The recent Google algorithm updates (yes plural, if you’ve been reading the right sources), have many in a SEO panic, scrambling to add unique content to their sites, trying to write and re-write catchy phrases & titles, spamming the web with their infographics about not spamming the web with infographics.
But there is a small handful of people not freaking out… (inspiring video after the break).
These are the people that have been focused on delivering quality pieces of writing to their audience since the beginning. These are the people that have put together their own research, their own stories, and their own analysis since day 1, knowing readers are attracted to helpful, interesting information – and are often willing to dig through the engines’ ineffective rankings to find gold.
SEO’s have been chanting the Matt Cutts mantra “Content is King” without understanding a key assumed ingredient – great content. You must be the King of your content in order for your content to be King. It has to be excellent. And the continued tweaks to the Google ranking math are only promoting that fact further. If you think SEO is about links, social media and PageRank, you’re putting the cart before the horse.
Great writing, great design, a great story compels people to talk about it, to link to it, to +1 it, to “like” it – because, it turns out, they really do like it. You might be missing out on links, traffic, & rankings – not because you don’t have a story, but maybe because you haven’t told it the right way yet… (aaaaaaaand cue video)
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hzgzim5m7oU]