What is “Good” Content?

With the Google Panda update penalizing low quality content farms and content scrapers, it is becoming increasingly important for websites to feature high quality content.  When working on your website, keep in mind the following good content criteria:

Original – Avoid duplicate content, whether it’s a product description that came from a manufacturer or a news article. Make your content your own.  This is what readers (and Google) want. Unique, original content strengthens your brand, builds trust and can encourage others to link to your page. By telling your story effectively, you can engage prospects and turn them into customers.

Valuable – Good content adds value to your website. Yes, content can and should be optimized for your targeted keywords, but ultimately it should do more than just attract traffic.  Good content gives visitors useful information that answers their questions, solves their problems and meets their needs.  It enhances the user experience and can reduce bounce rates and encourage readers to remain on your site longer.

Fresh – Regularly adding new content to your website is a way to keep it fresh – and search engines like that!  Keep new content coming by updating your website with blog posts, press releases, photos, newsletters, videos, articles, new products, Twitter and Facebook posts and more.

Balanced – Good content is not overstuffed with keywords.  It is clear, concise, well-written content that is relevant to the human reader and balanced with strategic SEO copywriting techniques.

Relevant – Keep content focused on your products and services. Review your website and make sure all content is relevant to your niche.  Eliminate anything that may be questionable.

With the Google Panda update, having quality content is more important than ever.  Take some time to make your website the best it can be.  A little effort can go a long way.  You’ll be rewarded with higher rankings and more importantly, a higher rate of conversion and visitor satisfaction.