Why is creating unique content so important for SEO? Why is there so much pressure on content to perform when it seems like optimization should just be a few keywords here or a few links there? Today’s guest post answers these questions and then some.
SEO is a complex process that involves a lot of different on-site and off-site factors, and one of the most important on-site factors is the quality of your site’s content. If you try to game the search engines with duplicate content – you’re gonna have a bad time. With all the updates rolled out by Google in the recent years, especially Penguin – regarding content quality – there is simply no room left for low-quality sites on the top positions. Posting duplicate and thin content can destroy your site so check out this quick guide on how to stay in the safe zone.
The Issue Of Trust
In order to know what you’re supposed to do to get your page ranked well on Google, it’s good to first take a look at the whole thing from their perspective. Google’s main goal, like that of any company, is profit. One of the core ways Google profits is by building trust among their huge user base – the trust that they are the search engine which will deliver the best and most relevant search results. And they indeed deliver on the promise – otherwise most of the people would simply use another search engine that does the job better.
How does this apply to you? Well, you are the content creator, aren’t you? And I’ll assume your goal is also to build trust with your audience, among other things. In the era of fake news, trustworthiness has become a major factor. Google has become so advanced with their algorithms, it can easily recognize quality content in the sea of spam. It’s their job after all. And it’s your job to create an opportunity for yourself by writing to the best of your abilities. This means that if you want your content to get to the users, the content itself is going to have to adhere to certain criteria.
Quality, Relevance, Uniqueness
There are three main rules to adhere to if you want your content high up in the search results. First, the content needs to be high-quality: well-written and researched, free of grammatical errors, easy to read and understand. It’s a broad term, but you could basically say that your content needs to have a purpose in order to be considered high quality. It needs to answer the questions someone is searching for and offer solutions to problems.
Next, it needs to be relevant to your audience. The more related the topic is to the main theme of the website, the more meaningful the content will appear to the search engine. Remember, Google wants to give their users exactly what they’re searching for, and if it detects you’re writing about music on a fashion-related blog, it won’t hold your website in very high esteem.
Finally, your content should be as unique as possible. It’s a well-known fact that there are inconceivably huge amounts of content on the Internet, so this is by no means an easy task. But, you should still try and come up with something that hasn’t been written before. This is unfortunately, often the hardest of the rules to adhere to, but it can be done if you with the right approach. Brainstorm ideas, perform keyword research, keep up with the trending topics and try to create your own voice.
Creating Unique Content
There are several ways to get unique content for your website. The most obvious one is to try and create it yourself. Just be aware that this is a time-consuming process, as most of the time you need to do plenty of thorough research to make truly great content. Another way to it is to pay someone to write for you. Note that you should hire someone who already understands the fundamentals of writing and SEO, and how to incorporate all the important elements into the content.
The third way, and probably the easiest one to do, is to locate a piece of quality content that’s already been published, and simply use the idea as a base for your post. The idea is not to completely copy the original of course, but simply to have a starting point or a good reference of what your piece should look like and then write it down from your perspective and give it a fresh new angle.
Conclusion
In the age of AI, machine learning and complex algorithms, creating unique content is essential if you want your page to get good visibility in the SERPs. Running a website is a business, and like in any other business, there are certain principles and rules you must follow. If you follow the tips laid out in this article, your content will surely resonate – and as it does, it will improve your search engine visibility, your follower base, and ultimately your website’s revenue.
Author Bio
Bojan Mijatovic is a marketing director at Clockify – a free time tracking app. As a keen enthusiast in new technologies and all-things-business, he likes to write about industry insights, from social media and SEO, to growth hacking and productivity. He is also an avid Formula 1 fan. You can connect with Bojan on Twitter.
