User Generated Content (UGC) can help increase the value of content on a page by adding new perspectives and engaging information to other readers at no cost to the content creator.
Common types of UGC used to increase word count include tagged content from social media, blog comments, ratings and reviews, and forum posts.
But does UGC affect your organic search rankings?
Read on to find out if there is any connection between user-generated content and improved Google rankings.
Disclaimer: User Generated Content is a Ranking Factor
What is User Generated Content?
UGC can be text, image, video or some other forms of content (For example, blog comments, forum posts, product reviews) created for brands, businesses, or publications by people not affiliated with the company.
You can use UGC to create engagement or excitement around your brand/website, enhance your content, and even Help with your SEO efforts.
Think about Amazon, how many reviews contributed to its rise and continued dominance.
But is it actually a Google ranking factor?
Evidence of user-generated content as a ranking factor
Google tackles user-generated spam in Google Search Central Advanced SEO document:
“Sometimes, malicious users generate spam on good sites. This spam is often generated on sites that allow users to create new pages or otherwise add content to the site.”
Not all sites will be negatively affected.
“However, if you have too much user-generated spam on your site, this could affect our assessment of the site and could ultimately lead us to take manual action on the entire site.”
Google continue Provide specific advice on how to prevent comment spam. Regarding rankings and spam, we see:
“Low-quality content in certain parts of a website can affect rankings for the entire site.”
and:
“Google may remove or downgrade pages that contain user-generated spam to protect the quality of our search results.”
exist 2020Google search advocate John Mueller answered a question about how Google ranks pages of user-generated content based on relevance and quality:
“User-generated content can take many forms, from comments at the bottom of the page, to discussions between users, to full pages written by users.
In general, Google makes no distinction between content written by you and content written by users. If you post it on your website, we’ll see it as what you want to post, and that’s what we’ll use to rank for. “
He added,
“…if you have a lot of user-generated content, make sure it meets your standards for publishing content on your site.”
Regarding links in user-generated content:
“…you may not guarantee the links you add by default. For these, we have a way to tell us that these links are user-generated content, with the rel=”ugc” link attribute.”
exist 2021, Google published a presentation on UGC for AdSense publishers. They describe the review as:
“…great way for website owners to build community and readership, so comment sections are often used by spammers who run bots to post spam to abuse them [the comments]. “
Again, they say Google can’t differentiate between your content and UGC.
If you can’t ensure that user-generated content meets your publishing standards, “…spam comments on your page can affect your site’s rankings.”
User-Generated Content as a Ranking Factor: Our Verdict
We know from Mueller that Google doesn’t differentiate between what you write and what your users write. We already know that content is a ranking factor.
Therefore, user-generated content is a sure ranking factor.
Unfortunately, regarding UGC spam, it can also negatively impact your rankings.
Therefore, create publishing guidelines that encourage user submissions Premium content – and stay on top of user-generated content moderation for your website.
Featured image: Robin Biong/Search Engine Magazine
