Method 04 · Originality
Information gain
scoring.
Information Gain Scoring checks one thing: what does your page say that the pages already ranking don't? Google's own guidance asks whether a page offers original information and real value compared with other pages in the results. Most pages fail that test by saying what everyone says, only longer.
Written by Dan Picken, founder. Last checked 27 October 2026.- Your own data
- First-hand experience
- A worked example
- A tool to use
- Australian detail
Your page needs the big circle to compete. It needs the small one to win.
Longer is not
better.
The standard advice is to look at the top ten results and write something longer that covers everything they cover. The result is the eleventh copy of the same page.
Google has a patent on estimating how much new information a document adds beyond what someone has already seen. A patent doesn't prove it's used in ranking, but it lines up with what Google's public guidance asks for.
Either way, the reader has the same question: why read this one?
What Google
asks for.
Google's own self-assessment questions for content include: does it provide original information, reporting, research or analysis, and does it provide substantial value compared with other pages in search results?
Its guidance on AI-assisted content goes further. Google says pages made without adding value for users may breach its spam policy on scaled content abuse, and that its raters flag content with little effort, originality or added value.
The idea of scoring new information isn't new to Google either. Its 2022 patent, Contextual estimation of link information gain, describes scoring how much a document adds beyond what someone has already seen.
How it
works.
- 1
Read the top results
For the page's main search, list what every top result already says. That's the table stakes.
- 2
Find the gap
List what none of them say: the data, experience, examples and local detail missing from all of them.
- 3
Score the page
Check your page against the gap: own data, first-hand experience, worked example, a tool, follow-ups answered, Australian detail, a clear author.
- 4
Add the missing piece
Usually one or two additions lift a page more than a full rewrite.
Try it
What does your page
say that theirs don't?
Paste the headings (H2s) from the top three results for your search, then the headings from your page. You'll see what's table stakes, what's yours alone, and what they cover that you've missed.
A word-matching first pass. A heading can match and still say something new underneath, so read the sections before you cut anything.
Headings only you have
0%
Paste both lists, or load the example.
Six kinds of
information gain.
What a heat pump installer could add that the usual top results lack.
| Kind | On a heat pump page | Why the top results lack it |
|---|---|---|
| Your data | Running costs from your own installs, by household size | Only an installer has it |
| Experience | The three mistakes buyers make choosing a unit | Comes from doing the job, not researching it |
| Worked example | A real quote broken down line by line, name removed | Most sites avoid showing numbers |
| A tool | A payback calculator using local tariffs | Takes effort to build |
| Local detail | How units cope on cold Central Coast mornings | National sites write for everyone |
| Honest limits | Who shouldn't buy one | Sales pages rarely say it |
Each one is something a competitor can't copy by rewriting your page. That's the point.
In my experience
The biggest gap I see on service pages isn't keywords or length. It's the stuff the owner says on the phone every day and never writes down: the mistake most customers make, the question everyone asks, what a job actually involves. That's the information no competitor page has, and it's sitting in someone's head instead of on the website.
When it's
not worth it.
- Gain without the basics fails. The page still needs the table stakes, stated clearly.
- Made-up 'original data' is worse than none. If it isn't real, leave it out.
- Some searches just want the standard answer, fast. Don't bury it under extras.
What you get
- The table stakes for each main search
- The gap: what no top result covers
- A score for each page you care about
- The one or two additions that would lift each page most
The technical bit
- Table stakes
- What every ranking page already says. Needed, but not enough.
- Information gain
- What a page adds beyond what the reader has already seen.
- E-E-A-T
- Experience, expertise, authority and trust: the qualities Google's raters look for.
- Commodity content
- Content anyone could have written, because it only repeats what is already out there.
Where it's used
Questions
people ask.
Is information gain a Google ranking factor?
Google hasn't said so directly. It holds a patent on the idea, and its helpful content guidance asks the same question. I treat it as the bar to clear rather than a confirmed factor.
Can I score my own page?
Yes. The checker on the SEO page is a quick version: open your page next to the top three results and tick only what yours has that theirs don't.
What counts as original information?
Anything the reader can't get from the pages already ranking: your own data, first-hand experience, worked examples, tools, photos of real work, or an honest opinion with reasons.
Can AI-written content have information gain?
Google allows AI-assisted content, but asks for value. It says pages made without adding value may breach its scaled content abuse policy. The gain has to come from somewhere real: your data, your experience, your examples.
How often should I re-score a page?
When the top results change, and at least every six months. A gap that only you filled last year may be table stakes now.
The other methods
Want the whole market mapped, not just the top 3 fixes? See the Market Blueprint.
Want your market
mapped?
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What happens next
- 1I'll ask for read-only access, or just your website for a search audit.
- 2I go through it and write up the 3 biggest fixes.
- 3A 20-minute call to walk you through it. No pitch unless you ask.