You may or may not keep hearing the same thing from all the SEOs. “Content is King”, “Content is Key”. The reason you keep hearing/reading about web content is because it is what the user is going to use to determine whether or not they are going to use your services.
As mentioned is a previous post of mine, traffic is an important ranking factor for your web site. Not just any traffic though, I am talking quality traffic. That’s right users who spend more time on your site, visit more pages and convert. Users who arrive at your website through quality links (high authority domains, links built through social sharing). Ultimately Google wants to see users visit your site because they chose to visit your site.
So what role does content have? If you need quality traffic to help you rank, then you need to pull in that quality traffic. The way to achieve this is to have strong quality content that the user actually wants to read. Let’s talk a bit about the history of web content.
The way content used to be written on the web, was written in such a way that it was targeting the search engines. Remember when you were supposed to use as many keywords as you could within your content? This was done to attract the search engines, essentially begging them to rank you. Well we have moved past this (FINALLY). That’s right! No more key word heavy content. Google does not want to see content such as the following:
“Web development is a fast paced industry, with ever changing technology. If you are considering a career in web development you must be prepare to face the challenges of all web developers. Web developers are constantly learning new web development techniques and strategies, and always trying to speed up the development process.”
Now how did you enjoy reading that paragraph? Were you sick of reading the word(s) “web development” before you finished? I doubt I would be wrong if I said you were. This is exactly why we do not write content this way anymore. It becomes redundant and boring for your users. This being said you still need to target your keyword phrase that is the topic of conversation on the page, but you do not need to be so forceful with it. Write your content in such a way that it sounds natural and enjoyable for the user. Anyone who comes to your website and visits a page titled “Web Design”, they know they are reading about web design. They do not have to be reminded 20 times within 3 paragraphs of text.
If you truly want to engage your readers/users, you need to write content that they will enjoy and share with their friends and family. This is EXACTLY what Google wants to see, and this is definitely what users want to see. Always remember, quality over quantity. We need to stop worrying about word count on a page, instead worry about whether or not your content is providing what your user is seeking.
Here are some other quick useful tips that both search engines and users will be looking for:
- Content is relevant to the page topic
- Create sharable content
- Write trustworthy content
- No artificial facts
- Use imagery and graphics (engage the user)
- Call to actions
Another resource for you and a resource that helped contribute to this article:
http://www.twelveskip.com/marketing/seo/182/avoid-google-panda-penalty