Writing Good Content is a MUST for Good SEO

In the early days of the Internet, when search engines were brand-new and the universe of websites was limited, all a developer had to do for a decent page ranking was create a unique title. Along came Google, and with it, the need to use things like keywords and back links in order to maintain a high ranking. But Google's algorithms led to the inevitable keyword stuffing and paid links which subsequently produced an insurmountable amount of useless and irrelevant web content.

Now web universe has changed again.

Everything evolves in the Internet world, so today we have a brand-new content paradigm thanks to Google's latest series of Panda updates. Love them or hate them, the programmers over at Google have decided to take it upon themselves to eliminate as much drivel from their search results as possible. That means if you want great page rankings your content must be worth something. If you want the rest of your SEO to pay off, your content must be worth reading.

Long and Detailed

As search engine algorithms have become more sophisticated they more adept at identifying short bursts of text that don't say anything. New algorithms are looking for detailed content that gives readers useful information they want or need to know. That means 500 word articles written from a very generalized point of view are not scored well. If they are stuffed with keywords and links then search engines may actually punish them by dropping page ranking or eliminating a page from the SERP’s (search engine results page’s) altogether.

Today's SEO requires articles in the 800-1,500 word range with relevant subheadings, bullet points, and even block quotes when applicable. Keywords must be kept to minimum and links should be limited to three or four per 1500 words. All of this may seem to be in direct opposition to everything we've known about SEO, but it is the new reality.

Intelligence Is What Wins Customers

Though good content production is harder today than it's ever been, it's actually very good for business. In essence the recent search engine updates have told website owners they need to produce more intelligent sites if they want to be rewarded. But a more intelligent site does more than just get you page ranking, it also wins you customers. And since converting casual surfers into paying customers is the goal, Google and its counterparts are helping business by forcing website owners to do better.

The most vital link in this entire chain is the content writer himself. If good SEO requires good content, good content requires good writers. It's no longer enough to hire foreign writers with poor language skills simply because they work fast and cheap. That tactic, which has been popular in SEO for the better part of the last five years, is coming back to bite all of us in the bum. The SEO company that wants to be King of the Hill today will have to hire the best writers. They'll also have to pay them.