Don’t Let Bad Content Poison Your SEO

The emphasis on content in regards to search engine optimization does not seem to be slowing down. If anything, it’s on a steady upward trend. Based on the most recent Google updates, it has become apparent that quality is of the utmost importance. That means you must have a quality website, quality links (internal and external), and quality content. The key to having an overall optimal content strategy is three-fold:

1. Regularity – Publishing new content both on and off site should be done as frequently as possible, preferably on a weekly basis.

2. Relevance – The content that you produce needs to be add value to the place where it will be published. Topics need to be interesting, fresh, and consistent.

3. Readability – The idea of continuously putting new content out there is not just to appease Google, but also to provide readers with something useful and worth reading.

Content marketing is one of the most important components of a solid online advertising strategy. This pertains to small businesses, large corporations, and work from home bloggers. Unlike some other traditional advertising methods or SEO practices, content marketing is unique in that it requires you to consider both the search engines and online users. Trying to satisfy both is certainly not easy, but it is also not impossible.

The power of good or bad content is pretty remarkable, which is why you should just avoid bad content all together. Sounds simple enough. However, not all factors that could potentially poison your content are obvious. In order to stay clear of producing bad content, avoid the following mistakes:

1. A Separate Blog – In order to provide your website with new content on a regular basis, you must develop a blog. Creating a separate domain for a company blog defeats the purpose of having one and will not offer as much benefit to your search results. You want to drive traffic and attention to one place.

2. Sales Pitchy Tone – Your consumers were not born yesterday. They know when a sales pitch is being thrown their way, and will not welcome it with open arms when they are in search of meaningful content online. Maintain a friendly but informative tone that focuses on a relevant topic and you should have no problems.

3. Minimal Activity – Simply incorporating a blog into your site is not going to help boost your rankings. According to a recent study, businesses that blog over 20 times a month are able to generate up to 5 times more leads.

4. Lack of Variety – Although it is important to stay within your niche, it is equally important to think outside the box when it comes to your content production. Posting articles about the same thing over and over will not reap any benefits, and could potentially harm your rankings.