Content is king.
This article is going to address why Google places such a high importance on the quality of content and how you can create it to achieve high rankings in the search engines. The better your content, the more relevant it is to your customers/users/readers, the better you will rank for your given terms (assuming all else is equal). Here is the bottom line – if you are a bad writer, hire one. If you want to race through your writing without evaluating if you are getting the message across, hire one. Quality content will pay large dividends for you and is well worth the investment of time and money that inevitably goes into creating it.
This is a GOOD thing though because like all things in life, most people are not willing to engage in a disciplined task long enough to succeed. All you need to do is follow our steps for search engine optimization and create highly relevant quality content, and you will rise to the top. It’s really bad if you are lazy though.
SEO is not typically an instant gratification game. If you are starting from ground zero, this will take time. Just like building a brick and mortar store, you will find your “land”, prepare it, gather your materials, build the foundation, build the main structure, design and decorate it, and work to fill it with people. Here is the bottom line – if it has roaches, people likely won’t be coming back.
Here are the basics of good, quality content:
1. Tell them what you are going to tell them.
2. Tell them in a way that your user can apply your tips.
3. Summarize it for them in an actionable way.
4. Tell them what you told them.
First, you want to determine what you want your article to be about. Be sure to include the keyword you are going after in the title of your article and in the url as well. You will want your article to be between 500 and 1000 words long. Anything longer and the search engines may find it to be too extensive. Any shorter and it may be considered unsubstantial. My recommendation is to create an outline for each article that you write – it can even be a template. Your mission is to engage the user, give them useful information, and provide a solution to solve a problem, answer a question, or achieve a goal.
Once you have your outline, begin filling it out with bullet points or interesting facts in each section. Then, once each section is sufficiently filled, begin writing with the objective of tying the thoughts, ideas, and information together. Make sure it flows in a way that your user can build upon their knowledge one paragraph at a time. After some adjustments and editing, don’t be shy; send it to your friends, colleagues, or parents for feedback. Ideally, you could have potential customers read the article and provide feedback as to whether or not it achieved what you wanted it to (i.e.- Generate interest in a product, answer a question, etc).
