Content is King!

The Importance of Good Content

When it comes to high rankings, and getting ranked as high as possible on the SERP, the adage ‘content is king’ is as true as it gets!

If you’re looking to get your website or blog ranked, the formula for success is simple: create good content that is (a) unique, (b) fresh, (c) not copied or spun, (d) updated regularly, and of course (e) is comprehensive and thorough.

Ever since the now-infamous update to Google’s search algorithm called Google Panda, a lot of emphasis has been placed upon creating good content. Google will now look at the content of the website in order to determine its ranking (among other things), and websites with high-quality and fresh content will be placed higher up the SERP by Google, simple as that.

Furthermore, good content is also essential in order to have a low bounce rate and a good conversion rate. A page with low-quality content, with bad grammar, copied or spun content will only put off the readers, forcing them to move onto another website. This will result in a low conversion rate, a high bounce rate and hence, a low revenue.

What all of this means is that creating websites with high-quality content is the cornerstone to having good rankings and SERPs, and should be a vital part of any and all of one’s SEO efforts.

Value is Key!

According to statistics, it takes just 5-7 seconds for an average visitor to determine whether your website is worth sticking around on or not. If you put high-quality content that provides value to your target market, the niche that you might be targeting, as well as your readers, they would, most certainly want to stick around.

‘Value’ is the key term here. What value are you providing to your visitors? What is the one thing that is unique on your website? What makes your website different from the others? Why would someone want to stay on your website?

When it comes to content, going the extra mile usually pays off in the long run. For instance your target market might be football fans, but what sets your blog apart from the million-and-one other football blogs out there? You could try giving interesting statistics on your blog, or providing useful ‘insider information’ on fantasy picks or betting info, for instance, to provide that little extra something to your visitors.

Quality Content

Quality over quantity is what really matters. Remember that when someone sticks around on your website, becomes a regular visitor, or bookmarks your website, it is usually because of the quality of content on your website.

Not only will good quality get you higher SERPs and a stream of regular ‘targeted’ visitors, good quality content also tends to be shared and spread around more often, and will have a higher chance of ‘going viral’.

Quality Content Checklist

Good quality content is usually:

• Informative
• Unique
• Relevant
• Not spun or copied; in other words, unique
• Updated regularly (not necessarily daily)

Quality Content Ideas:

Be creative, share ideas, provide ‘insider information’, ask questions, provide statistics and infographics, use humor, give advice, give tips, tricks and share DIYs, and be controversial. These are just some ideas that you can use to come up with interesting content.

Concluding Words

So in conclusion, good content will always form the foundation of any good SEO campaign, the defining factor of good Search Engine Optimization.

But remember, content should always be written for people and visitors, NOT for Google or getting higher rankings. Anything written with the sole purpose of serving and providing value to the people will always be given preference by Google when it comes to higher SERP ranking, and even Google backs this up.

Plus good content has the potential to be shared more, which gets your website more exposure and possibly traffic from high-PR sources!

So yes, in conclusion, content indeed is the king!