One of the terms that Google has been using frequently is Low Value Content.  At SHE, we originally heard this related to Google's MCM process (What is MCM?), but now we've begun hearing this in relation to Google's Helpful Content Update.

Google's Helpful Content Update is their recent update to their search ranking algorithms, but also to Core Web Vitals and MCM. Behind it is a shift in how we approach content on the web, fixing an issue that online advertising helped cause - unhelpful content designed to create longer posts.

What is low value content?

While Google won't come out and say exactly what qualifies a site as being Low Value Content, it's all related to whether or not readers will find content valuable. High value content typically means that when someone searches for a term, and clicks into the site - that they're satisfied by what they were looking for and don't need to search any further. Google rewards high value content with better search ranking.

We've found that largely, genres like travel sites and food sites that are being labeled LVC (though any site can be labeled Low Value Content). Lists are typically the biggest culprit, since it isn't unique information or something that might satisfy a reader's answer.

When Google rejects a site in the MCM process for Low Value Content, this is what they tell us:

Too many images, not enough text

One of the things we've seen on sites that Google's returned as Low Value Content are articles with a sentence per image/ affiliate link.  We find that a good ratio of text to image is 300 words per image.

Lists

While it seems to be a popular content type, any list over 10 is probably not going to be high value content. With anything of that length, you'll likely be including short thoughts on whatever the subject is.

Of a special note, since Google has called it out as thin content - if you're doing affiliate link posts, make sure you provide a LOT more detail. Don't share a sentence with a link. You need more information!

Google also doesn't consider roundup posts high value content. They might be valuable to people who return to your site, but if you're doing a weeky roundup of other people's recipes that just links out, it might not index as well as your original content.

Irrelevant Content

Consider clickbait articles. How many times have you clicked into an article, looking for what was promised in the featured image or the title - never to find it in the article? That isn't very helpful is it.

Or say you're searching for a particular recipe, and have to go through several pages worth of content to get to the actual recipe itself?  If you've ever though that the introduction to a recipe should be its own blog post, that's what they mean.  (By all means, please have longer posts- just make sure it ties into the recipe)

Images that are taller than your viewport

One of the most important things any publisher can do is understand the importance of viewport size. A viewport is the size of a device's screen. You should never post any image that's taller than the average viewport.  (Anything taller than 600 pixels runs the risk of being cut off and losing impact)

You should not only resize images prior to uploading, but if you're on Wordpress, utilize a plugin that will resize the images

Write your own content

AI can be great tool, but if you aren't heavily editing to make sure it's in your writing style, this can get create too much similarities to other people using the same tools. It could hurt your search engine ranking more than help you by cutting down on the time to create new content.

One final note:

These are not guaranteed reasons your site can be labeled Low Value Content - as mentioned, Google can and will change what it deems high value content. But these are all good practices to consider when creating your content.