What do you REALLY know about search engine optimization (SEO)? How about conversion rate optimization (CRO)? If you’re creating content online, these acronyms need to be your best friends.
The former helps you to drive traffic from search engine result pages, and the latter helps that traffic convert into sales (or e-mail sign-ups, or whatever a conversion is for you).
SEO and CRO are undoubtedly linked, as they both form important parts of the same traffic-driving chain. But the key to the success of driving this traffic lies in the content you host on your site. The effects, both positive and negative, that content can have on SEO and CRO should not be underestimated.
Let’s take a look at SEO and CRO and the impact content has on both. 

All About SEO

Modern-day SEO is a long-term strategy that focuses on and rewards high-quality content. Compare this to the Old Hat SEO of the 1990s – where it was possible to get a low-quality site on the first page of search results with relative ease, and little or no risk of penalty – and it’s safe to say that SEO success is harder to achieve today.
Many Old Hat techniques are now considered “Black Hat” and rarely go without penalty, thanks to Google’s continual algorithm updates. There have been a handful of large, notable changes to Google’s algorithm, but where content is concerned, it’s the Panda update you need to understand.
Panda first shook the content marketing playing field in February 2011. Panda began to – and still does – penalize sites for hosting low-quality or spammy content and reward those offering genuine value and insight. As an example, Panda is likely to penalize content that is deemed to be any of the following:

• Duplicated
• Automatically generated
• Containing errors (factual/spelling/grammatical)
• Vague, cursory or low-word count
• Otherwise considered “thin”

If your site is repeatedly found to have thin content, Google will begin to devalue it, and could even entirely omit it from search results. This reduction in visibility can be detrimental to traffic and conversion rates.

The Scoop on CRO

Because SEO and CRO are so closely related, there is some overlap when it comes to thin content. The SEO-thin-content affect can be seen in many different conversion elements on a site, such as landing pages, calls to action, lead capture forms and overall layout and design. Because content is necessary, in some form, in all of these elements, they could all be susceptible to negative effects if that content is thin.
But, as well as earning distrust from search engines, thin content can earn a site distrust from site visitors – which will impact conversion. Let’s consider an example:
An online clothing store advertises a dress on their site. There is just one picture of the dress from one angle, and no size information. It’s unlikely that a visitor on that page will convert, as the content is too vague and does not add value. There’s also the chance that that visitor will remember this negative experience in the future, which could hinder future conversion potential.
The same could be said if that site had a lot of spelling, grammatical or factual errors, or if the site was poorly designed – site visitors probably would not convert.
It’s also interesting to note that data commonly used to indicate issues with conversion can also signify the presence of thin content – strengthening the tie between them. This data includes:

• Bounce rate
• Engagement
• Exit rate
• Page views
• Time on site

Thin content can harm a site’s conversion in two ways: through a knock-on effect from damaged SEO, and through site visitors’ experience.

Addressing Thin Content

So this information is all good and well, but what does it mean? Well, the bottom line is that by identifying and addressing thin content, you can give your site a boost in both SEO and CRO – essentially hitting two birds with one stone. 
As mentioned before, you can use data – such as bounce rates, etc. – as an indicator that your site has thin content. You can also use the SEO Spider Tool to identify if you have a lot of pages with low word counts. Ultimately, you will probably already know whether or not you are guilty of hosting thin content on your site.
Once you’ve determined that your site it suffering due to thin content, you can start repairing it. It’s important to remember that SEO, in particular, is a long-term strategy, and even after making improvements, there is no guarantee that you will see a boost in visibility and traffic overnight, or even over a week.

Handy tip: If you think Google has penalized your site, you may want to “no index” pages with thin content, or temporarily redirect them while you fix them – so that they cannot continue to negatively affect your site.

The key to on-site content is to always ensure you are providing value to your readership – whether it’s an in-depth case study and analysis, or the latest industry news. If you bear this in mind when creating all future content for your website – and make sure you adhere to it – then you should be at no risk from thin content in the future.
Existing thin content on your site can be addressed by doing one of three things:

1. Delete it

Your content can’t harm you if it isn’t there. If it really adds nothing of value, and cannot be modified to do so, then your best bet is simply to get rid of it. Every single page, word, video and picture on your site must have a very good reason for being there. If it doesn’t, it simply shouldn’t exist.

2. Extend it

You may find that you have not thoroughly explored a topic or given as much information as you could in a certain piece of content. Revisit it, and add to it. Remember though, there is a big difference between elaborating on a piece, and padding it out. Padding will not help your thin content issue at all – the key is in the quality.

3. Combine it

If you think a piece of content deserves to be on your site, but you cannot make it substantial and worthwhile enough to warrant having a page of its own, you can always combine it with another, relevant page (and redirect the URL). This is a good way to ensure that you provide comprehensive information for your readers, and that you are not spreading your content thinly.

The Optimization Effect

By using the above tips to improve any poor quality content on your site, you could see a boost in your site’s visibility on search engine result pages – as well as the number of conversions your site gets. As discussed, this happens not only by the boost in organic SEO, but also by providing a better on-page experience for your site visitors.
Above all, always remember that quality is key – unless you’re 100% certain that a piece of content provides good value for your readers, then it may not have a place on your site at all.
Do you need help developing or editing your existing website content? Contact us, or learn more about our content development services.
[question]About the Author: Hannah Corbett is an SEO and content marketer, and writer for Make It Cheaper. You can follow her on Twitter, or connect on Google+, to keep up-to-date with the latest news and movements in the online marketing world.[/question]