Many digital marketers, bloggers and webmasters often ask themselves: What is quality content and how do you make it?
To answer such questions, you can’t just talk about content marketing. You need to go deeper than that. You need to understand what quality content means in the eyes of Google.
Why’s that? Well, Google loves high-quality content. Content they find valuable, engaging and helpful to users is rewarded with a high ranking.
Gone are the days where marketers could rely heavily on keywords to drive traffic to their websites. You can’t just sneak in those keywords whenever and wherever you want anymore. Content has become the real deal.
Google’s content guidelines
Would you believe us if we told you that content is Google’s No. 1 ranking factor? They even have their own set of guidelines clearly pointing out what they’re looking for in terms of high-quality content.
In Google’s own words, here’s what you should and shouldn’t do to create content that can rank well in their search results:
- Don’t deceive your users.
- Make pages for people, not search engines.
- Avoid tricks intended to boost search engine rankings.
- Think about what makes your website unique and make it stand out from your competitors.
- Why quality content matters
Aside from the fact that it can significantly improve your online visibility, there are tons of other benefits when you produce consistent, high-quality content. Here are some of them:
- You generate more and better leads.
Content is a great way to guide users to a landing page, according to Lindsay Kolowich, the team manager of the HubSpot Academy Acquisition Content Team. Visitors who find your content interesting are likely to click your call to action (CTA) and move onto your landing page.
- You build trust among your audience.
By using your content to interact with and respond to your visitors, you help your business form a relationship with them. The more quality and valuable content they see, the more likely they will have a positive association with your brand.
- Your audience will stick around longer.
It goes without saying that people will stay a while on a webpage if the content suits their fancy. Great content has the ability to create positive experiences for your prospects and encourage them to come back for more.
- You position your company as an authority in your industry.
Crafting quality content can also establish you as a thought leader online. By demonstrating your expertise in your field and providing answer to your audience’s questions, you’ll be considered a credible place to get information. In turn, this causes you to rank higher in search engines.
So what does quality content really mean to Google?
It means pretty much any content that Google deems relevant and shareable.
Think of quality content as any information you feed to search engines so they can feed it to searchers. It’s real answers to real people’s questions. It’s content people want to digest because it helps them or entertains them.
It’s what people talk about in their own blog posts or during coffee breaks. It’s the stories they pass along to their friends or mention on social media.
Create that and you’ll secure a top spot in Google in no time.
Remember, you should always keep your target audience in mind as you create your content. As Google’s philosophy states: Focus on the user and all else will follow. The end goal is to better serve the needs of searchers. That’s why we often see its search algorithm being updated.
Now, for your content to rank higher, Google’s E-A-T concept should be your basis when making it. Let’s take a closer look at what it is:
- Expertise
Everyone should view you as an expert in your field if you’re aiming for a high ranking. You need to demonstrate your skills and back them up – not only by your content, but also by your credentials and author biography across the web.
- Authoritativeness
To establish authority, you need to have high-quality backlinks from reputable sources, good reviews, affiliations with prominent companies and, of course, well-written content.
- Trustworthiness
Eighty-two percent of people won’t browse an unsecured website, which is why you need to take all the necessary steps to keep your site secured. Aside from displaying recent reviews and testimonials from real customers, you should also pay attention to your website security.
Additionally, John Mueller, Google’s Senior Webmaster Trends Analyst, explains that quality content is more than just text. According to him:
“When it comes to the quality of the content, we don’t mean like just the text of your articles.
It’s really the quality of your overall website.
And that includes everything from the layout to the design.
Like, how you have things presented on your pages, how you integrate images, how you work with speed, all of those factors they kind of come into play there.”
To sum it all up, quality content goes beyond writing fascinating and thought-provoking articles. You should also focus on your images, page speed, and the overall layout of your website.
Final thoughts
Without a doubt, content is king. The fact that it’s Google’s first ranking factor is enough to prove that.
Applying the E-A-T principle is key to getting your website on the first page of Google. Oh, and don’t forget to optimize your images, speed up your pages and provide a positive user experience with your website’s seamless navigation.
