's fine.
Pages that overlap
Several short pages on nearly the same topic usually do better as one fuller page. Merge them, keep the address that gets the most visits, and redirect the others. The guide on duplicate content covers this.
Product pages in a shop
Short supplier descriptions are common. Adding a paragraph in your own words about what the product is good for, plus a few practical details, sets your page apart from every other shop using the same text.
Checking your fix
Read the page as a customer would. Does it answer what they came to find out?
If you use Duality, tick the page in Site Audit and choose Verify my fixes to check it again straight away.