27 June 2014

The Importance Of Quality Content For SEO In 2014

By Hassan Khan


A few years ago, it used to be possible to get a website ranked in Google even if the content on your website is less than stellar. In fact, I can just take an article from Ezinearticles.com or any article directories, slap it on my website, and get it ranked on the number one position, simply by pointing thousands of low quality links to it. And the ranking can remain there for months or even longer.



For example, it is reported that eBay, one of the top online retailers has lost 80% of their organic rankings after the Panda 4.0 update. The main reason given is because most of their pages ranking on Google are simply doorway pages with little content and are plastered with ads all over the place.

Well, there is really no standard answer for this question because it really depends on the kind of sites you are talking about. Obviously, an ecommerce site is very different from a normal affiliate website. But for the purpose of simplicity, let us just talk about a simple affiliate website. As far as quality content is concerned, your article should at least be 800 words and above. And obviously, it should be written with your audience in mind. In other words, no keyword stuffing, just write naturally.

Metrics such as keyword density and on-page optimization can be useful; however, they should not be your primary focus. When you sit down to create a new piece of content for your website, put your visitors� needs at the forefront of your mind. Craft an article that not only answers all of their questions, but that is also entertaining, easy to read and engaging. Be Unique - Even the most mundane topic can be interesting if you present it from a unique angle. The more you differentiate your content from what is already on the web, the better your chances of getting noticed by the search engines. Think About Whether or Not You Would Read Your Own Content

Put yourself in the mind of one of your visitors. Is your content engaging enough that you would want to stick around and read it? Is it something you would be proud to show to your family or friends? If not, refine it until it lives up to your standards. These simple tips should help you create content that is a good fit for the updated 2014 search algorithms. By focusing primarily on quality rather than quantity, you can build a site that not only provides real value within your industry, but also dominates the search results.

Ideally, the article should also be at least 800 words and above. After all, how can you provide quality information to your visitors in just 500 words? There is just not enough words to really go into an in depth discussion of a topic. The Panda 4.0 update serves as an important reminder of the importance of quality content for the purpose of SEO. Even gigantic sites such as Ebay can get penalized due to doorway pages. This is something that the smaller webmasters must pay attention to.




About the Author: