Information gain is a way may Google evaluate a site for rank by analyzing how much “new” information your site includes that your user hasn’t been able to collect elsewhere. It is meant to be useful to the information gathering intent of the user. This part of Google’s algorithm would allow them to better target the user intent and therefore give them the results they are looking for.
Google would give each site an information gain score based on how much new content it covers compared to previously viewed content by a user; and therefore, in a second search, Google would display a new site with new content to aid in a user’s info search.
According to Semrush, it is unclear whether or not Google has officially put this practice into place, however, there is significant proof that they have. Therefore, making it a noteworthy practice that could differentiate you from competitors who are unaware of or are ignoring the practice.
In order to rank for information gain, a site ought to be information-rich and include useful and detailed thoughts and data. According to Supple, this means you should first analyze the current state of your site and find gaps that could be filled by unexplored ideas according to the intent of your users. Next, you should try to cover areas that your competitors aren’t talking about and gain authority in those. This can be achieved by obviously explaining totally un-talked about ideas or by applying a differentiated approach to explanations or even keyword use. A useful practice to specifically increase authority is silo structuring, which involves creating “silos” of topics to organize your content under and then link them to one another, tying all your ideas together. This shows Google the depth of your authority and as well as makes it easier for it to find relevant content to yours for users and vice versa.
Overall, information gain is a practice that can really level up your authority in Google’s eyes and gain you rank in the SERP; and since people are unsure of its actual use, it may offer a leg up for you.
Sources: What Is Information Gain in SEO & Does Google Measure It? Information Gain in SEO: Elevating Your Content Strategy » Supple Digital
3 Responses
It was interesting to learn more about information gain. I am pretty new to search engine optimization tools, and hearing about new ones is always interesting. There are so many tools and uses that Google has to offer that I had not known before, and they allow such a great opportunity to influence your search engine results page ranking.
I had no idea that information gain was a ranking tool Google was starting to implement, but it does make a lot of sense because it’s one of the most important criteria for people searching for information. The concept of silo structuring was also new, but you explained it well, and it sounds like something we should definitely implement on our websites.
This is actually the first time I’ve heard of information gain and this was a great introduction! It is interesting that an authoritative site like Semrush is uncertain on Googles exact practices with information gain. It’ll be interesting to learn more about and how it changes SEO content and linking practices