In my last post, I noted that there are three major components of Search Engine Optimization:
The first was, of course, Link Popularity.
The second is (drum roll please):
- Content
What? That’s it? Yes!
I would like to say, content, in my mind, is anything that you provide to your users. Content can be photos, email, forum, games, advice, news or your perspective on a particular topic (like this blog).
A little history on content. Ever since search engines moved from valuing websites based upon meta tags, title, descriptions and keywords and started using algorithms based upon link popularity, content and ???, relevant content has become a major factor in organic search results. After the transition, Black Hats moved to deceptive link practices to content spamming (fresh off spamming titles, descriptions and keywords), so the engines replied with giving more value to link popularity, which of course, became another area of deceptive practices to artificially inflate link popularity.
It has only been recently that the engines (primarily Google) have focused more upon relevant content. Younger algorithms from Yahoo! and MSN still over value link popularity, but as their algorithms age, they will place more value on relevant content than link popularity.
Here is a bit of advice, write your content for your visitors, not the search engine algorithms. Why? Because they are the ones that will ultimately vote for your site with their mouse. What do I mean? It is your content that will turn a visitor into a reader and, ultimately, an advocate of your website. These are the most important people that you can’t buy, they talk to friends, share their opinions on websites that offer consumer feedback and share with their own visitors on their blogs and other forms of social activity on the Internet. This can get you links and improve the first component of your SEO program.
The other, extremely important, thing to remember when looking at content, is consistency. What do I mean? I will answer with a question, how often do you update or add relevant content to your website? The days of “build it and they will come” are long past. A website is an entity on the web. Just like a person, a website should grow into something more than it was when introduced.
Look at websites that have been on the web and been successful over an extended period of time. They develop and become what their visitors want or need. Google, unlike other engines like MSN and Yahoo! have added additional services without becoming a portal. This has done well for Google and the fact that MSN and Yahoo have become portals that their visitors use and come back for frequently. this is the market that they want, or at least have.
So, back to the topic at hand, why should your visitors come back to your website? Do you provide them with a reason? I know, you don’t have a team of content writers or programmers that can provide new things on your site for your visitors to come back to frequently, no problem! You can set up content driven content, like a forum or a blog, but the most important thing that you need to realize: you have to be consistent.
I blog, and it is my intent to post, on average, once per day. This is my commitment to my blog and my commitment to my readers. So, what is your commitment to your visitors? You don’t have to have a team of people at your command to accomplish whatever is the newest and hottest way of building value on the net. You have to be consistent! Do not over commit to any task.
Now, you have all of this covered, right? What about relevancy?
You could have had the greatest idea ever, like “the button?” Even though it is a great marketing idea, but what is it relevant to? Absolutely nothing. Is the content on your website what you want to be known for. Just as in life, you aren’t remembered for what titles you had, but by the actions you took, regardless of your title. No one started as a leader in an industry, they earned it!
I have one question:
Are you the leader?
If yes, what are you doing to stay that way? Are you doing what others expect of you, or are you doing more?
If no, what are you doing to get there? Are you following the leader like everyone else is, or are you stepping out and stepping up?
I will stop here for now, look forward to the final components of SEO and my definition of Search Engine Optimization.
Stay tuned! Click here for part 3.
related posts >>
- Update Complete
- The Machine is Us/ing Us
- What is SEO? part 4 – Search Engine Optimization Defined
- Google Admits Problems Dealing with the Googlebombing
- More SEO Tips from the AdWords Camp
