Non-commodity content
commodity content / unique content / first-hand content / helpful content
Non-commodity content is Google's term for a page carrying something only you could write. Its test is a contrast: commodity content is common knowledge that could originate from anyone, while non-commodity content gives an expert or experienced take that goes beyond the ordinary. First-hand beats summarized.
Google draws the line with a contrast rather than a rule. Commodity content is often based on common knowledge, which could originate from anyone, and typically adds little unique insight for readers. Non-commodity content provides unique expert or experienced takes that go beyond common knowledge and the ordinary. The paired examples make it concrete: a list of tips for first-time homebuyers on one side, and on the other a first-person account of waiving an inspection, saving money, and what was found inside the sewer line.
The reasoning underneath is about competition for a citation. Google says its AI systems take a look at a variety of sources, so it can be helpful to have a unique viewpoint that stands out. Then the sentence that settles most arguments: a first-hand review provides a unique perspective based on personal experience, whereas a summary of existing content simply restates information already available elsewhere. The instruction that follows is to consider what in-depth experience you can bring to your content.
None of this is a rule about tools. The same guide says that if you are using generative AI to assist, you should be sure that your work meets the standards of the Search Essentials and our spam policies. The test is applied to what the page contains, not to what typed it. What it does rule out is recycling what others on the internet have already said, or publishing what could easily be produced by a generative AI model with no access to your business.
Bing reaches the same place from the indexing side. When multiple pages cover the same topic with similar wording, structure, and metadata, AI systems cannot easily determine which version aligns best, reducing the likelihood that the correct version will be selected or summarized. It also notes that search engines prioritize crawling unique, high-value pages. Two engines, one conclusion: sameness costs you the selection.
In practice
The cheapest source of non-commodity content is the work already being done. The job that went wrong and what it cost to put right. The number you know because you have quoted it two hundred times. The question every customer asks that no supplier answers honestly. That is a recall problem rather than a writing problem, and it sits with the people doing the work.
Not the same as
- Original wording
- Rewriting somebody else's article in fresh sentences still restates information already available elsewhere, which is the exact phrase Google uses for it. A summary does not stop being a summary because the words changed.
- Length
- Nothing in the test mentions word count. A short page carrying one first-hand fact passes it. A long one assembled from other pages does not.
Why it matters to you
This is the rare quality test you can apply before paying rather than after. Most signals are measured once a page is live. This one is answerable from the brief: read it and ask what the finished page will contain that could only come from you. If the answer is nothing, you are buying commodity content by the search engine's own definition, and no amount of markup converts it later.
What to ask or check
- 01What will this page contain that could only come from us?
- 02Which parts are first-hand, and which are assembled from other sources?
- 03If a model with no access to our business could write this brief, what is the page for?
What people get wrong
That unique means uniquely worded. Google's contrast is between a first-hand perspective and a summary of existing content, and a summary does not become first-hand because the sentences are new.
Red flags
- Briefs that could be handed to anyone, with no access to your business required.
- Topics chosen from search volume alone, with no note of what you know about them.
- Pages that read as a tidy summary of the first page of results.
Who owns it
You do, awkwardly. The part that makes a page non-commodity usually lives with the people doing the work rather than with whoever writes.
Where you will see it
In the brief, before anything is written. That is the cheapest place to catch it and the only place it is free.