When I wrote "content is not King with Google anymore" that's referring to searches related to businesses or services. Local listing type stuff. But that is a large percentage of the websites online. I've been doing a lot of test searches lately for like plumbers, photographers, landscapers, real estate agents, etc.. What I'm finding, is that this new layout by Google with the small thumbnail images, seems to be based on whether companies are listed in DIRECTORIES. Yellow books, directories, etc.. And for headings that were traditionally phone book yellow page headings. In one way, that's logical. What I don't like about it, is that the old paper yellow pages were the best medium for that. Just open the book and you could see 100 companies at one time. Content still seems partially involved in the placement, like 10% worth. So it's not like website owners should toss optimizing out the window. But its evident that sites designed with heavy relevant content and abundant reciprocal links and good SEO are being pushed down the page by lesser sites if those are listed at other directories. In other words, if you don't pay to get into any online yellow book directories, etc., you may have no practical way to get to the top of page one.
For the top 10 results for local listings, I would agree Google uses trusted sources from local directories amongst other factors. In the UK, things like Hotfrog, Touch Local & dmoz are used (all free). I think some paid for directories such as Yellow Pages have little impact, especially as their links are 'nofollow' and I would say content does have more of an effect, perhaps 20%, and so does PageRank but what I've found works is registering your business with Google Places (and getting it verified) and optimising things like business name, categories, description, photos etc really does help with local rankings. I don't agree you need to pay to get good local rankings and I don't think Google favours paid-for sites.
The examples I'm looking at include many businesses which have already registered free in Google's places. So the directories which seem to be helping some sites are not free directories or listings. Yelp is free. And Insider Pages is free, partially. I see those being referred to. But adding active links and the upper tier of Insider Pages is not free. And Service Magic is not free. I'd say that one of my biggest gripes about the transition to online advertising, is that its in transitions, and, that it never really makes the transition. Online, it really seems to be a mess, no matter how much Google seems to work on it, or Yahoo, or anyone else. Like on Google's page, we have the Google Adwords stuffed up top and too the right, then the map takes up space. Its just a chopped-up mess, and very incomplete. Wish Google would go to single lines so they could get 100 companies listed on a single page view.. I'd almost go back to printed advertising, but I found out 3 years ago that the newspaper didn't even bring 5% of what it got me 15 years ago. 15 years ago, a small add double business care size, brought about 12 phone call leads per month: and about 8 extra days work per month. 3 years ago, I ran the same type ad, the same size, in the same newspaper, for about 10 months. I could not identify even a SINGLE phone call coming in from that 10 full months of advertising.
content still a major factor IMO, but they seem to have put more emphasize on some other factors like authority. time will tell how this goes.
I was convinced top 10 rankings went to the best linkbuilders...not content. I guess we both may be wrong!
Well, the idea is that good content will organically get you links, so you don't have to build them yourself. Thus if you know what you are doing, content is king.
For lots of terms, local results are dominating the top SERPs. You still need good SEO, but you need to be recognized as a local business to get there.
I'm still doing great, where content is King, on topics where the subject is not a business listing. Like Safe and Toxic Woods for Parrots Or Redwood Photographs So for non-business headings, content still seems to be "King", and surely back-links, as the rule.
Content has never been king. You can have excellent content and get zero traffic. Content is just one piece of the puzzle. I would be inclined to agree with the original post's statement that top local rankings are easier to get if you have paid listings here and there, not from personal experience but because that is how it has been historically. For example, in the early days of Google, it helped a lot to be in the Yahoo directory, which was a paid directory. Not sure if it was true, but that was the consensus at the time.
I dont believe this. Because SEO is content based. I am assuming that the reason why you got less content in your results is because it is what you searched for. Job listings are supposed to be in the yellow pages of course and not in content sites like blogs or article directories.
I think i got an article that proves that Google is not recommending paid sites. Good point you got here.
If you want to ranking Google local listing you have to submit your business in Google place and other good local directories that helps to rank in Google local listing. Yes some good local directories are paid but you can use other free local directories.