Not all content has the same value in search.
Some pages cover information that hundreds of websites already publish. A searcher can find almost the same answer on many sites. Such content falls into the commodity content category.
Other pages bring original data, expert views, first-hand experience, or a useful point of view. Readers cannot get the same value from every competing page. That is non-commodity content.
Knowing the difference can help you decide where to spend your content budget and how to build pages that stand out in search.
What Is Commodity Content?
Commodity content is that content which covers the same style and depth of information that many websites already have. The page adds little that readers cannot find elsewhere.
For example, a basic article titled “What Is SEO?” can become commodity content because thousands of websites already explain the term.
Common examples include:
- Basic definitions
- Beginner-level guides
- Generic how-to articles
- Simple list posts
- Basic tool descriptions
- Common industry tips
- Broad product comparisons
- General statistics without original analysis
Commodity content does not always have poor quality. The problem comes from low differentiation.
In its May 2025 guidance on succeeding in AI Search, Google says:
“Focus on making unique, non-commodity content that visitors from Search and your own readers will find helpful and satisfying.”
Google also says its goal is to help people find “outstanding, original content that adds unique value.”
So, Google’s definition is not really “commodity content = bad content.” The distinction is about originality and added value.
Content that simply repeats information already available across many pages has less differentiation, while non-commodity content gives readers something unique or useful that competing pages may not offer.
What Is Non-Commodity Content?
Non-commodity content is unique, original, and non-interchangeable media or information that cannot be easily replicated or synthesized by competitors or AI models.
For example, an SEO agency could publish “What We Learned After Auditing 500 Local Business Websites.” Competitors cannot easily copy the underlying data or experience.
Examples include:
- Original research
- Proprietary datasets
- Case studies
- First-hand experiments
- Expert interviews
- Industry surveys
- Original frameworks
- Detailed customer research
- Unique analysis of public data
- Real project lessons
The key idea is simple: non-commodity content gives people a reason to choose your page over similar results.
The core characteristics of non-commodity content are:
- Proprietary Data & Original Research: First-party survey data, unique industry experiments, bench-marking stats, or unpublished datasets.
- First-Hand Experience & Expertise: Insights derived from lived experiences, specific subject-matter mastery, physical product testing, or field testing.
- Distinct Voice & Opinion: Strong editorial perspectives, counter-intuitive arguments, personal storytelling, and unique narrative style.
- Exclusive Access: Primary interviews with hard-to-reach experts, behind-the-scenes reporting, or insider analysis.
Commodity vs Non-Commodity Content: Biggest Differences
Here is a detailed breakdown comparing Commodity Content and Non-Commodity Content:
| Feature | Commodity Content | Non-Commodity Content |
| Core Definition | Standardized, generic information that is widely available across the internet. | Unique, original information that brings net-new value or perspective to the internet. |
| Examples | Standard recipes, basic definitions, weather reports, generic “How-to” guides, basic news summaries. | Original research/data, deep-dive case studies, expert interviews, strong opinion pieces, personal stories. |
| Creation Process | Synthesizing, aggregating, or rewriting existing information. | Conducting first-hand research, sharing lived experiences, or analyzing proprietary data. |
| Replicability | High: Easily copied by competitors or generated instantly by AI. | Low: Cannot be easily faked or replicated without investing significant time, resources, or expertise. |
| Primary Value | Convenience and quick answers. | Depth, insight, emotional connection, and authority. |
| AI Vulnerability | High: Large Language Models (LLMs) and AI search features are highly effective at answering these queries directly, reducing traffic to creators. | Low: AI cannot generate original first-party data, conduct human interviews, or share genuine personal experiences. |
| Competitive Advantage | Relies on publishing volume, SEO optimization, and distribution speed. | Relies on unique brand voice, specialized expertise, and exclusive access. |
| Shelf Life | Often short-lived or requires constant updating to stay relevant against identical competitors. | Often evergreen, building long-term brand equity and establishing thought leadership over time. |
5 Steps to Create Non-Commodity Content
Here is the exact start-to-finish workflow for producing a piece of non-commodity content. If you skip the first two steps, you will accidentally end up writing a commodity post.
Step 1. Find the Information Gap
Don’t write until you know what’s missing.
Before you write a single word, do a standard Google search for your topic. Read the top three results and prompt an AI with your topic.
| Topic | Competitor A | Competitor B | Competitor C | Your page |
| Definition | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Pricing | ✓ | ✗ | ✓ | ? |
| Real example | ✗ | ✗ | ✓ | ? |
| Step-by-step process | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ | ? |
| Common mistakes | ✗ | ✓ | ✗ | ? |
| Data/statistics | ✓ | ✓ | ✗ | ? |
| Expert opinion | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ? |
Take notes on what everyone is saying. Your job is to identify the gaps.
- What did they leave out?
- What nuance is missing?
- What real-world obstacles did they gloss over?
Check:
- Google autocomplete
- People Also Ask
- Quora
- YouTube comments
- Product reviews
- Industry forums
- Google related searches
Your article will be built entirely inside that gap.
The fastest method I use to find information gaps for preparing non-commodity content:
I use the below process to uncover vital content gaps between ranking pages:
Google SERP → top 10 pages → headings → PAA → Reddit/forums → Search Console → missing evidence → missing examples → unanswered follow-up questions
Then divide my findings into:
Missing → weakly covered → outdated → unsupported → unclear → impractical
That gives me a much better information-gap map than a basic competitor content-gap analysis.
Step 2. Gather Your Proprietary Asset
This is where the actual work happens.
You cannot create non-commodity content from thin air; you need a source. Choose your asset and collect it:
- If using data: Pull the raw CSV file from your company’s software, or send out a poll to your network and tabulate the results.
- If using experience: Open a blank document and brain-dump exactly what happened during a recent project, including the mistakes.
- If using access: Schedule a 15-minute call with an expert, record it, and get the transcript.
Look through:
- Google Search Console data
- Google Analytics data
- CRM records
- sales data
- customer support questions
- website conversions
- campaign results
- ranking data
- product usage data
- survey responses
Talk to:
- customers
- employees
- subject-matter experts
- consultants
- practitioners
- sales teams
- support teams
You can collect your own data through:
- surveys
- manual audits
- controlled tests
- competitor analysis
- pricing research
- website sampling
- customer interviews
A simple test to know if you have enough information to create non-commodity content:
Before moving to the next step, ask:
“Could a competitor create the same section by reading the current top-ranking pages?”
If the answer is yes, you probably have an idea, not a proprietary asset.
Step 3. Draft with an ‘Insight-First’ Structure
Commodity content starts with fluff (e.g., “In today’s fast-paced digital world…”). Non-commodity content starts with the punchline.
Lead with your most surprising data point, your strongest opinion, or the climax of your story. Then, work backward to explain how you got there. Structure your subheadings around your unique findings, not generic definitions.
Use this writing formula
Finding → Why it matters → Evidence → Method → Example → Action → Limitation
Start with:
Your highest-value page may have the weakest internal-link support on your site.
Then explain what you found, show the data, demonstrate it with a real website example, and give the reader a method to check their own site.
That is the difference between explaining a known concept and sharing an insight someone can use.
After drafting each section, remove the first 2–3 sentences.
If the section becomes clearer and more useful, you probably had an introduction rather than an insight.
If removing them makes the section lose important context, keep them.
The goal is to eliminate introductions that delay the useful information.
Step 4. Layer in the ‘Receipts’
Now go through the draft sentence by sentence and ask:
“What can I show that proves I actually know this from experience?”
Do not add proof for the sake of adding screenshots. Match each important claim with evidence that supports it.
Mark sentences that say things such as:
- “We found…”
- “Our analysis showed…”
- “In our tests…”
- “Customers often…”
- “Most websites we audited…”
- “We saw a drop…”
Each claim should have something behind it.
Use the evidence that best fits the claim.
| Claim | Better receipt |
| Traffic increased | Analytics screenshot |
| Rankings changed | Search Console or rank-tracking screenshot |
| Customers struggled with something | Interview quote |
| A process failed | Original test result |
| A design changed | Before-and-after image |
| You audited websites | Audit sample or methodology |
| You developed a process | Your framework or worksheet |
| You tested two approaches | Test results |
Whenever possible, show the thing you actually worked with.
For example:
- screenshot of the spreadsheet you analyzed
- excerpt from an interview
- anonymized customer feedback
- photograph of a prototype
- screenshot of an experiment
- original research table
- audit worksheet
- before-and-after result
You do not need to make everything polished. A real spreadsheet can be more convincing than a decorative infographic.
Never drop a screenshot into the article without explaining it.
Write: The screenshot below shows the ranking report we used during the audit. Notice that the service page had 42 referring domains but received almost no internal links from high-authority pages.
Now the image proves a specific point.
Read each major claim and ask three questions:
- Can I prove it?
- Can I show it?
- Can I explain where it came from?
If the answer is yes, keep it.
If the answer is no, either remove the claim, qualify it, or replace it with something you can actually demonstrate.
That is what makes “receipts” useful. You are not trying to make the article look human. You are showing evidence of the work behind the article.
Step 5. Take The AI Stress Test
The final check before hitting publish.
Read your final draft and ask yourself: If I fed this exact headline into an AI tool right now, could it generate this article?
If the answer is yes, you need to go back to Step 2. If the answer is no, because the AI doesn’t have your screenshots, your specific interview quotes, or your personal story, you are ready to publish.
How Do You Know If Content Is a Commodity?
Search the target query and review the first page.
If the top results use similar headings, examples, statistics, and recommendations, the topic may have a high level of content saturation.
You can also ask three questions:
- Can another writer recreate the article after reading the top five results?
- Does the page contain information from your own work or research?
- Does the article answer a question that competing pages leave open?
If the answer to the first question is yes and the other two are no, you likely need a stronger angle.
FAQs
Is commodity content bad for SEO?
No. Commodity content can still rank when it satisfies search intent and offers a good user experience. However, it can face heavy competition because many sites cover the same information.
Does non-commodity content always rank higher?
No. Unique content still needs good SEO fundamentals. Search engines need to understand the page, and users need to find it useful. Originality alone does not guarantee rankings.
Can a common topic become non-commodity content?
Yes. A common topic can become distinctive when you add original research, first-hand experience, expert input, unique examples, or a useful framework.
Is AI-generated content always commodity content?
No. The production method alone does not decide the category. AI can help with research or drafting, but content becomes valuable when it includes original information, real expertise, useful analysis, and a clear reason to exist.
Should every SEO article contain original research?
No. Original research can add significant value, but it is not practical for every page. You can also create useful content through first-hand experience, expert interviews, detailed examples, original analysis, or a fresh framework.
