What is Information Gain?

What is Information Gain?

Information gain is a ranking concept where Google evaluates whether a page adds new, unique information that isn’t already covered by other pages ranking for the same query.

Google filed a patent in 2020 specifically about “information gain scores.” The idea: if the top 10 results for a query all say roughly the same thing, a page that introduces a genuinely new data point, perspective, or insight should be ranked higher because it adds value to the search results as a whole.

This is a fundamental shift from “match the search intent best” to “match the intent AND add something new.” It explains why pages with original research, proprietary data, and unique expert opinions increasingly outrank those that simply rewrite what others have already published.

Why Does Information Gain Matter?

It penalizes the copycat approach to content creation. Same information, different wrapper? Google sees through that.

• Rewards original research — pages with proprietary data, surveys, or case studies score higher than those rehashing common knowledge
• Fights content homogeneity — Google doesn’t want 10 identical articles ranking for the same query
• Makes content strategy harder to shortcut — you can’t just study the top results and rewrite them, you need to add something new
• Increases the value of expert insights — a unique perspective from someone with real experience in the field becomes a ranking advantage

For businesses publishing content at scale, information gain means each article needs at least one element no other ranking page offers.

How Information Gain Works

The Patent

Google’s “information gain score” patent describes a system that compares documents within a result set. It measures how much new information each document adds compared to documents the user has already seen (or could see). Pages with higher information gain scores get ranking boosts.

What Counts as Information Gain

Original statistics and data you collected yourself. Unique case studies from real clients or projects. Expert quotes not found elsewhere. A novel framework or methodology. Proprietary benchmarks. Contrarian analysis with supporting evidence. Even a unique angle on a well-covered topic counts — if no other page takes that specific approach.

What Doesn’t Count

Rephrasing the same 5 points every other article makes about the topic. Adding a few extra subheadings to an existing template. Padding word count without adding substance. If a reader could get the same information from any of the other top 10 results, your page has zero information gain.

Information Gain Examples

An SEO agency publishes “how to improve page speed” — a topic with thousands of existing articles. But their version includes original benchmark data from 500 client sites: “We found that reducing JavaScript bundle size by 40% improved LCP by an average of 1.2 seconds across 500 sites.” That specific data point exists nowhere else. Information gain: high.

A local business using theStacc gets articles that include industry-specific insights and real-world data points. An article about “HVAC maintenance costs” includes actual pricing data from local service providers — not just the generic “between $100-$500” that every other article repeats. This uniqueness helps the page stand out to Google’s information gain evaluation.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

SEO mistakes compound just like SEO wins do — except in the wrong direction.

Targeting keywords without checking intent. Ranking for a keyword means nothing if the search intent doesn’t match your page. A commercial keyword needs a product page, not a blog post. An informational query needs a guide, not a sales pitch. Mismatched intent = high bounce rate = wasted rankings.

Neglecting technical SEO. Publishing great content on a site that takes 6 seconds to load on mobile. Fixing your Core Web Vitals and crawl errors is less exciting than writing articles, but it’s the foundation everything else sits on.

Building links before building content worth linking to. Outreach for backlinks works 10x better when you have genuinely valuable content to point people toward. Create the asset first, then promote it.

Key Metrics to Track

Metric	What It Measures	Where to Find It
Organic traffic	Visitors from unpaid search	Google Analytics
Keyword rankings	Position for target terms	Ahrefs, Semrush, or GSC
Click-through rate	% who click your result	Google Search Console
Domain Authority / Domain Rating	Overall site authority	Moz (DA) or Ahrefs (DR)
Core Web Vitals	Page experience scores	PageSpeed Insights or GSC
Referring domains	Unique sites linking to you	Ahrefs or Semrush

Implementation Checklist

Task	Priority	Difficulty	Impact
Audit current setup	High	Easy	Foundation
Fix technical issues	High	Medium	Immediate
Optimize existing content	High	Medium	2-4 weeks
Build new content	Medium	Medium	2-6 months
Earn backlinks	Medium	Hard	3-12 months
Monitor and refine	Ongoing	Easy	Compounding

Frequently Asked Questions

Has Google confirmed information gain as a ranking factor?

Google filed a patent for information gain scoring, and their Helpful Content Update explicitly rewards content that provides “a unique or at least original” perspective. While Google hasn’t confirmed the exact patent implementation, the principle is clearly embedded in their ranking philosophy.

How do I add information gain to existing content?

Include original data, proprietary research, expert quotes, unique case studies, or a novel analytical framework. Even adding your own tested results (“we tried X and here’s what happened”) counts. The key is saying something no other page currently ranking for that query says.

Does word count affect information gain?

Not directly. A 500-word article with one genuinely unique insight has more information gain than a 3,000-word article repeating common knowledge. Length helps only when every section adds genuinely new value.

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Sources

• Google Patent: Information Gain Score
• Google Search Central: Creating Helpful Content
• Search Engine Journal: Information Gain and SEO
• Ahrefs: How to Create Content That Adds Value