[New SEO Study] Fewer Pages = More Traffic

Summary

SEO expert Kevin Indig's study reveals a significant inverse correlation between the number of indexed pages and organic traffic growth since 2023, challenging the belief that more content equals more traffic. The research suggests that Google prioritizes high-quality content over quantity, indicating a shift towards valuing unique, non-replicable content. The video discusses the impact of Google's August 2024 core update, emphasizing the importance of domain quality monitoring and technical SEO to avoid traffic drops. It also highlights changes in Google's AI Overviews and search result layout, urging content creators and SEOs to focus on adding genuine value to the web.

Takeaways

• 📉 A study by Kevin Indig suggests that there's an inverse correlation between an increase in indexed pages and organic traffic growth since 2023, challenging the belief that more content equals more traffic.
• 🔍 Google appears to prioritize fewer high-quality pieces of content over a sheer volume of content, indicating a shift in indexing and ranking strategies.
• 🚫 Google's recent updates seem to be fighting against 'scaled content', which includes using AI tools to generate content without adding value to users.
• 📈 Some websites have seen an increase in organic traffic by monitoring and improving the quality of their indexed pages, demonstrating the importance of content quality.
• 🛠️ Technical issues such as duplicate content and broken pagination can significantly impact a site's organic traffic, as seen in the examples provided.
• 📊 SEO experts recommend developing a domain quality monitoring system to track metrics for each page, including inverse bounce rate, conversions, clicks, and ranks by page type.
• 🔄 Google's August 2024 core update has mixed effects, with some sites recovering and others facing declines, emphasizing the dynamic nature of SEO.
• 🌐 The update highlights the importance of geographic specificity and first-person accounts in travel niches, rewarding original information and experiences.
• 🤖 AI Overviews are now affected by core updates, with Google incorporating more traditional search ranking signals into its custom AI overviews source picking.
• 🔑 Google is placing more emphasis on site authority and verification, as seen in the introduction of blue ticks next to some websites in search results.

Q & A

What startling trend has Kevin Indig's study uncovered regarding content production and Google rankings?

Kevin Indig's study has found an inverse correlation between an increase in index pages and organic traffic growth since 2023, suggesting that publishing lots of content to achieve topical authority might be counterproductive.

How does Google's approach to indexing and ranking web pages seem to have changed according to the study?

The study indicates that Google now prioritizes fewer high-quality pieces of content over sheer volume of content, and has increased its minimum content indexing quality bar, likely as a measure to fight against scaled content and to improve the quality of data for training its AI models.

What impact did the bug causing duplicate archive pages have on an undisclosed domain's organic traffic?

The bug led to a significant increase in indexed pages, which in turn caused the domain's organic traffic to drop by around 30%.

What was the result of ClickUp's attempt at a programmatic SEO play to increase organic traffic?

ClickUp's index pages increased significantly, but this led to a 50% drop in organic traffic, from an estimated 1.6 million visitors to around 800,000.

How did Progressive.com manage to increase its organic traffic?

Progressive.com reduced its indexed pages from over 30,000 to just 2,000 by monitoring and improving or removing low-quality pages, which resulted in an increase in organic traffic from around 2.9 million to 6.2 million monthly visitors.

What is the new mantra for content creators and SEOs as suggested by Kevin Indig's research?

The new mantra suggested is 'If you can't add anything new or better to the web, it's likely not good enough,' emphasizing the importance of quality over quantity in content production.

What are some of the trends observed by Cyrus Shepard regarding the August 2024 core update?

Cyrus Shepard observed that many sites previously hit by updates didn't show much improvement, with only about 20% of those seeing significant declines recovering. He also noted a preference for geographic specificity and first-person accounts in travel niches.

What is the significance of the changes in AI Overviews as a result of the August 2024 core update?

The changes indicate that AI Overviews are now being affected by core updates, with Google matching AI Overview sources to the top web pages from the top 10 organic search results 99.5% of the time, suggesting a shift towards incorporating more traditional search ranking signals.

How have recent updates by Google impacted the layout of search results pages?

Google has introduced several updates including a courses search carousel feature, larger favicons in search results, and blue ticks next to some websites, indicating a focus on brand visibility and site authority.

What is the debate of the week raised by the video regarding content production strategies?

The debate is whether sites with fewer pages are now at an advantage over scaled content, or if the traditional belief that more content equals more traffic still holds true.