Is content still king in SEO
Want your website to rank in the search engine Top 5? Who doesn’t? So what is the secret of SEO? As far back as 1996, Bill Gates coined the term “content is king” and, as usual, he was right on the money. But is Bill’s advice still relevant in a changing world? In the age of social media and mobile technology, what does it take to drive more traffic to your website and more sales to your franchisees?
Trouble is, as soon the experts think they’ve got SEO sussed, Google goes and changes the game plan. Then the experts start fighting amongst themselves about what works and what doesn’t.
The 3 secrets of SEO
“The three secrets of SEO are content, content and content,” says Joe Brockmeier on ReadWriteWeb, content being a broad term including text, graphics, images and video which search engines use to match against the words and terms people use to search for information.
“Any competent SEO knows that a strong content strategy is integral to today’s digital marketing campaigns,” says Guillaume Bouchard of Search Engine Watch.
But then there are naysayers like Derek Halpern of Social Triggers. Well, kind of.
“‘Content is king’ is terrible advice,” he declares. “Content is how you get traffic. Content is also how you keep loyal readers and customers happy. So, what’s the problem? Online, you only have a second to grab someone’s attention. And during that second, people make snap judgements about you, your business, and your website. Before. They. Read. Your. Content.”
What counts as a quality website to Google?
So it’s the quality and relevance of your content to the reader that makes all the difference. Google made that very clear last year when they released their new quality-seeking Panda search algorithm together with an article on their website called “What counts as a quality website?” Their list of criteria included:
- Does the article provide original content or information, original reporting, original research, or original analysis?
- Is the site a recognised authority on its topic?
- Would you trust the information presented in this article?
- Is this article written by an expert or enthusiast who knows the topic well?
- Are the topics driven by genuine interests of readers of the site?
But even if your answers to all these questions are yes, you may still not be rewarded with a high search ranking. That’s because Google uses other search criteria, and of course they’ll never let on exactly what it is. So you don’t just need great content, you need a content strategy. As someone once said, “Just because you build it doesn’t mean the punters will come.” You need to get your content out there and get it found.
Top 10 Content Tactics
How? We've identified the most popular tactics in our latest ebook Top 10 Content Marketing Tactics and How to Use Them to Boost Your Brand, SEO and Sales. Here's our Top 10:
- eBook
- Blog
- eNewsletter
- Article
- White Paper
- Case study
- Testimonials
- Video
- Webinar/webcast
- Social media
If your web content could be better and you’d like a content strategy, we can help. As writers and marketers, we produce content that’s fresh, relevant and original. That’s not just what Google and the other search engines are looking for, it’s what your potential customers are looking for.
I'm Robin La Pere, no ordinary marketing consultant. Bill Gates said it all when he said "content is king" and my view is that's still true to this day, no matter how often Google changes its search engine algorithms.
Let me show you how improving the content you use in your marketing can generate stronger results and a better return on investment.
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Want your website to rank in the search engine Top 5? Who doesn’t? So what is the secret of SEO? As far back as 1996, Bill Gates coined the term “content is king” and, as usual, he was right on the money. But is Bill’s advice still relevant in a changing world? In the age of social media and mobile technology, what does it take to drive more traffic to your website?
In our new e-book The One Way to Get Your Website to the Top of the Search Engine Rankings without Spending a Single Cent on Advertising
you'll find out:
- Why Content is still king but not all Content is created equal
- 10 ways to use Content to generate more web traffic, brand awareness and sales
- How to make your Content 10x more powerful and compelling
Download your free copy now.