Making your voice visible is an important part of establishing yourself online – after all, quality content is the primary factor that turns a website into a web presence. However, once you are visible, you need to make sure that you’re offering value too.
Throughout the years, many professional studies, newspapers, and executives have come together to rank beneficial content as one of the most effective methods for online marketing available. Although the phrase “content is king” is thrown around in industry sectors like word confetti – few people truly understand what it actually means. The latest update to Google’s “Panda” algorithm – 4.1, aims to hit low-quality web content hard. In simple terms, our bamboo-chomping friend will be targeting:
- Duplicated content – especially if a site has a large quantity of it
- “Thin” content – which basically means your website doesn’t have enough substance to it
- “Spun” content – uninteresting, unengaging copy generated by a machine
The Vital Role of Quality Content
To gain a better understanding of the role that quality content actually plays on your website, you’re going to need to look at things from a different perspective. Think about what Google is aiming to achieve with its search engine. Yes, as you’ve probably heard before, Google is making a concentrated effort to improve the user-search experience, but at a basic level, Google – just like any other business – wants to be profitable.
The way that Google builds and maintains its incredible success is by developing a loyal following of unique users. The more those users can trust and rely upon Google for an unbeatable service, the more that search engine’s business will grow. As a result, Google needs to serve up only the tastiest, most relevant results for every query.
Ultimately, content is the final product that every user is searching for. This content may come in a variety of forms, from videos, to wiki-lists, blogs, articles, social media and more – but at the end of the day it’s all content. The more useful content your website has, the more affection you’ll get from Google.
All Content is Not Created Equal
I could go into a convoluted speech about the numerous reasons why some copy is better than others, but for the purpose of this article, I’ll simply say this: Having content is not enough – you need to have the right content to succeed.
Google is just like any other picky client or customer you’ve tried to impress in the past. It has very specific requirements when it comes to content, and it’s your responsibility to deliver.
There are various rules associated with content creation, but the three basic pillars on which your website copy will stand are these:
- Quality
- Relevance
- Uniqueness
The term “quality” is easy enough to understand. This simply refers to well-written copy that exudes usefulness, authority and professionalism. “Relevance” is also pretty straight-forward, if your website sells clothes and your blog is full of information about cars, then it’s not relevant. The concept of “uniqueness” can be a little more esoteric. The simplest way to harness this power is through the development of well-researched, relevant content created specifically for your website, and your audience.
Content can be a complicated concept, but if you stick to the basic principles, and understand what you should be looking for, you will find that your website popularity, (and your brand) continues to grow.