A content farm, also known as a content mill, is a company that produces large amounts of written material for websites with the primary aim of appearing in search engine[2] results and generating revenue. These companies prioritize Search Engine Optimization[1] (SEO) over the factual relevance of their content. Often, the content is produced by freelancers who are paid lower than traditional salaries, which raises concerns about its quality. Content farms have been criticized for spreading misinformation and delivering low-quality content. They are viewed negatively by search engines like Google[3], leading to adjustments in search algorithms to reduce their influence. Despite the criticism, some writers view content farms as a stepping stone to better opportunities. However, they often face challenges such as low pay, job insecurity, and pressure to produce high volume content quickly.
This article needs to be updated.(February 2024) |
A content farm or content mill is a company that employs large numbers of freelance writers or uses automated tools to generate a large amount of textual web content which is specifically designed to satisfy algorithms for maximal retrieval by search engines, known as SEO (search engine optimization). Their main goal is to generate advertising revenue through attracting reader page views, as first exposed in the context of social spam.
Articles in content farms have been found to contain identical passages across several media sources, leading to questions about the site's placing SEO goals over factual relevance. Proponents of the content farms claim that from a business perspective, traditional journalism is inefficient. Content farms often commission their writers' work based on analysis of search engine queries that proponents represent as "true market demand", a feature that traditional journalism purportedly lacks.