{"id":2570,"date":"2024-05-29T16:11:10","date_gmt":"2024-05-29T16:11:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ewebtoolz.com\/blog\/do-higher-content-scores-mean-higher-google-rankings-our-data-says-its-unlikely\/"},"modified":"2024-05-29T16:11:10","modified_gmt":"2024-05-29T16:11:10","slug":"do-higher-content-scores-mean-higher-google-rankings-our-data-says-its-unlikely","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ewebtoolz.com\/blog\/do-higher-content-scores-mean-higher-google-rankings-our-data-says-its-unlikely\/","title":{"rendered":"Do Higher Content Scores Mean Higher Google Rankings? Our Data Says It&#8217;s Unlikely."},"content":{"rendered":"<p> <br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div id=\"\">\n<p>I studied the correlation between rankings and content scores from four popular content optimization tools: Clearscope, Surfer, MarketMuse, and Frase. The result? Weak correlations all around.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1600\" height=\"1133\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/most-content-scores-have-weak-correlations-with-go.png\" alt=\"Most content scores have weak correlations with Google rankings\" class=\"wp-image-175614\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/most-content-scores-have-weak-correlations-with-go.png 1600w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/most-content-scores-have-weak-correlations-with-go-600x425.png 600w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/most-content-scores-have-weak-correlations-with-go-768x544.png 768w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/most-content-scores-have-weak-correlations-with-go-1536x1088.png 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1600px) 100vw, 1600px\"\/><\/figure>\n<p>This suggests (correlation does not necessarily imply causation!) that obsessing over your content score is unlikely to lead to <em>significantly<\/em> higher Google rankings.<\/p>\n<p>Does that mean content optimization scores are pointless?<\/p>\n<p>No. You just need to know how best to use them and understand their\u00a0flaws.<\/p>\n<div class=\"post-nav-link clearfix\" id=\"section1\"><a class=\"subhead-anchor\" data-tip=\"tooltip__copielink\" rel=\"#section1\"><svg width=\"19\" height=\"19\" viewbox=\"0 0 14 14\" style=\"\"><g fill=\"none\" fill-rule=\"evenodd\"><path d=\"M0 0h14v14H0z\"\/><path d=\"M7.45 9.887l-1.62 1.621c-.92.92-2.418.92-3.338 0a2.364 2.364 0 0 1 0-3.339l1.62-1.62-1.273-1.272-1.62 1.62a4.161 4.161 0 1 0 5.885 5.884l1.62-1.62L7.45 9.886zM5.527 5.135L7.17 3.492c.92-.92 2.418-.92 3.339 0 .92.92.92 2.418 0 3.339L8.866 8.473l1.272 1.273 1.644-1.643A4.161 4.161 0 1 0 5.897 2.22L4.254 3.863l1.272 1.272zm-.66 3.998a.749.749 0 0 1 0-1.06l2.208-2.206a.749.749 0 1 1 1.06 1.06L5.928 9.133a.75.75 0 0 1-1.061 0z\" style=\"\"\/><\/g><\/svg><\/a><\/p>\n<div class=\"link-text\" data-anchor=\"How to use content scores\" data-section=\"how-to-use-content-scores\">\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><a id=\"post-175612-_11y083tx7bu6\"\/>How to (actually) use content scores<\/h2>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>Most tools\u2019 content scores are based on keywords. If top-ranking pages mention keywords your page doesn\u2019t, your score will be low. If it does, your score will be\u00a0high.<\/p>\n<p>While this has its obvious flaws (having more keyword mentions doesn\u2019t always mean better topic coverage), content scores can at least give some indication of how comprehensively you\u2019re covering the topic. This is <a href=\"https:\/\/developers.google.com\/search\/docs\/fundamentals\/creating-helpful-content\">something Google is looking for<\/a>.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image is-resized\"><noscript><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"964\" height=\"356\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/google-says-that-comprehensively-covering-the-topi.png\" alt=\"Google says that comprehensively covering the topic is a sign of quality content\" class=\"wp-image-175615\" style=\"width:512px;height:auto\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/google-says-that-comprehensively-covering-the-topi.png 964w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/google-says-that-comprehensively-covering-the-topi-680x251.png 680w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/google-says-that-comprehensively-covering-the-topi-768x284.png 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 964px) 100vw, 964px\"\/><\/noscript><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"964\" height=\"356\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/google-says-that-comprehensively-covering-the-topi.png\" alt=\"Google says that comprehensively covering the topic is a sign of quality content\" class=\"lazyload wp-image-175615\" style=\"width:512px;height:auto\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/google-says-that-comprehensively-covering-the-topi.png 964w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/google-says-that-comprehensively-covering-the-topi-680x251.png 680w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/google-says-that-comprehensively-covering-the-topi-768x284.png 768w\" data-sizes=\"(max-width: 964px) 100vw, 964px\"\/><\/figure>\n<p>If your page\u2019s score is significantly lower than the scores of competing pages, you\u2019re probably missing important subtopics that searchers care about. Filling these \u201ccontent gaps\u201d <em>might<\/em> help improve your rankings.<\/p>\n<p>However, there\u2019s nuance to this. If competing pages score in the 80-85 range while your page scores 79, it likely isn\u2019t worth worrying about. But if it\u2019s 95 vs. 20 then yeah, you should probably try to cover the topic better.<\/p>\n<div class=\"recommendation\">\n<p>Key takeaway<\/p>\n<div class=\"recommendation-content\">\n<p>Don\u2019t obsess over content scores. Use them as a barometer for topic coverage. If your score is significantly lower than competitors, you\u2019re probably missing important subtopics and might rank higher by filling those \u201ccontent gaps.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>There are at least two downsides you should be aware of when it comes to content scores.<\/p>\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><a id=\"post-175612-_ca6w6tk6hxu\"\/>They\u2019re easy to\u00a0cheat<\/h3>\n<p>Content scores tend to be largely based on how many times you use the recommended set of keywords. In some tools, you can literally copy-paste the entire list, draft nothing else, and get an almost perfect score.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><noscript><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"2048\" height=\"1442\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/scoring-98-on-marketmuse-after-shoehorning-all-the.png\" alt=\"Scoring 98 on MarketMuse after shoehorning all the suggested keywords without any semblance of a draft\" class=\"wp-image-175616\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/scoring-98-on-marketmuse-after-shoehorning-all-the.png 2048w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/scoring-98-on-marketmuse-after-shoehorning-all-the-604x425.png 604w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/scoring-98-on-marketmuse-after-shoehorning-all-the-768x541.png 768w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/scoring-98-on-marketmuse-after-shoehorning-all-the-1536x1082.png 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2048px) 100vw, 2048px\"\/><\/noscript><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"2048\" height=\"1442\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/scoring-98-on-marketmuse-after-shoehorning-all-the.png\" alt=\"Scoring 98 on MarketMuse after shoehorning all the suggested keywords without any semblance of a draft\" class=\"lazyload wp-image-175616\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/scoring-98-on-marketmuse-after-shoehorning-all-the.png 2048w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/scoring-98-on-marketmuse-after-shoehorning-all-the-604x425.png 604w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/scoring-98-on-marketmuse-after-shoehorning-all-the-768x541.png 768w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/scoring-98-on-marketmuse-after-shoehorning-all-the-1536x1082.png 1536w\" data-sizes=\"(max-width: 2048px) 100vw, 2048px\"\/><\/figure>\n<p>This is something we aim to solve with our upcoming content optimization tool: <em>Content Master<\/em>.<\/p>\n<p>I can\u2019t reveal too much about this yet, but it has a big USP compared to most existing content optimization tools: its content score is based on topic coverage\u2014not just keywords.<\/p>\n<p>For example, it tells us that our <a href=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/orchard-seo-strategy\/\">SEO strategy template<\/a> should better cover subtopics like keyword research, on-page SEO, and measuring and tracking SEO success.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><noscript><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"2048\" height=\"1480\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/preview-of-our-upcoming-content-master-tool.jpg\" alt=\"Preview of our upcoming Content Master tool\" class=\"wp-image-175617\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/preview-of-our-upcoming-content-master-tool.jpg 2048w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/preview-of-our-upcoming-content-master-tool-588x425.jpg 588w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/preview-of-our-upcoming-content-master-tool-768x555.jpg 768w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/preview-of-our-upcoming-content-master-tool-1536x1110.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2048px) 100vw, 2048px\"\/><\/noscript><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"2048\" height=\"1480\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/preview-of-our-upcoming-content-master-tool.jpg\" alt=\"Preview of our upcoming Content Master tool\" class=\"lazyload wp-image-175617\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/preview-of-our-upcoming-content-master-tool.jpg 2048w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/preview-of-our-upcoming-content-master-tool-588x425.jpg 588w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/preview-of-our-upcoming-content-master-tool-768x555.jpg 768w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/preview-of-our-upcoming-content-master-tool-1536x1110.jpg 1536w\" data-sizes=\"(max-width: 2048px) 100vw, 2048px\"\/><\/figure>\n<p>But, unlike other content optimization tools, lazily copying and pasting related keywords into the document won\u2019t necessarily increase our content score. It\u2019s smart enough to understand that keyword coverage and topic coverage are different things.<\/p>\n<div class=\"sidenote\">\n<p>Sidenote.<\/p>\n<p> This tool is still in production so the final release may look a little different.<\/p><\/div>\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><a id=\"post-175612-_i8sskl8mdzx\"\/>They encourage copycat content<\/h3>\n<p>Content scores tell you how well you\u2019re covering the topic based on what\u2019s already out there. If you cover all important keywords and subtopics from the top-ranking pages and create the ultimate <a href=\"https:\/\/www.animalz.co\/blog\/copycat-content\/\">copycat content<\/a>, you\u2019ll score full\u00a0marks.<\/p>\n<p>This is a problem because quality content should bring something new to the table, not just rehash existing information. Google literally says this in <a href=\"https:\/\/developers.google.com\/search\/docs\/fundamentals\/creating-helpful-content\">their helpful content guidelines<\/a>.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image is-resized\"><noscript><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"964\" height=\"642\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/google-says-quality-content-goes-beyond-obvious-in.png\" alt=\"Google says quality content goes beyond obvious information. It needs to bring something new to the table\" class=\"wp-image-175618\" style=\"width:509px;height:auto\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/google-says-quality-content-goes-beyond-obvious-in.png 964w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/google-says-quality-content-goes-beyond-obvious-in-638x425.png 638w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/google-says-quality-content-goes-beyond-obvious-in-768x511.png 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 964px) 100vw, 964px\"\/><\/noscript><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"964\" height=\"642\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/google-says-quality-content-goes-beyond-obvious-in.png\" alt=\"Google says quality content goes beyond obvious information. It needs to bring something new to the table\" class=\"lazyload wp-image-175618\" style=\"width:509px;height:auto\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/google-says-quality-content-goes-beyond-obvious-in.png 964w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/google-says-quality-content-goes-beyond-obvious-in-638x425.png 638w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/google-says-quality-content-goes-beyond-obvious-in-768x511.png 768w\" data-sizes=\"(max-width: 964px) 100vw, 964px\"\/><\/figure>\n<p>In fact, Google even filed a patent some years back to identify <a href=\"https:\/\/www.animalz.co\/blog\/information-gain\/\">\u2018information gain\u2019<\/a>: a measurement of the new information provided by a given article, over and above the information present in other articles on the same\u00a0topic.<\/p>\n<p>You can\u2019t rely on content optimization tools or scores to create something unique. Making something that stands out from the rest of the search results will require <a href=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/how-to-stand-out-from-ai-content\/\">experience, experimentation, or effort<\/a>\u2014something only humans can have\/do.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><noscript><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1600\" height=\"1658\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/enrich-common-knowledge-with-new-information-and-e.png\" alt=\"Enrich common knowledge with new information and experiences in your content\" class=\"wp-image-175619\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/enrich-common-knowledge-with-new-information-and-e.png 1600w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/enrich-common-knowledge-with-new-information-and-e-410x425.png 410w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/enrich-common-knowledge-with-new-information-and-e-768x796.png 768w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/enrich-common-knowledge-with-new-information-and-e-1482x1536.png 1482w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1600px) 100vw, 1600px\"\/><\/noscript><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1600\" height=\"1658\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/enrich-common-knowledge-with-new-information-and-e.png\" alt=\"Enrich common knowledge with new information and experiences in your content\" class=\"lazyload wp-image-175619\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/enrich-common-knowledge-with-new-information-and-e.png 1600w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/enrich-common-knowledge-with-new-information-and-e-410x425.png 410w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/enrich-common-knowledge-with-new-information-and-e-768x796.png 768w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/enrich-common-knowledge-with-new-information-and-e-1482x1536.png 1482w\" data-sizes=\"(max-width: 1600px) 100vw, 1600px\"\/><\/figure>\n<p>Big thanks to my colleagues Si Quan and Calvinn who did the heavy lifting for this study. Nerd notes\u00a0below.\u00a0\ud83d\ude09<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>For the study, we selected 20 random keywords and pulled the top 20 ranking pages.<\/li>\n<li>We pulled the SERPs before the <a href=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/google-algorithm-updates\">March 2024 update<\/a> was rolled out.<\/li>\n<li>Some of the tools had issues pulling the top 20 pages, which we suspect was due to SERP features.<\/li>\n<li>Clearscope didn\u2019t give numerical scores; they opted for grades. We used ChatGPT to convert those grades into numbers.<\/li>\n<li>Despite their increasing prominence in the SERPs, most of the tools had trouble analyzing Reddit, Quora, and YouTube. They typically gave a zero or no score for these results. If they gave no scores, we excluded them from the analysis.<\/li>\n<li>The reason why we calculated both Spearman and Kendall correlations (and took the average) is because according to Calvinn (our Data Scientist), Spearman correlations are more sensitive and therefore more prone to being swayed by small sample size and outliers. On the other hand, the Kendall rank correlation coefficient only takes order into account. So, it is more robust for small sample sizes and less sensitive to outliers.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><a id=\"post-175612-_yrikj3xehe41\"\/>Final thoughts<\/h2>\n<p>Improving your content score is unlikely to hurt Google rankings. After all, although the correlation between scores and rankings is weak, it\u2019s still positive. Just don\u2019t obsess and spend hours trying to get a perfect score; scoring in the same ballpark as top-ranking pages is enough.<\/p>\n<p>You also need to be aware of their downsides, most notably that they can\u2019t help you craft unique content. That requires human creativity and effort.<\/p>\n<p>Any questions or comments? Ping me on <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/joshuachardwick\">X<\/a> or <a href=\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/joshuahardwick28\">LinkedIn<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><script async src=\"\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><br \/>\n<br \/><br \/>\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/seo-content-score-study\/\">Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>I studied the correlation between rankings and content scores from four popular content optimization tools: Clearscope, Surfer, MarketMuse, and Frase. The result? Weak correlations all around. This suggests (correlation does not necessarily imply causation!) that obsessing over your content score is unlikely to lead to significantly higher Google rankings. Does that mean content optimization scores [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2571,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[22],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2570","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-seo"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ewebtoolz.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2570","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ewebtoolz.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ewebtoolz.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ewebtoolz.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ewebtoolz.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2570"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/ewebtoolz.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2570\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ewebtoolz.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2571"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ewebtoolz.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2570"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ewebtoolz.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2570"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ewebtoolz.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2570"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}