Content Is King

I may have coined a phrase in 2002 when I wrote “Content Is King.” Whether I was the first to use it is not important, but the underlying concept is: All search engines, and particularly Google, are looking to send their search visitors to the web pages that contain the strongest content related to the search string. That was a fact in 2002 and remains the overwhelmingly important criterion today when Googlebot crawls sites and ranks pages. The algorithm that programs Googlebot is updated regularly, but it always rewards the most indepth, useful, and current content with top rankings.

When Google is asked what you should do if there is a decline in search rankings for a website after a core update, Google’s answer is always the same: “There is nothing to fix. There may be nothing wrong with pages that perform less well in a core update.” The obvious website owner follow-up to that answer is, “Well then, how can I revise my webpages to rank high all the time – even after core updates to the algorithm?”

Google’s advice today is very similar to the recommendations following its Panda algorithm in 2011: “We suggest focusing on ensuring that you’re offering the best content you can. That’s what our algorithms seek to reward.”

Google has recently offered the following list of questions to consider when evaluating your content:

General Guidelines

• Does the content provide original information, reporting, research or analysis?
• Does the content provide a substantial, complete or comprehensive description of the topic?
• Does the content provide insightful analysis or interesting information that is beyond obvious?
• If the content draws on other sources, does it avoid simply copying or rewriting those sources and instead provide substantial additional value and originality?
• Does the headline and/or page title provide a descriptive, helpful summary of the content?
• Does the headline and/or page title avoid being exaggerating or shocking in nature?
• Is this the sort of page you’d want to bookmark, share with a friend, or recommend?
• Would you expect to see this content in or referenced by a printed magazine, encyclopedia or book

How credible is the piece, and how authoritative is the author?

• Does the content present information in a way that makes you want to trust it, such as clear sourcing, evidence of the expertise involved, background about the author or the site that publishes it, such as through links to an author page or a site’s About page?
• If you researched the site producing the content, would you come away with an impression that it is well-trusted or widely-recognized as an authority on its topic?
• Is this content written by an expert or enthusiast who demonstrably knows the topic well?
• Is the content free from easily-verified factual errors?
• Would you feel comfortable trusting this content for issues relating to your money or your life?

Stylistic issues and display.

• Is the content free from spelling or stylistic issues?
• Was the content produced well, or does it appear sloppy or hastily produced?
• Is the content mass-produced by or outsourced to a large number of creators, or spread across a large network of sites, so that individual pages or sites don’t get as much attention or care?
• Does the content have an excessive amount of ads that distract from or interfere with the main content
• Does content display well for mobile devices when viewed on them?

Content Strength

• Does the content provide substantial value when compared to other pages in search results?
• Does the content seem to be serving the genuine interests of visitors to the site or does it seem to exist solely by someone attempting to guess what might rank well in search engines?

BOTTOM LINE: Google (along with Yahoo and Bing) are continually searching for the strongest and most useful content for their search visitors. Follow these guidelines and Google will reward your pages with page 1 positioning.

Since 2001 (that’s the beginning!), the author, Kelley Lott, has been helping organizations grow and prosper through more effective Internet marketing. He can be reached at info@dynamicmediasolutions.us or by calling 703.365.7878.