Information Gain Score
An Information Gain Score measures how much new and useful information a webpage offers compared to other content within the same topic area. Essentially, it gauges the uniqueness of your content against the vast corpus of documents Google analyzes to rank search queries.
π‘ Key Points:
- Unique Content Measurement: Assesses how distinct your content is from existing documents.
- User-Centric: Focuses on providing additional value to users beyond what they've already seen.
- SEO Impact: Influences how Google prioritizes content in search rankings.
π Applications of Information Gain in Search Engines
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1οΈβ£ Ranking Search Results
Objective: Enhance relevance by prioritizing documents that provide additional value.
High Information Gain: Documents offering new information are ranked higher.
Low Information Gain: Redundant content is demoted.
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2οΈβ£ Filtering Redundant Information
Objective: Reduce user frustration by eliminating repetitive search results.
Outcome: Users receive diverse and comprehensive information without redundancy.
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3οΈβ£ Personalizing Recommendations
Objective: Tailor search results based on individual user interactions.
Benefit: Users see content that adds new value relative to their search history.
Examples
π³ Example: βHow to Plant a Treeβ
Page A: Explains the basicsβdig a hole, plant the tree, and water it.
Page B: Covers the same basics but also shares:
- The best season to plant specific trees π±.
- How to prepare the soil πͺ΄.
- Common mistakes to avoid β.
Page B will rank higher because it gives extra information that people find more useful.
π How to Make Your Content Unique and Valuable
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1. Check What Others Are Saying
Look at your competitors' content. What are they missing? Focus on filling those gaps.
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2. Add New Insights
Share tips, facts, or advice that arenβt commonly available. Maybe include a personal experience, expert advice, or real-life examples.
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3. Be Clear and Specific
Donβt ramble. Get to the point and explain things in a way anyone can understand.
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4. Keep It Short but Informative
Answer questions in as few words as possible while still being helpful. People love quick, easy-to-read content.
π Increasing Information Gain Score
Search Engines compare the new documents with the set of existing documents and calculate an information gain score for the new information provided in the new documents.
At this point, recall Koray Tugberk GUBUR's words: πΌπ π¦ππ’'ππ π‘ππ π ππππππ π‘π π¦ππ’π ππππππ‘ππ‘πππ , ππ‘'ππ πππ£π ππ’π‘βππππ‘π¦ π‘π π¦ππ’π ππππππ‘ππ‘πππ πππ π ππππβ πππππππ π€πππ πππ‘ πππ£π π¦ππ’ π πππππππ‘π¦ πππ βππβππ πππππ .
So, enriching your content with all the possible contexts & perspectives help increase Information gain Score for your website and according to Google Patent, search engine gives priority to high information gain score documents to fulfill user demand and satisfy user search intent.
π How to Collect Contexts & Perspectives
Let's talk here how to collect all the possible contexts & perspectives of a topic for contextual enrichment and increasing information gain score:
General Recommendations
- πΉ Include legal aspect: if relevant for target topic. Also mention the source/reference.
- πΉ Recognized Entities: If target topic is related to a recognized entity, read the content from Wikipedia or similar sources to explore new perspectives for the target topic.
- πΉ Competitors' Content: Read your competitors' content to pick the contexts/perspectives mentioned there. Never copy the content, just take idea for perspectives or aspects mentioned there.
- πΉ Industry Experts: Read industry experts' blogs or interviews to find new perspectives for target topic.
- πΉ Case Studies & Analysis: Search for case studies or analysis published by different institutes or websites on the target topic. The addition of statistics and data facts show the human effort in content creation and increases information gain score.
ποΈββοΈ For Health & Fitness Niche
- πΉ Research Studies: Include Research Studies from diversified sources including University Research Studies, Random Trials, Review Studies & Medical Journals etc.
- πΉ Contradictory Perspectives: Include contradictory perspectives from research studies too. For example, 3 studies support the fact that Green Tea helps lose weight but one random trial suggests that green tea has no effect on weight loss. You must include this contradictory opinion in your content.
- πΉ Specific Rules & Regulations: Search for specific rules, regulations, policies or FDA recommendations for your target topic and include in your content whatever data available on the topic.
- πΉ Expert Quotes: Include quotes or recommendations from Healthcare professionals and practitioners for your target topic to increase authenticity & perspectives for your content.
- πΉ Side Effects: Whenever writing for health benefits for a particular food item or exercise or any other activity or habit, also include the side effects for that.
β οΈ Precaution
- πΈ Content Balance: You need to decide how much content is needed for different perspectives. Context Dilution may harm your content.
π How to Improve the Information Gain Score for Your Content
Marketing is a team sport, and so is SEO! π― You'll need to work closely with the content team/person to get this right. Here are a few ways to boost the information gain score for your content:
π§ Find Unique Content Ideas
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π‘ Tip from Steve Toth: Most copywriters and SEO writing tools use the top 10 results to structure contentβbut we donβt want that! Instead, aim for unique content by:
- π Searching for:
[keyword] filetype:pdf[keyword] filetype:ppt
This helps you find fresh content thatβs not already in the SERPs.
π― Example: How to use filetype Google search operator
π Reposition Existing Information
π Tip by Eric Lancheres: Sometimes, repositioning information gives it a fresh perspective!
- β "1 in 10 people love salmon"
- β "10% of people like salmon"
π€ Use AI Search Engines
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π§ Perplexity.ai: A powerful search engine that incorporates Google ranking signals but has its own ranking system.
- β Lists sources for answers π
- β Not always the traditional top 10 results from Google
π Example: Search Perplexity.ai for "What is Perplexity.ai?"
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π οΈ Consensus.app: A tool that answers questions by summarizing academic papers! π
Mentioned by Manny Diaz & Steve Tothβdefinitely worth trying!
βοΈ Give Copywriters More Freedom
π Unpopular opinion: Over-structuring content (e.g., traditional skyscraper method) leads to more of the same.
- β Let writers add their personal insights, experiences, and opinions. This boosts uniqueness and engagement! π¨
π Create Your Own Data
- πΉ Run surveys & polls (LinkedIn, Twitter, Google Forms)
- πΉ Analyze trends from sales calls & customer surveys
- πΉ Buy high-quality data from Statista.com (if budget allows) β This can boost backlinks too! π
π€ Interview Subject Matter Experts (SMEs)
- β Reach out for expert quotes & insights
- β Boosts E-E-A-T (Experience, Expertise, Authority, Trust)
- β Experts may share your contentβmore exposure! π
πΉ Final Thoughts
The goal is not to rewrite whatβs already ranking but to offer something new! Use unique insights, data, and expert opinions to make your content stand out. π