Does Search Engine Optimization come along with high-quality content? A comparison between optimized and non-optimized health-related web pages

TL;DR

This study investigates whether health-related web pages with SEO practices are of higher quality, finding that non-optimized pages are perceived as more expert and trustworthy, highlighting potential mismatches between SEO and content quality.

Contribution

The paper provides empirical evidence that SEO does not necessarily correlate with higher content quality in health information web pages.

Findings

Non-optimized pages rated as more expert by users

Non-optimized pages received more positive comments

No difference in ratings between laypeople and experts

Abstract

Searching for medical information is both a common and important activity since it influences decisions people make about their healthcare. Using search engine optimization (SEO), content producers seek to increase the visibility of their content. SEO is more likely to be practiced by commercially motivated content producers such as pharmaceutical companies than by non-commercial providers such as governmental bodies. In this study, we ask whether content quality correlates with the presence or absence of SEO measures on a web page. We conducted a user study in which N = 61 participants comprising laypeople as well as experts in health information assessment evaluated health-related web pages classified as either optimized or non-optimized. The subjects rated the expertise of non-optimized web pages as higher than the expertise of optimized pages, justifying their appraisal by the more competent and reputable appearance of non-optimized pages. In addition, comments about the website operators of the non-optimized pages were exclusively positive, while optimized pages tended to receive positive as well as negative assessments. We found no differences between the ratings of laypeople and experts. Since non-optimized, but high-quality content may be outranked by optimized content of lower quality, trusted sources should be prioritized in rankings.