Q-04 Content must be non-commodity and hard to reproduce

Why it matters

A page that only rephrases what is already online gives readers no reason to choose it over any other result. Search engines and AI answer engines have nothing distinctive to surface or cite from it, so it is easily replaced. Original data, experience and tools are what make a page worth returning to.

How to implement

1. Review the page and mark every section that only restates information already available elsewhere.
2. Add first-party material such as your own field data, benchmark or test results, real customer questions, and real photos, video or screenshots.
3. Add a calculator, decision tool, survey or real case study that gives users something new.
4. Label your own opinion and expert trade-offs clearly so they stand apart from the source summary.
5. Run the 30 second LLM test on the page and rework anything a general LLM could have produced.

Checklist

• Add your own field data.
• Produce decision support that competitors do not have.
• Separate original opinion clearly from the source summary.
• Give the user a new tool, dataset or result.
• Make generic guidance distinctive with data or experience.
• Add a benchmark, survey, calculator, tool or case study.
• Run the test: 'Could a general LLM produce this in 30 seconds?'
• First-party data.
• Real customer questions.
• Your own benchmark or test results.
• Real photos, video or screenshots.
• Operational constraints.
• Local knowledge.
• A calculator or decision tool.
• A real case study.
• Expert commentary and trade-offs.

How to audit

• Remove the original sections from the page, then check whether the remaining content already exists on other sites.
• Assess whether another site could copy the content in a day, and count the original assets that are hard to copy.
• Count the defensible value assets on the page that a competitor could not directly invent.

Related controls

• Q-09 Publish first-party data and explain where it comes from P1
• Q-10 Research and benchmark methodology must be understandable P1
• Q-11 First-hand experience claims must be backed by evidence P1
• Q-12 Comparisons must use shared criteria and real trade-offs P1
• Q-13 Calculators and selectors must deliver real utility P1

Myth guards that reference this control

• “Blog SEO is dead; only purchase-intent landing pages should be built”

Sources

• [G2] Creating helpful, reliable, people-first content
• [G3] Optimizing for generative AI features on Google Search
• [C1] Caleb Ulku: AI Websites Have A BIG Problem (29 Sep 2026)