Listicles have been a staple in SEO for years. They’re easy to scan, simple to structure and often perform well in search results. More recently, they’ve also been found to influence how content appears in AI-generated answers, including AI overviews. However, this has led to a rise in content designed less to help users and more to influence rankings or appear in AI responses.
These listicles come with risk. If brands create this content solely to manipulate search rankings or to present misleading information, they violate both search engine guidelines.
What Are Listicles and What Makes Them Low-Quality or Deceptive?
A listicle is content structured as a list, usually ranking or comparing items on a specific topic. A SaaS provider may publish an article titled “Top 10 CRM Platforms for Small Businesses”, in which it outlines different tools with summaries, pros, drawbacks and recommendations. When listicles are written for readers specifically, they’re genuinely helpful because they simplify decision-making and structure different options clearly. However, the issue arises when the format is used in ways that mislead users or to manipulate search engine rankings and AI visibility, rather than aiming to publish accurate and credible insights.
Common signs of low-quality or deceptive listicles include:
- Self-serving rankings – Positioning and promoting your own product or service as the top option on the list without clear justification.
- Unverified comparisons – Including competitors or alternatives that you haven’t properly reviewed or tested.
- Subjective or exaggerated claims – Presenting competing options as facts without evidence or balance.
- Misleading scoring systems – Using unclear or biased criteria to rank products.
- Lack of transparency – Not disclosing affiliations, partnerships or commercial intent.
Search engines are becoming more proactive in identifying this type of content. Google has indicated that it’s aware of low-quality and deceptive listicles and applies protections against them. Content created primarily to manipulate rankings has long been against Google’s guidelines, and the company is now adapting both its guidelines and its algorithm to keep pace with the evolving tactics used by spammers.
How to Create High-Quality Listicles that Don’t Break the Rules
When used properly, listicles are still a valuable format for both users and search engines, and your focus should be on how they’re created. Some practical approaches include:
- Provide genuine comparisons – Only include products or services that have been properly researched or tested
- Be transparent – Clearly explain how rankings are determined and disclose any commercial relationships
- Add real insight – Go beyond surface-level summaries by including practical use cases, pros and limitations
- Use credible sources – Support any claims you make with reliable data or references where appropriate
- Avoid exaggerated claims – Keep the language you use in the listicle balanced and factual
- Focus on the reader’s needs – Structure content around helping users make informed purchasing decisions
- Keep content up to date – Regularly review and refresh listicles to ensure they’re accurate
Google isn’t honing in on listicles per se, but they are trying to determine the intention behind the content being created. Whether content is appearing in AI overviews or organic listings, Google is trying to provide users with the best results in order to keep them coming back to the search engine.
Obviously, if people are manipulating those search results with any type of content (whether that’s listicles, spammy blog content, programmatic content or AI slop), Google is trying to cut that out of results. If your content is genuine and uniquely valuable for users, it won’t matter what format it’s in; Google will reward good content.
The focus should be on the intent of your content, ensuring it provides users with uniquely valuable, useful information that follows EEAT guidelines and other best practices.
The Final Word
Search engines and AI answer engines are currently changing how they evaluate listicles. Because this format has proven successful in the past, it has recently become spammers’ preferred tool. History shows that Google and other search engines frequently put specific content types under intense scrutiny to protect the quality of their results. While creating listicles is still a valid strategy, your content must provide genuine, unique value to users to avoid penalties or other negative consequences.
If you’d like to ensure your content supports long-term search performance without the negative consequences discussed above, our team can help you with SEO strategies that balance visibility with credibility. Contact us for more information.