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Quality Content - Smashing Common SEO Myths And Misconceptions

Discussion in 'Search Engine Optimization' started by ultimat1, Jun 14, 2013.

  1. #1
    No matter where you go - SEO forums, SEO blogs, SEO article & news sites, you name it - you will see the same two words being chanted over and over again like a mantra which has sent people in all different directions when it comes to understanding their meaning: quality content.

    So what is quality content? If you were to ask 10 people that same question you would be likely to get 10 very different answers. It seems to be one of the most confusing concepts to people just getting started with SEO, and my hope with this post is to better explain it and possibly help some folks to understand what it is and how they can use it to get more traffic and better rankings for their websites.

    First, a bit about who I am and why you would bother listening to me. I've been doing IM since early 2002. I've seen a lot of changes in the SEO industry in those 11 years, and quite a bit of misinformation, insane theories, and utter chaos floating around webmaster forums about how to do SEO properly. I decided a long time ago not to take anyone's word about anything without first testing it for myself. That has allowed me to filter out the nonsense and only focus on the stuff that works.

    [​IMG]

    The word "quality" is what I think makes this concept so confusing to people since it is often associated with money, thus giving some people the impression that they will need to have money in order to produce it. The fact is, some of the best "quality content" is completely free, and didn't cost the creator anything but a little bit of time and effort.

    Quality can mean a variety of things, but from a content standpoint it normally falls within these 5 categories:
    1. Well researched, thought-out and helpful
    2. Well written, addictive material that pulls readers (or viewers) in
    3. Produced or contributed to by a well-known or respected/trusted source
    4. Invoking an emotional response (such as funny/sad/touching)
    5. Eye-catching/alluring well-designed/produced web page or material
    This isn't a new concept, folks. It has been around as long as the oldest forms of media have existed. Advertisers, publishers and marketers have long been aware of this and it can be found in just about every successful book, magazine, TV show, movie, ad, commercial or salesletter ever produced. For long-term success on the internet or just about any publishing/advertising medium you are going to have to be able to consistently produce this quality content in order to keep the attention of your readers, viewers, or followers.

    But from an SEO perspective, the best content in the world isn't going to do anything for you unless you can get people to link to it.


    You see, Google isn't human, and it doesn't "read" your content. It's merely a complex program that scans your webpages, runs them through a complex algorithm that checks for a number of on-site factors, counts the number of links to your site and rates the relevance, quality (pagerank), and anchor text of the webpages that are linking to your page, and returns the results based on the query entered in by the user. And it does it all in about 30 milliseconds. Obviously it's a bit more complex than that but the idea is still the same. If your webpages are relevant to the search and have enough "votes" from other sources that vouch for it, you will rank for your keywords. Period.

    Google can't tell the difference between content that was written by Shakespeare or content that was written by a six year old on acid.

    [​IMG]

    For SEO, quality content = sharable content. Whether it's helpful, funny, uplifting, sad whatever, it needs to invoke a response from the reader/viewer/listener in order for it too work.

    From a purely organic standpoint, content that invokes emotional response will get 10 - 15x the links and shares as any other content. That's why funny Youtube videos get more shares/likes/views than even the most helpful or important videos out there.

    Don't believe me?

    PROOF:

    President Obama's 2013 State of the Union Address: 39,683 views

    [​IMG]

    Gangnam Style Music Video: 1,651,603,240 views
    [​IMG]

    I could show you hundreds of examples like this, but I think you get the point. The easiest way to get people to share your content is to come up with something about your brand, product or industry that they would want to share with other people. The easiest way I've found to do this is by using humorous or emotional content in various formats such as memes and videos.

    Infographics tend to do well too, but they are a little more difficult (and expensive) to produce and they don't do nearly as well as funny in terms of generating shares. But, if you are looking to brand yourself or your company as an authority then you will definitely want to include them as part of your overall marketing campaign.

    So how can you apply this to your business or niche?

    As an internet marketing consultant, I give this speech to a lot of clients, who tend tend to ask the same questions or offer the same objections.

    "There's really nothing funny about my business" has got to be my favorite. I once had an insurance agent tell that to me, and I asked him if he had ever watched a Gieco or Allstate commercial. There are so many humorous situations that can be applied to insurance you could literally produce new memes everyday for the next ten years if you wanted to.

    The same goes for just about any niche. With a little creativity and outside-the-box thinking you find sharable material in any industry. Here is an example of a viral video that was created by a real estate company to sell a luxury home that ended up getting thousands of views:

    Not too shabby for a subject as boring as real estate, and I'm sure that the commission from that home was well worth the few grand they probably spent producing the video.

    Despite the power of using humor to get shares and visitors, it doesn't always relate to more sales. In fact, while funny content may be more sharable, you need to balance it by producing engaging, helpful content as well. Having this type of content is what will get your visitors to subscribe for updates and eventually turn them into customers. Whether it be articles, infographics, video, webinars, teleseminars or whatever other medium you choose to publish in, having a good mix of all types of quality (sharable) content is the best way to generate traffic, boost your rankings and create loyal following that will continue to make you money for a long time to come.​
     
    Last edited: Jan 2, 2014
    ultimat1, Jun 14, 2013 IP
    GuruCreation and Jim4767 like this.
  2. SERPpoint

    SERPpoint Active Member

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    #2
    This is really a great tutorial which removes confusion about quality content.
     
    SERPpoint, Jun 15, 2013 IP
  3. ultimat1

    ultimat1 Well-Known Member

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    #3
    Thanks. Glad you liked it.
     
    ultimat1, Jun 15, 2013 IP
  4. Thcpub

    Thcpub Active Member

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    #4
    Thanks for sharing, you actually gave me some new ideas for my local business.
     
    Thcpub, Jun 15, 2013 IP
  5. Jim4767

    Jim4767 Prominent Member

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    #5
    Some good insights there, ultimat1.
     
    Jim4767, Jun 15, 2013 IP
  6. ultimat1

    ultimat1 Well-Known Member

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    Awesome! Glad I could help.
     
    ultimat1, Jun 16, 2013 IP
  7. ultimat1

    ultimat1 Well-Known Member

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    Thank you Jim
     
    ultimat1, Jun 17, 2013 IP
  8. affilorama

    affilorama Active Member

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    100% agree. I think that captures what "quality" content is. After the Panda and Penguin updates, everyone online started paying attention to creating and publishing "quality" content. It only makes sense to step up and go beyond that to product quality content that your target market likes and would share in their own circles.

    Awesome tutorial. Thanks for sharing! :)
     
    affilorama, Jun 17, 2013 IP