When I started in the Web business around 2003, I read Ken Evoy’s classic book “Make Your Site Sell“.
This book really was ahead of its time and contained the most common sense I’ve read anywhere about how to get your website ranking at the top of Google’s search results (and a heck of a lot more).
One of the main messages that Evoy hammered home was “content is King”. In other words, the most important part of your website is the written content that actually engages with the reader and communicates your message clearly to your target audience.
It’s pretty basic common sense…
But in the intervening 10 years, the SEO industry has pretty much ignored everything that Evoy recommended. Most SEO companies have run around trying to manipulate Google by creating backlinks from a whole lot of irrelevant websites, and creating pages of junk content that is stuffed with keywords, which no one would ever actually read.
Google has been trying to stamp this out for a while. And finally, it looks like they’ve succeeded, leaving many SEO companies in despair, as their dubious linking-building and keyword stuffing tactics have been heavily penalised.
This is why you need to focus on well-written content…
I can’t stress enough just how important it is to have well written content on your website. In fact, if you do this right, you will have nailed 75% of what you need to do to get your site ranked on the first page of Google.
Even if you have fewer backlinks than your competitor, the chances are that Google will still put you above them if it believes that you have provided valuable content for your readers. I’ve proved this time and again, over 10 years, and it’s never failed.
The problem is, creating valuable content is difficult…
Very few people can write really interesting content that draws the reader in and adds genuine value to the Internet. This kind of quality writing certainly can’t be outsourced to cheap labour in India or the Philippines.
But if you can invest time in writing quality content, or, if you can’t write it yourself, invest a fair chunk of your online marketing budget in hiring an expert to write it for you (but pick your “expert” carefully) – then you will be laying the right foundation for the future of your online business.
P.S.
And I might as well put in an unashamed plug here for my services. If you need a writer, have a look at this page about my copywriting services.
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