For some time now those of us in the marketing community have been reciting the mantra that “Content is King!” We’ve even talked about it here before a time or two.
Lately, however, there’s been a bit of a debate among those who focus on online marketing. Some are challenging the idea that content is really still king of the hill when it comes to getting your message out. Some point to new algorithms from Google and say that the crafty folks in Mountain View have once again out-smarted the marketing masters.
Is that really true? Is content no longer king when it comes to getting found on the Internet? Well, that kind of depends on how you look at content.
If your goal is to game the system by cranking out more content, the answer is probably no. Simply dumping more content onto the Web isn’t going to get you the results you want. Some marketing “gurus” have tried to game Google since the beginning. But any success they’ve had (think about keywords) has been short-lived. Trying to outwit the Google algorithm is simply the wrong strategy.
But if your goal is to win customers because you’ve got the information they’re looking for … keep it coming. What Google’s recent “adjustments” do (and what they’ve really tried to do all along) is make the results more accurately reflect what people are actually searching for.
It’s not just about the quantity of your content—it’s about the quality. Are you trying to trick customers into visiting your site because you have a lot of material on a topic they’re interested in? Or are you putting out a lot of quality content that actually addresses the questions and concerns they have?
Is the amount of content—and the frequency with which you publish it—important? Sure! It can make a big difference (and here’s some information about why it’s important). But what you publish is every bit (dare we say more?) important. Because you shouldn’t be writing your content for Google’s algorithm—you should be writing it for your customers! Giving your customers the information they really want establishes you as an industry leader. And it keeps people coming back to you. It connects you to the people who are best suited to be your customers.
Content is still king. But it’s up to you to ensure that the king’s crown is made of gold—and not just some shiny material that looks good at first glance, but really isn’t worth anything.
