Do you hate clickbait? Feel like all AI writing sounds the same? You’re not the only one! Google started cracking down on AI and clickbait content in March, much to the relief of people who value quality writing.
Google is cracking down on two main things: scaled content abuse and reputation abuse.
What is “Scaled Content Abuse”?
Scaled content abuse is when bad actors create a bunch of articles and upload them to the internet with the intention of gaming search engines. Raw AI content falls into this category because of the fact that it’s not typically edited, has no original content, and can be created quickly.
The new Google algorithm will penalize users whose content isn’t original (or is low-quality). According to Google, a ranking will drop by 40% if scaled content abuse is detected. An example of scaled content abuse is called “obituary spam,” a form of online piracy where people scrape obituary notices from the internet and republish them on platforms (like YouTube) in an attempt to make money off them.
What is “Reputation Abuse”?
Reputation abuse, also known as domain squatting, refers to the practice of buying websites with name recognition to profit off the original owners’ reputations. Typically, the scavengers who engage in this practice replace original pieces with (usually AI-generated) articles meant to manipulate search engine rankings.
Google is giving websites more time to deal with this issue than the others: a full 60 days. Generous, considering that people who do this have made Google look bad because of it.
Google promises to keep the lowest-quality content out of search results, reiterating that they’ve relied on spam-fighting systems and policies to do just that. Even the update itself is partially to help them take action on more types of content “with little to no value created at scale, like pages that pretend to have answers to popular searches but fail to deliver helpful content.”
What Does This Update Mean for Designers?
The Bible says to build your house on solid ground. This principle can also be applied to many areas of life, including content. If you cheat by creating low-quality clickbait content or AI, you’ll eventually get caught.
So what should graphic designers and business owners who have online content do in light of this update? If you’re not sure how to respond, we’ve got a few ideas.
First, ensure that nothing on your website is clickbait or AI (for obvious reasons).
This may mean a massive overhaul of your content if you’ve been engaging in bad practices for a long time, but it’ll be worth it. If clickbait is the issue, it may simply take changing your titles, meta descriptions, introductions, and conclusions. If you intersperse “teaser content” all along the way (for content at the very end of the article, requiring you to click through a huge slideshow), it may take more work than that.
If you’ve been using raw AI content, you should definitely get all the content edited by a skillful writer to ensure it adheres to a specific brand voice and contains factual, accurate information. You’ll also want them to edit out any glaring proof that the content originally came from AI.
This includes long, rambling introductions and conclusions, in addition to telltale phrases.
Here are some “AI-sounding” phrases to avoid/delete:
- When it comes to
- In this digital age
- Game-changer
- Revolutionize
- Cutting edge
- Navigate
- Foster
- Elevate
- Unlock
- Unleash
If you’ve been writing low-quality content up until this point (despite it not being AI or clickbait), you should also have a skilled writer refresh your content – or choose different topics altogether. Many people are recommending that – instead of using trending topics – users should create original content based on their own expert opinions.
After all – your opinion is your own, and even if it is similar to someone else’s opinion, the way you say it will be different. You should also bring more storytelling elements to your content – pulling from your personal experience – to make your content more engaging.
Another option is to include interviews in your content. This takes a lot longer than creating content based upon what you can find on the internet, but it’s also far more unique, which means you should be rewarded by the new algorithm. If you want to write about something that you’re interested in – but don’t necessarily know much about – interviewing an expert is a wonderful way to bridge the gap.
Need High-Quality Content? Ask Us!
At Matcha Design, we have always believed in quality – whether it’s a logo, web design, or content. We’re careful and diligent about what we do, because our goal is to serve our clients well and work as unto the Lord.
If you’re looking for a designer who can do several aspects of web design, contact us for your next project. We’d be happy to help!
