What is commodity content?
Commodity content is content built from common knowledge that other pages already say, such as a generic list of tips, so it adds little a reader could not get elsewhere. Google contrasts it with non-commodity content based on first-hand experience or expertise.
Cited from the66th.com/glossary/commodity-content
How commodity content works
Commodity content answers a question with what anyone could write: the points every other result already makes, in a different order. Google's guide to generative AI search gives "7 Tips for First-Time Homebuyers" as an example, based on common knowledge that could come from anyone. Its non-commodity example is "Why We Waived the Inspection & Saved Money: A Look Inside the Sewer Line", a take built on expertise or experience.
A quick test: remove the business's name from the page. If a competitor could publish the same page unchanged, it is commodity content.
| Commodity version | Non-commodity version |
|---|---|
| 5 signs your water heater is failing | What we found in 40 water heaters we replaced in Calgary last winter |
| How long does a furnace repair take? | Our furnace repair times in Calgary, and the three jobs that took longest |
| Tips for choosing a plumber | The questions to ask a plumber, and how we answer each one |
Why Google and AI tools care
Google's guide to generative AI search says content people find unique, compelling and useful will likely influence a site's presence in generative AI search more than any other suggestion in the guide. It tells site owners not to recycle what others have already said or what a generative AI model could easily produce.
Google's guidance on helpful, reliable, people-first content asks the same question in other words: whether a page provides original information, reporting, research or analysis, and whether it adds substantial value when it draws on other sources.
What it means for your business
Some commodity content belongs on every site. A service page needs the basics, and a glossary needs definitions. The risk is a site built only from pages any competitor could publish: it gives Google and AI tools no reason to choose it over similar pages.
The fix is to add what only the business has: its prices, its jobs, its customers' questions, its data and its people's experience. That is the core of our SEO copywriting work.
Common mistakes
- Rewriting the top-ranking pages in new words. Google's guide says a summary of existing content restates what is already available, and asks for a unique point of view instead.
- Publishing many near-identical pages to cover every variation of a search. Google's spam policies call pages generated mainly to manipulate rankings, with little value to users, scaled content abuse.
- Leaving out what the business knows. Prices, job photos, customer questions and first-hand results are what separate a page from the commodity version.
Related terms
Sources: Google Search Central, Optimizing your website for generative AI features on Google Search, 10 July 2026; Google Search Central, Creating helpful, reliable, people-first content, 5 October 2026; Google Search Central, Spam policies for Google web search, 28 August 2026.