Web Content: The 3 R's
The Internet world has gone content crazy. It is impossible to
open a site, read a blog or ezine or join a discussion about the
Internet without hearing about content. Content is King
is the incessant refrain. With all due respect to the Antebellum
South, where Cotton was King and not a trite cliche, I do not
know that Content is King and I'm not even sure what content
means. Little is said about King Content in traditional Search
Engine Optimization and Search Engine Marketing (SEO/SEM) lore.
The Search Engines supply guidelines but no understanding. SEO
professionals make bold statements about content but provide
little insight. Marketing professionals practically shout it out
from the rooftops but scarcely even define it.
Defining Content
...Content is keyword enriched text, written to satisfy the
insatiable needs of the search engine gods and their elusive
algorithms.... We can't say that, even though it might be
true.
... Content is keyword enriched text ...
Noone can argue with that but it's not enough. ... Content
is readable, relevant, keyword enriched text ...
That goes a little further and few can argue with that
definition. Beyond that, it's anybody's guess.
The 3 R's of Content: Rich, Readable and Relevant
With apologies to the original 3 R's (Actually an R, an A, and a
W but we won't argue), we can call it the 3 R's of Content:
Rich, Readable and Relevant.
Rich Content
Keyword rich, that is. Keywords all but define content. The
Search Engine World revolves around the words (and phrases) that
people type into the Search Engine text box. Users rarely use
the words they write or speak with. They use a more limited set
of words without structure, formalities, niceties, subtleties or
allusions. These simple, natural words that people think in have
come to be known as keywords. The Search Engines have placed
extraordinarily high value on these key words. No other single
factor is as important as keywords. Their importance cannot be
overstated.
Research keywords (keyword phrases) intensively, choose
carefully. Use them extensively, never excessively, throughout
the text. Too few keywords and the site is ignored; too many and
the search engine may punish the site and punishment can be
severe. Place keywords strategically in and around the text. Use
them in headings and subheadings. Use them in graphic and
alternative text descriptions. Use them in links. Use them
behind the scenes in the title and description meta tags. (And
any other meta tags you choose to use.) Use them wherever and
whenever you can. Repeat the keywords (and all their elegant
variations) frequently without becoming repetitious. Use,
don't overuse.
Readable Content
Content must be readable. There are a billion users (readers) on
the internet and a billion more coming on board in the next few
years. English, the world's de facto second language, is
the primary language of the internet. Users in the
industrialized nations are often fluent and literate in English.
However, new users are coming primarily from the third world
where most people can neither speak nor read English fluently
and many are not even literate in their own language.
Translation programs abound (many furnished by the search
engines) but they remain awkward and unreliable.
Keep it short, simple and to the point. Make every word
count. Use simple words; active verbs and nouns. Avoid
adjectives and adverbs, they adorn but do not inform. Use simple
sentences or simple sentence structures. Avoid long blocks of
text. Keep it as simple as possible. (Don't ever equate simple
with stupid. Simple is elegant and effective, never pretentious
and high sounding.) It not only reads better, it translates
better. Though you are addressing millions, try to keep it
personal and make it human. And don't ever talk down to your
readers.
Relevant Content
Last, but by no means least, content must be relevant. Keywords
are not enough. Keywords are clues; content solves the mystery.
Keywords must be used in the proper context for the content to
make sense. It's easy enough to give people what they say they
are looking for, it's harder to give them what they want;
information. Use those keywords effectively and they will come.
The website must provide good solid content in the proper
context,utilizing keywords seamlessly.
Provide keyword rich content and the search engines will
bring traffic. Provide quality content and visitors will stay.
Make the content dynamic and they will return.
The Silent R
The search engines have added another R: Recent. In the
lightning fast world of the internet, truth is no longer
eternal; it must also be current. The explosive growth of Blogs
and their constant intrusion into the top 10 rankings of the
SERP show that the algorithms are weighted more to the now than
the then.
The Fourth R
The fourth and most important R, rarely mentioned and mostly
ignored, can never be forgotten: the Reader. The
Reader comes first. Write good, strong, quality content for your
readers and the search engines will follow. Search Engines use
sophisticated software and complex algorithms to analyze and
satisfy the needs of their users. Satisfy one and you'll satisfy
the other.
The laws of the search engines are clear: less content,
lower rankings
Any discussion of content could and should go much further.
Content must be clear and compelling, interesting and
informative but that is more about the quality of the writing
itself and we'll save that discussion for another day. The 3 R's
are a good starting point.