6.0 Low Quality Pages

In this section, we will describe characteristics of Low quality pages.

Low quality pages are unsatisfying or lacking in some element that prevents them from achieving their purpose well. If a page has one of the following characteristics, the Low rating is usually appropriate:

• The quality of the MC is low.

• There is an unsatisfying amount of MC for the purpose of the page.

• The author of the page or website does not have enough expertise for the topic of the page and/or the website is not trustworthy or authoritative for the topic. In other words, the page/website is lacking E-A-T.

• The website has a negative reputation.

• The SC is distracting or unhelpful for the purpose of the page.

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In addition, any of the following characteristics by itself may be a reason for a Low rating. Occasionally, these characteristics may be true of Medium or High quality small, amateur, or personal websites. For example, “Uncle Alex’s Family Photos” website (a hypothetical High quality example) may have slightly odd page design or be updated infrequently, but the website still achieves its purpose well. Please use your judgment and think carefully about the purpose of the page.

• There is an unsatisfying amount of website information.

• The page is lacking helpful SC.

• The page design is lacking. For example, the page layout or use of space distracts from the MC, making it difficult to use the MC.

• The website is lacking maintenance and updates.

0. Low Quality Main Content

One of the most important considerations in PQ rating is the quality of the MC. The quality of the MC is determined by how much time, effort, expertise, and talent/skill have gone into the creation of the page.

Consider this example: Most students have to write papers for high school or college. Many students take shortcuts to save time and effort by doing one or more of the following:

• Buying papers online or getting someone else to write for them.

• Making things up.

• Writing quickly with no drafts or editing.

• Filling the report with large pictures or other distracting content.

• Copying the entire report from an encyclopedia, or paraphrasing content by changing words or sentence structure here and there.

• Using commonly known facts, for example, “Argentina is a country. People live in Argentina. Argentina has borders. Some people like Argentina.”

• Using a lot of words to communicate only basic ideas or facts, for example, “Pandas eat bamboo. Pandas eat a lot of bamboo. It’s the best food for a Panda bear.”

Unfortunately, the content of some webpages is similarly created. We will consider content to be Low quality if it is created without adequate time, effort, expertise, or talent/skill. Pages with low quality MC do not achieve their purpose well.

Important: Low quality MC is a sufficient reason to give a page a Low quality rating.