Is Unique Content STILL important for SEO?
To find out, let’s dive back into the world of SEO content and see if the best methods have changed, and if doing it yourself is still the best way to boost your business.
What is Unique Content?
First, we need to go back to basics. Your written content
(or copy) is all the words on your website. This can be blogs, pages, product
descriptions, or a combination of all three and more depending on your
business.
Some businesses create a shiny new website but leave it to
gather dust while they focus on running the company. Adding new content to your
site not only has major SEO benefits, but it also keeps things fresh for your
regular visitors too.
But since there are only so many words out there; how can
you be sure that your content is ‘unique’? Even if your industry is niche, surely
there is only so much you can write about?
How to Create Unique Content
In the SEO world ‘unique’ doesn’t mean ‘every word must be different’.
To understand it better, let’s look at it from a different angle.
‘Duplicate’ content is a major detriment for SEO. If you’ve
copied and pasted paragraphs onto multiple pages and blogs, it makes the search
engine overlords think you haven’t put any effort in. This ignores the quality
of the content itself; it’s a big red flag that Google’s bots are on the
lookout for, and something you should be aware of when you’re creating your
page content.
A small amount of duplicate content is fine. We’ve seen with
a few of our clients that using a similar call to action at the end of each
blog ties it all together nicely and isn’t a major concern for SEO. In
addition, your pages should have your contact form at the bottom, which does
add to the word count.
It’d be a little unfair if this was penalised, there’s only
so many ways you can write ‘please get in touch’ without switching to a
different language. And saying ‘sie sich bitte an’ isn’t ideal for a UK
customer base.
Essentially, as long as around 90-95% of your content isn’t
copied from anywhere else, it won’t affect your ranking.
Using Content to Boost Enquiries
As of late 2024, content is still the most important tool in
your SEO arsenal for increasing enquiries. This is how you improve your
outreach; by talking about more relevant topics within your content, you bring
more traffic to your site.
However, the traffic has to be relevant too. If you start
talking about current events or the results of a footy match, that traffic
won’t lead to any enquiries unless you directly tie it to what you do, and even
in that case those topics should be left on social media.
Quality copywriting improves retention too. If your blogs are great
to read, people will come back again and again to see what you have to say.
This means that customers that don’t need your services immediately will be
returning, and when the time comes that they do, you’ll be guaranteed a
new enquiry. In the meantime, word of mouth will direct more relevant visitors
to your site, giving you a boost in sales over time.
Creating Unique Content with AI
You may be posting a lot of content already, but is it the right
content? With AI tools available, it’s easy to post dozens of blogs in the
time it would take to write one from scratch.
LLMs like ChatGPT have improved a lot this year, and their
content is harder to detect at a glance. Google is penalizing it less too;
according to its Webmaster Guidelines, AI content is acceptable if the
following conditions apply:
·
The Content is High Quality
· The
Content provides Value
· The
Content is Unique
Let’s break down each of these.
First, the quality. If you type a quick prompt into ChatGPT
and copy whatever it spits out into your website builder, that won’t help your
SEO. You need to review and edit the content thoroughly to make sure that it’s
correct (AI is still making plenty of basic errors!) and it is written in a way
that suits your brand. If you like an informal tone for your blogs, but are
copying in Chat’s essay-esque content, it won’t look right to your readers or the
search engine algorithms.
Next, value. When it’s so easy to produce content in
seconds, the internet is flooded with average-at-best pages and blogs about
most topics. Is your content worth reading, or is it something you could find
on a hundred other websites in your industry?
And this leads us nicely onto unique content. As clever as
LLMs are, they can still repeat themselves when asked for the same prompt. Editing
fixes a lot of this; we always recommend switching the content to 1st
person and including plenty of your own insight and experiences to make it more
human.
This is a time-consuming job, which is why for companies
with a strong voice already in their content, and a solid reader base, writing
from scratch is still best for both page content and blogs.
The Future of SEO Content
It seems we’ve reached a similar conclusion to last year's
blog. Creating content is as important as ever and doing it yourself is still the
best way to do it. AI is catching up, there’s no denying that, but it’s only
valuable for quantity and idea generation.
When your content is unique, it gives your SEO a boost, it’s
as simple as that. Lazy content that adds little value should be avoided,
especially on your main pages.
Blogs can be more repetitive if you’re trying to target some
specific keywords, but never forget about the real people who will be reading
them.
So, as 2025 approaches fast, content is still king. Maybe
next year things will be different; but I doubt it. Whatever happens, we’ll be
keeping our finger on the pulse, and will always give you a clear insight into
the world of SEO.
Written by Nathan Locke
