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.