How to create quality online content

Google algorithm updates over past few years; Panda, Penguin and Hummingbird, have completely changed the landscape for brands, making online profile success dependent on quality content.

Here we offer some tips on how ensure your content is exactly what Google ‘likes’ in order to improve your visibility and effectively advertise your wares online.

By Kathryn Dawson, Creative Director, Strategy Internet Marketing.

This piece will explain:

•    How and why the world of SEO has completely transformed
•    How businesses can improve their SEO through smart thinking and content
•    The best approach to developing quality online content even with limited budgets
•    Why understanding audience behaviour is key to successful content generation

A new dawn

When online commerce first became big business, the race to come first in Google’s rankings resulted in thousands of SEO agencies springing up to meet this demand.  These SEO agencies thrived thanks to a combination of tricks such as automated directory submissions, paid and buried links, spamdexing, anchor text in guest blogs and the use of link farms.

These practices not only made for a profitable SEO sector, but also created a very uneven playing field where relative unknowns could thrive online over their more capable, experienced and established peers.

Google’s backlash came in the form of three algorithm updates; Panda in 2011 (with updates rolled out every 10 days from this summer) to drive up content quality, Penguin, updated a few times each year to cleanse linking spam and Hummingbird, to improve search results in response to increasingly conversational search terms.

Smart thinking

As these Google changes spelt the end for improper SEO practice, their knock on impact was a vital requirement for improved on site and off site content quality.  The updates are intended to champion good customer service, bigger, better, more informative websites, wide reach, extensive reviews and multi-platform, social engagement.

Businesses which continued to use repetitive, poor quality content and place links in locations disliked by Google were rapidly demoted further down the rankings in response.

Rather than focussing on driving traffic to sites via links, smart e-commerce operations should concentrate instead on understanding the behaviour of their target markets; what are their favourite ‘hang-outs’ online, their likes and dislikes, influences and influencers – ultimately any information that can guide them towards and through the purchasing process.

The most effective digital marketing segments target audiences into personas and analyses the way these personas conduct search queries.

Based on that understanding, and what these target markets will find useful, the next step is to produce content based on this information.

Quality not quantity

Digital retailers shouldn’t make the mistake of trying to emulate their larger brand counterparts by copying what they are doing content-wise. Taking inspiration from them is fine, but standing out online requires a business and brand to have its own personality, messaging and original, interesting content.

The message here is simply quality over quantity; one piece of attractive, useful content which has real appeal to readers is worth ten half-hearted efforts.  Applying the rules of marketing and PR by appealing to the interests of the reader and weaving in key messages highlighting the benefits of the product or service on offer is key.

Content isn’t purely restricted to text either, attractive and highly sharable items include infographics, online tools, video, whitepapers and mobile apps.  These items are excellent for building online brand and presence but the golden rule is ensuring they add value to the reader – the internet is awash with spurious infographics and other items which lack a purpose.

Sharing is caring

Once great content has been developed, to ensure it improves rankings it is essential to share it.  Sharing is about more than social media – although identifying and targeting influencers and followers on platforms like Twitter and Facebook is key – building relationships with target sites and publications and targeting content at them is crucial too.

Quality content will be shared, and has the added bonus of providing a vehicle for feedback and a two way dialogue with customers, other industry professionals and experts.

If a content strategy is successful, the quality of the content – and its proliferation through sharing – will not only result in improved brand recognition and sales conversions but perhaps more importantly, ongoing relationships with a dedicated customer and contact base.  Where digital content is concerned, if you build it, (and build it well) they will come.

For more info visit: strategyinternetmarketing.co.uk