Over the past decade, many SEO content teams have adopted a search-engine-first approach to content creation.
They researched articles in the top 10 positions of the SERP (Search Engine Result Page), analyzing the topics and identifying “unique” perspectives from each article.
The SEOs then grouped all the topics into a “comprehensive” content brief, aiming to outperform content positioned lower on the first page.
This is what I define as a search-engine-first approach: considering only the top 10 SERP results and reducing the effort spent on extensive research to offer new and fresh insights to the audience.
Unfortunately, this approach might be challenged by a new concept known as Information Gain, which prioritizes an audience-first strategy.
okay … but what’s information gain?
Information Gain is understood differently depending on the context, SEO or machine learning.
Although the concept of Information Gain in SEO is still a bit technical, I will explain it in layman’s terms.
Information gain refers to how you introduce new and relevant information, which can be presented as:
- new information about existing topics, and/or
- presenting widely agreed-upon content from a fresh perspective, enriched with first-hand experience or primary information.
Now for the technical aspect: the concept of information gain originates from Google's Knowledge Graph. This algorithm interprets the significance of your SEO content by analyzing the entities involved and their interrelations.
Information gain refers to the newly added and relevant entities the algorithm identified from your piece of content.
In simpler terms, information gain involves supplying sufficient new and relevant information to convince the Google Knowledge Graph of your content's usefulness.
Although this concept may seem new, it has been around for approximately six years..
It first appeared on Google Patents (the platform where Google publishes its official academic papers) in an article titled “Contextual Estimation of Link Information Gain”, introducing the term “Information Gain Score”.
“The information gain score for a given document is indicative of additional information that is included in the document beyond information contained in documents that were previously viewed by the user. … Based on the information gain scores of a set of documents, the documents can be provided to the user in a manner that reflects the likely information gain that can be attained by the user if the user were to view the documents.”
implication & why I believe information gain will remain crucial in SEO
The research paper’s abstract reveals two key points:
- Google uses a metric called 'information gain score' to measure the amount and usefulness of new information a web page provides.
- This metric ranks content by how much it differs from or resembles other content.
Together with Google's E.E.A.T. framework for assessing content quality, it becomes clear why information gain is crucial for creating quality content.
Check out this official Google search document:
https://developers.google.com/search/docs/fundamentals/creating-helpful-content
- Does the content provide original information, reporting, research, or analysis?
- Does the content provide insightful analysis or interesting information that is beyond the obvious?
- If the content draws on other sources, does it avoid simply copying or rewriting those sources, and instead provide substantial additional value and originality?
- Does the content provide substantial value when compared to other pages in search results?
- Does your content clearly demonstrate first-hand expertise and a depth of knowledge (for example, expertise that comes from having actually used a product or service, or visiting a place)?
These questions highlight the concept of information gain.
Upon closer examination of these questions, you'll see that AI cannot create this content, as it lacks first-hand experience, fresh perspectives, and expert knowledge.
In a world flooded with “SEO optimized” content, emphasizing information gain is how we combat generic AI-driven SEO efforts and genuinely add value for our audience.
approach to information gain: where to find untapped information?
By now, you should understand why relying solely on traditional search engines is not viable. They often lead to content that lacks depth and originality by focusing only on the top results.
The next question is, where can we find new and relevant information for our content strategy?
To gather new and relevant information in your content, there are two directions we can follow:
- Looking for unanswered but relevant questions (they can serve as new topics for your SEO content strategy)
- Citing authoritative sources, such as research or expert opinions, to enhance your content's credibility
There are four types of resources you could take a look at.
Forums
Forums are the best places to look for relevant questions that haven't been answered yet.
Before you start searching for questions frequently asked by your target audience in forums, it's useful to first identify the specific niche forums.
Thanks to Google rolling out the “forum” filter, now we can narrow our search results to only those indexed from forums.
To use this search filter, simply add the &udm=18 parameter at the end of the SERP URL.
The next step is to search within these forums.
When Google doesn't have the answers I need, I often turn to forums like Reddit or Quora (yes, searching on Google is always my first step).
Explore forums such as Reddit and Quora, along with other niche forums, to find questions that your content can address.
To conduct thorough research on Reddit, consider using tools like Reddit Insights and Gummy Search, which can help streamline your team's workflow by identifying subreddit-specific questions.
Tools & Features
A classic method is using Google’s People Also Ask and Autocomplete features to find relevant questions.
However, it is not the most efficient way to conduct comprehensive research.
There are many tools on the market to help us streamline the research process:
- Answer the Public
- Keywordpeopleuse
- AlsoAsked
LLM-powered search engines
The most effective tool might be LLM-powered search engines like Perplexity and Exa, which access a wider range of sources than Google alone.
These search engines tap into Google, Youtube, Reddit, Quora and even social media X (formerly Twitter), offering diverse perspectives and firsthand experiences.
Also noteworthy are semantic search engines like Consensus and Epsilon-AI, ideal for technical and academic content.
Your own first-party data
Finally, the best strategy might be to conduct your own research. This approach ensures unique findings that enhance your content’s credibility and attract backlinks.
While it sounds daunting, your company likely has valuable resources like customer reviews, testimonials, and case studies. Organize these to easily access them when needed.
what’s next?
Thank you for reading this far. I begin each article with the goal of teaching something valuable, and I hope you've learned something today.
It takes some time to get used to incorporating information gain in your content strategy.
However, to truly stand out in the sea of generic SEO content, the best approach is to always write insightful, quality content that addresses the audience's concerns. Commit to this practice, and over time, you will see your audience grow and your content flourish.
