When you look at your website chances are you have plenty of content. But is it quality content? The old adage “it’s quality, not quantity” couldn’t be any more true than when you’re talking about content. Simply having a site full of content is useless if it isn’t high quality.
What makes quality content?
Since the term “quality content” may be vague to some people, it’s important to first understand what quality content is so that you can make sure you are providing just that.
- Useful & Informative. When people click on your site they’re looking for information. They don’t want to have to fish through to find it. Make sure your site is informative and user friendly. If it is, then you’re one step ahead when it comes to quality content.
- Credibility. No matter what business you’re in, you need to be credible. If people feel as though they can’t trust you, you can’t expect to be in business for much longer! The content you post should showcase your experience as well as the fact that other people believe you are credible too. By showing you are an authority you will not only gain readers’ trust, but you will also rank high on search engines like Google. Their algorithms will rank your site and decide whether it is an authority site or just a bunch of filler.
- High-value. You are not the only person trying to sell a certain product or service. Make your content stand out by providing information people can’t get anywhere else. When your content is extremely valuable it is also high-quality.
- Error Free. Don’t distract your readers with typos, spelling mistakes or bad grammar. While you may have some great ideas, readers will get distracted and annoyed if they have to stop every three seconds to figure out what you’re trying to say. Proofread your material multiple times before posting.
The Importance of Quality Content & SEO
Quality content and SEO (Search Engine Optimization) should be best friends. If you are truly providing quality content, you should rank high on search engines. At Portside Marketing, we can assist you with providing quality content and understanding SEO tactics to make your site rank high. We know the importance of quality content and can make sure your site has it. This is why you need to have quality content on your site:
- People will understand your message. When you are producing high quality content the reader does not have to guess what you’re trying to say. Excellent content is clear and concise, yet informative.
- Lower bounce rate. If people are interested in what they’re reading they’ll be more likely to stay on your page rather than click around. This will eventually improve your rankings in various search engines.
- Social media attention. When people like what they’ve read they’re more likely to share it on social media. Sharing is caring! When one person shares it often turns into a domino effect of sharing. This can mean only good things for you because you’ll have people talking about you (hopefully for good reason!).
What to Avoid when Building Quality Content
Just as it’s important to know what to add to make quality content, you need to know what practices you should avoid. Here are some things you should not be doing:
- Don’t stuff keywords. Don’t write on the premise that readers won’t notice keyword stuffing. This happens when you try to unnaturally place words that don’t belong in sentences just to try to rank high on search engines. This is painful to read, so it must have been painful to write. Use keywords naturally to provide high quality content. When you do this, you’re still getting in your key words without annoying your readers.
- Don’t talk down to people. If you’re writing a piece of content to provide advice or assistance on how people should be doing something, don’t talk down to them. People don’t want to feel as though you think they’re stupid. Acting high and mighty in your writing style is not a sign of quality content.
- Don’t be offensive. Just as you shouldn’t talk down to people, you shouldn’t be offensive in your writing. This means keeping a tone that treats everyone equally and avoiding profanity or any other inappropriate language. While this may sound obvious, you may be surprised at what some people add in their writing and still consider it “quality content”.
- Plagiarism. This is a no-no all around. If someone has written a piece of quality content, it is theirs not yours. If you plagiarize thinking you’ll get the same praise for what was written, think again. There are many tools that can spot plagiarism, not to mention the original writer! If you want to write quality content, do it in your own words.
- Don’t waste time. People are more impatient than ever these days. They want to know what information you’re going to provide right away. Your content should let them know within the first paragraph.
- Make it readable. Since many people scan an article rather than read it word for word, it’s always a good idea to break up paragraphs with bullet points or sub-headers. This makes the piece easier to read and allows visitors to read only the sections of information they need rather than making them irritable by having to fish for that information. Also, keep paragraphs and sentences short.
When you provide quality content, everything else falls into place. You’ll see your search engine rankings increase as well as the number of visitors to your site.