I studied the correlation between rankings and content scores from Clearscope, Surfer, MarketMuse, and Frase. The results showed weak correlations, suggesting that focusing solely on content scores is unlikely to significantly improve Google rankings. However, content scores are not pointless; they should be used to gauge topic coverage rather than as a definitive metric for ranking success.
How to Use Content Scores
Most tools base content scores on keyword mentions. While this has flaws, such as not always equating to better topic coverage, it can indicate how comprehensively a topic is covered. If your score is significantly lower than competitors, you might be missing important subtopics. However, small differences in scores (e.g., 80 vs. 79) are not worth stressing over, but large gaps (e.g., 95 vs. 20) should be addressed.
Key Takeaway
Use content scores as a barometer for topic coverage. If your score is much lower than competitors, you might rank higher by filling content gaps.
Content Score Flaws
Easy to Cheat
Content scores often depend on keyword usage. Some tools allow you to achieve high scores by simply copying and pasting keywords, without meaningful content. Our upcoming tool, Content Master, aims to solve this by focusing on topic coverage rather than just keywords.
Encourages Copycat Content
Content scores can lead to creating rehashed content that mirrors top-ranking pages, which goes against Google's guidelines for quality content. Unique content requires human creativity and effort.
Notes/Methodology
- The study involved 20 random keywords and the top 20 ranking pages.
- Data was pulled before the March 2024 update.
- Issues with some tools pulling top 20 pages due to SERP features.
- Clearscope used grades, converted to numbers using ChatGPT.
- Tools struggled with analyzing Reddit, Quora, and YouTube, often giving zero or no scores.
- Both Spearman and Kendall correlations were calculated to balance sensitivity and robustness.
Final Thoughts
Improving content scores is unlikely to harm rankings but don't obsess over perfect scores. Aim to score similarly to top-ranking pages and focus on creating unique content through human creativity and effort.
