What Is Information Gain and Why Should You Care?
Information gain in SEO is how Google measures the unique, original value your content adds compared to everything else already ranking for a topic. It’s a scoring mechanism based on a Google patent that evaluates whether your page brings something new to the table, or whether it simply restates what ten other pages have already said. After the March 2026 core update, this concept has moved from “nice to know” to “need to know” for anyone serious about organic visibility.
Here’s the problem most South African businesses face right now: they’re creating content that looks right on the surface but adds nothing new. With AI writing tools making it easier than ever to produce 1,500 words on any topic, Google is flooded with pages that all say the same thing in slightly different words. The March 2026 update punished this hard. Nearly 80% of top-three results shifted during the rollout, and sites that relied on rewritten, generic content saw organic traffic drops of 20 to 35% in the first week alone. Meanwhile, sites with proprietary research and expert commentary saw visibility gains of around 22%.
How Google’s March 2026 Update Changed the Rules
The March 2026 core update rolled out between March 27 and April 8, and Search Engine Journal confirmed it was one of the most volatile updates in recent memory. SEMrush Sensor hit 9.5 out of 10 at peak volatility, with over 55% of monitored websites experiencing ranking shifts. According to Semrush’s 2026 AI SEO statistics report, the shift toward AI-driven search is accelerating across every metric.
What made this update different? Google refined its information gain scoring system. Instead of just looking at keyword relevance, topical coverage, and backlinks, Google now actively measures how much genuinely new information your page contributes. Pages that just rehash the top 10 results without adding anything original are losing ground fast.
What Google Now Rewards
The patterns from the update data are clear. Content that held steady or gained rankings tends to share a few characteristics: it takes a clear point of view, it’s backed by specific data or first-hand experience, and it’s written by authors who have demonstrated expertise in the subject matter. Broad consumer health sites declined while clinical, research-driven specialist sources gained. The same pattern played out across industries.
We’ve seen this firsthand across our client portfolio at ohKarl. Clients who had invested in original case studies, custom data from their own campaigns, and genuine expert perspectives weathered the update with minimal disruption. Those running generic blog strategies built on AI-generated summaries? They took hits. If you want to understand the full scope of what changed, read our breakdown of the March 2026 core update.
How to Score High on Information Gain: A Step-by-Step Guide
Knowing that information gain matters is one thing. Actually building content that scores well on it is another. Here’s the process we use with our SEO services clients, and you can apply it to your own content right away.
Step 1: Audit Your Top Pages for Originality
Open Google Search Console and navigate to the Performance report. Sort your pages by impressions (descending) to find your highest-visibility content. For each of your top 10 pages, ask yourself one question: “Does this page contain anything a competitor couldn’t write by reading the other results on page one?”
If the honest answer is no, that page is at risk. Flag it for an update.
Try this today: pick your three highest-traffic blog posts. Open them side-by-side with the top three Google results for the same keyword. Highlight anything in your post that’s genuinely unique. If you can’t find anything to highlight, you’ve identified your first information gain gap.
Step 2: Add First-Hand Data and Experience
This is where most businesses have an untapped advantage they don’t realise. You have data from your own operations that no one else has. Your sales numbers, your customer survey results, your campaign performance metrics, your client feedback: all of this is original data that Google can’t find anywhere else on the web.
Here’s how to do it:
- Pull a specific metric from your business (e.g., “We tested two landing page layouts across 3,000 visitors over 60 days”).
- Share the outcome with actual numbers (e.g., “Version B increased conversions by 34%”).
- Explain what you learned and what you’d do differently next time.
In our experience working with South African businesses, even a single original data point can transform a generic post into something Google treats as a primary source. One of our Durban-based e-commerce clients added their own shipping time comparison data to a product guide. That page jumped from position 14 to position 4 within three weeks of the update settling.
Step 3: Include Expert Commentary and Unique Angles
Neil Patel made an excellent point in his recent video on how the best marketers use AI: human taste and perspective are the real competitive edge. AI can help you research, outline, and draft. But the opinions, the “here’s what I actually think about this” moments, and the contrarian takes? Those are pure information gain.
For every key section of your content, add a sentence or two of genuine opinion. Not filler like “this is really important” but actual perspective. Something like: “Most guides tell you to target long-tail keywords first. In the South African market, we’ve found that’s often wrong because search volumes are already low, and going too niche means targeting keywords with virtually zero traffic.”
Step 4: Use Original Visuals and Custom Media
Stock photos add zero information gain. Screenshots of your own dashboards, custom diagrams explaining your process, original charts built from your data: these all signal to Google that your page contains something unique.
Tools that make this easy, even if you’re not a designer:
- Use Canva to create branded diagrams and infographics (free plan works fine for this).
- Take screenshots from your own Google Analytics, Search Console, or ad platforms (blur sensitive data).
- Record a short Loom video walking through your process and embed it on the page.
Information Gain vs. Traditional SEO: What’s Actually Different
The fundamentals of SEO haven’t disappeared. You still need solid technical foundations, good site speed, proper internal linking, and relevant backlinks. But the weighting has shifted. Here’s how the old approach compares to what works now.
| Traditional SEO Approach | Information Gain Approach (2026) |
|---|---|
| Match the keyword and cover the topic comprehensively | Cover the topic AND add something no other result has |
| Build backlinks to increase authority | Backlinks still matter, but original content earns them naturally |
| Longer content tends to rank better | Depth of original insight beats word count |
| Optimise meta titles and descriptions | Still important, but won’t save thin content |
| Publish frequently to stay relevant | Publish less often but with more original value per post |
| Use AI to scale content production | Use AI for research and drafts, but add human insight before publishing |
This shift is especially relevant for businesses using AI writing tools. We’ve written about why AI content alone won’t cut it in 2026, and the information gain concept is the technical reason behind that reality. AI tools pull from existing content to generate text. By definition, AI-generated content has low information gain because it’s synthesising what already exists.
What This Means for South African Businesses
South African businesses actually have a built-in advantage here that most don’t recognise. Because there’s less competition in the South African digital space compared to the US or UK, the bar for information gain is lower. You don’t need to commission a R500,000 research study. You need to share what you already know from running your business in this market.
A Johannesburg accounting firm that shares their actual observations about SARS compliance trends has more information gain than an international firm writing generic tax advice. A Cape Town restaurant reviewing their own delivery platform data provides more value than a food blog copying statistics from American sources.
Your local knowledge, your rand-denominated pricing data, your experience with South African consumer behaviour: that’s your information gain moat, and no AI tool or overseas competitor can replicate it. As Google Search Central recently explained, Googlebot is now processing content more thoroughly than ever, which makes the quality of what’s on each page even more critical.
If you’re not sure where to start or want help building a content strategy that prioritises original value, get in touch with our team. We work with businesses across South Africa to create content strategies that don’t just tick SEO boxes but actually bring something new to every page. You can also explore how we approach answer engine optimisation to make sure your content gets cited by AI search tools too.
Frequently Asked Questions
What exactly is information gain in SEO?
Information gain is a concept from a Google patent that measures how much unique, new information a web page adds to a topic compared to other pages already ranking for the same query. Google uses this signal to reward content that contributes original data, perspectives, or insights rather than just restating what’s already available online.
Can I still rank if I use AI to write my content?
Yes, but only if you add substantial original value on top of what the AI generates. AI writing tools work by synthesising existing content, which means their output has inherently low information gain. Use AI for research, outlines, and first drafts, then layer in your own experience, data, and expert opinions before publishing. That combination can work well.
How often should I update my content for information gain?
Google’s own guidance suggests reviewing and refreshing key content every 90 days. But don’t update just for the sake of it. Each update should add something genuinely new: a fresh case study, updated statistics, a new section covering a recent development. Changing a few words or updating a date doesn’t count.
Is information gain more important than backlinks now?
They work together, not against each other. Backlinks still matter for authority, but here’s the thing: content with high information gain naturally attracts more backlinks because other sites want to reference your original data and perspectives. Think of information gain as the foundation that makes all your other SEO efforts more effective.
Do small businesses have a disadvantage with information gain?
Actually, the opposite is often true. Small businesses have direct access to customer conversations, operational data, and niche expertise that larger competitors often lack. A solo consultant sharing detailed results from five client projects has more information gain than a large agency publishing a generic industry overview. Your size can be your strength here.