How good is the content you put on your websites? Honestly, I’ve asked myself that a lot over the past 6 months, and if I’m completely honest, some of my affiliate marketing sites had content that was not great, it was ok, but does ok cut it anymore? Well…no, ok doesn’t cut it, and it really never should have, but it did for a while, which I want to discuss in this post.
Yes we’ve all heard of Google Panda, and I’m sure you don’t need to hear me go on about it again, however it does have a lot to do with quality content, so it’s hard to avoid when writing on the topic. All I want to say is that Google are assessing content on sites a lot more carefully than they used to, and they have many clever ways of working out how good content on sites really is.
However, in the past, it was much easier to rank content that was not top class. You could optimize the content for the search engines, backlink it, and pretty much get the rankings you desired, if you did good keyword research.
Although that used to work, it really should never have been the approach that any marketers took with their content. By this I mean, the user experience of your site should always be your number one priority. Whether a search engine can work out if your content is good or not, really is irrelevant.
He's loving my content!! Look how happy he is...
Don’t get me wrong, I never put up complete garbage on my sites, and always made sure the articles read well, but where I’ve been guilty in the past is hiring contractors, who’s native language is not English, and who charge as little as $8-10 per article. This saved me time, and meant I didn’t have to write it myself, could slap that stuff on my sites, then roll out the SEO plan.
The results were good, but it’s not a such good idea these days. In the case with these particular affiliate sites, I was guilty of focussing on the search engine and not the user as much. Again, not all my sites were in done this way, but I know a lot of internet marketers do nothing but this, so if you fall into this category, then you might want to reassess your content on your sites.
My important authority sites where I was more directly involved with the content creation were fine. Anyway, the issue was that my content on these other sites was driven by keywords, and not by what would make the site a well balanced site for the user.
A better approach for content is much like how I do the content on this blog, where it’s heavily user focussed. Although I write my own content for this site, I can’t do it for all my sites, so of course I outsource it. However I hire people a little differently these days.
Getting Quality Articles
Firstly I pay a lot more per article, in fact one site I have, I’m paying $40 USD per article now, and before I hired this contract writer, I tested 5 people for the role, and got them all to write an article, and I hired the top writer from that batch. The writer who’s working on these articles is a native English speaker and has experience researching and writing.
Good quality content requires proper research and planning, and not just writing off the top of your head what you think will sound good enough to just fill up the page. It also pays to provide some resources for your writer to use. This can be in the form of other websites, or you might want to buy your writer some great books on the topic from Amazon and get them shipped to the writer, and pay them to read them. I’m thinking of doing this soon in one of my niches.
I also look for people that have had experience writing in this niche previously, and even better if they have a genuine interest in the topic. Nothing beats passion for a niche! Also it pays to check the articles that you outsource, especially the first batches, and give good constructive feedback so your writer knows what you want. If you can’t afford to pay someone what it takes to get quality content, then do it yourself, or don’t put anything up.
The problem I see a lot of internet marketers do is, they hire low quality writers, and get low quality content as a result, remember you get what you pay for. Even if content like this technically reads in good grammar, it’s often full of filler fluff. This is the sort of content that used to fly well in Google, but is not doing so well anymore. Furthermore, regardless of Google, this sort of content would never really go that well from a human user point of view anyway, and isn’t the sort of thing people would be willing to tell people about.
The bottom line is this, if your content is not the sort of content that someone would share on Facebook and tell their friends about, then your content is not good enough, and needs to be improved. Also if your site is not the kind of site that someone who has an interest in the niche, would think is a fantastic resource for them about this topic, then your site is lacking and needs to be improved, by adding more quality content.
I also think where possible add in bullet point lists, or a table, use lots of graphics and also video, to make your content richer. So you might have something like this:
Five Tips for Improving Your Content
- Pay more for quality articles
- Use bullet points
- Use lots of images
- Embed video
- Focus on the user experience
Of course I’m an advocate of planning a good SEO traffic strategy, so don’t think I’m saying to only write great content with no SEO plan, as that would not work out so well, unless your site got passed around virally. So make sure you choose keywords that will bring you traffic, and match your content to these keywords as best you can.
So the moral of the post is to always think of the user experience first and the search engine second, and you’ll win in the long run, as search engines will like your site, and people will share your sites around, and you’ll grow your traffic and profits overtime. On that point, if you think this post is quality, I would really appreciate it if you could help me spread the word, by using the social icons below. Thanks!
Related articles
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The article length is a minimum of 800 words, sometimes this writer does longer.
Yes of course they rank
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Good points Andy, thanks for sharing
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Well done Eric, keep up the good work
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Thanks Simon
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Spot on Shane
Regards
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Thanks Patricia, and I like your choice of words!
Regards
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Thanks Wolfgang
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Thanks Ryan
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Thanks for sharing your insights Owen
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Sounds good Bill
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Cool Mike,
Regards
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Very well said Ian, I totally agree, I love Google Panda, as it means that the marketers that do things properly and take the time to produce quailty sites will do well, which is how it should be.
Regards
Matt
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Thanks Rahul
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Hi Carroll
This is a tough question to answer in a blog comment, but you really need to look at the site as a whole….is it narrowly focussed on one niche and not too broad? if it’s too broad a focus then you really will have to produce a lot of content to convince Google that you are a high quality authority on the matter…and yes the content itself needs to quality…
Many factors involved in something like this, so you need to ask yourself it is better to start over.
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Thanks Pattihale
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Thanks Jeff, glad you like my posts
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Totally agree Karen
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Hi Lionel
Well i say a minimum of 800 words, but often the writer does more, and I found him on odesk.
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Thanks Marty
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Thanks Eric
Matt
I got sort of caught up in the push button software there for a few months which would simply go out and grab content. After about 2 months of this with garbled, recycled stuff often showing up, I stopped doing it and went back to writing my own content. Sure having the computer do it was much faster, it sure didn’t help with conversions and I am sure with rankings either. I absolutely think one key to writing your own content is to have an interest or passion like you said. And not only is keyword selection key, but make sure your keyword can be expanded upon. You big marketers always use the niche widgets, but to start out focusing on left hand handed bluish widgets, you’ll run out of content quickly.
Richard,
Now Matt suggests you spend a little more and use another WP theme, but I have to tell you……..
I have several Amazon sites ranking very well and all of them use Matt’s free theme. When I show my sites to my article writer, she says it looks very clean and easy to read which I think is important for Google Panda. I get her opinion on every one of them.
But, I have been following the rule of paying more for my content way long before Matt mentioned it here. It was the right thing to do after Panda was released.
In conclusion, I am still seeing great successes using Matt’s free theme even still.
Hi Matt,
Thank you for bringing this up, I just spent hours on a post today, but I realize it takes that time for me. If I wrote something to hasty, it wouldn´t be quality content.
When I read a post I want it to be like reading a good book.
I´m glad you pointed out that writing for the user wins in the long run.
Happy weekend (and thanks for all your good material),
Sanna
Especially, if you are trying to initially rank for 6-10 keywords that have a decent combined search volume.
Even though I am fairly new to this I have learnt very quickly that content is king and as you say, bullet points, images and video help to make intesting content.
Thanks
Jon
Great post Matt, it sure is an interesting discussion and sometimes controversial about articles or posts on your website or blog. There can be a delicate balance when it comes to quality of your articles and an seo driven mentality. Thank you for that inciteful post..Grant
Hi Matt Iam Member of Rapid Profit Formula and Rapid Rewriter I dont remember getting an email about the revamption of the course I havent checked my course though in a few weeeks . if you havent revamped mine please do so and thanks,for the tips Please I have just done review and product posts do you mean that they are not good anymore ?
My second Question is it true that Google evaluates sites that depend on SEO traffic as parasites therefore google don’t rank them high on the serps unless if they buy traffic as well? I got that information from one of the webinars that you guys sent us and they are a bit confusing as each and everyone of them do the best that they can to have their product softwares bought I wish I wouldn’t get those anymore so that I shod focus on what I have purchased already as they all repeat the same thing with a twist . thanks
Matt Carter Reply:
February 11th, 2012 at 11:57 am
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All members were sent an email about the update. If you bought the course in the past 2 weeks you don’t need to worry as it would have been the latest.
MAtt
Anthony Harris Reply:
February 11th, 2012 at 10:26 pm
The email about the revamping of the course…or course revamp, if you will…advised earlier purchasers to watch the videos again as Matt had updated them in the light of advisable changes wrought by Google Panda.
Google now frowns upon certain operations, which Matt brings to our attention – an exemplary practice on his part, and one we should all adopt when dealing with our own customers (if we haven’t already done so).
Matt Carter is my favorite webinar learder and article generator. Since PANDA he has shared his thoughts on emphasizing quality content. I have two sites with more than 30 blogs each. I started implementing his ideas on new blogs as soon as he shared them (I have not gone bock to revise the rest). I have added 3-5 blogs but deemphasized monetization on all blogs on Digital Smartpen.com. The traffic and conversions on that site have doubled in a couple weeks–isn’t that amazing?
Thanks, Matt for your insight as always. Are you saying not to use article spinning anymore? Write original articles for my website and then write original articles to post on ezine or another site? Are these other sites still worthwhile for backlinks?
Thank you,
Chris
Matt Carter Reply:
February 11th, 2012 at 11:54 am
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You should never have been spinning the content on your site for submissions for links, I have never done that.
Matt
Hi Matt,
Just an update.
I have a couple of videos that I made with Animoto to promote my website – nothing special – and I paid for all the content as I prefer not to have a copyright breach letter dropping through my letterbox.
Anyhow, I get this email message today from You Tube:
“YouTube Help Centre | email options | report spam
Dear johnfishercook,
Your video, More Happy Quotes.mp4, may have content that is owned or licensed by Redeye Distribution.
No action is required on your part; however, if you’re interested in learning how this affects your video, please visit the Content ID Matches section of your account for more information.
Sincerely,
– The YouTube Team
©”
The videos are still on You Tube but they’ve been blanked on my Facebook page?
I made one video only a couple of days ago.
I paid for and used the music from Animoto and I guess this is where the problem lies.
Redeye Distribution is some sort of music distribution company( I guess this is the “old business model” referred to in the ACTA video) who are still trying to control the world.
Coincidence? Seems strange that my personal FB page is no longer allowed to show my own videos that I paid for – obviously guilty until proved innocent!
Strange that the message came from You Tube where the videos are still on view and not on Facebook where they are blanked out.
Are You Tube and Facebook good pals – don’t think so. Facebook buckling under before ACTA – probably.
I did reply to the url given in the email and guess what – I end up on a general You Tube page marked “Copyright” – nothing to click, no advice – nothing. Looks like a legal catchall.
Thinks? If I promote this disputed music and my video goes viral and everyone wants to know about the music, should I by looking for royalties from the artist or from Redeye for promotional expenses?
Cheers,
John
Matt, where would you recommend to get the article outsourced? Is ideal good?
Matt Carter Reply:
February 11th, 2012 at 4:12 pm
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I use Odesk.com
Great advice Matt. However, there is one more thing you need to add to the list.
Proof read and correct any errors in your article.
I picked up a couple of mistakes in your article – I know I’m picky – and that can affect the overall feeling of the content.
Otherwise, good advice taken on board. Thank you
Matt
I find that your open and direct commentary is always helpful. And it is generally timely too.
It is good to know that quality is the key for content rather than quantity. And while I cannot afford to pay the $40 per article that you mention I have used other services at a lesser rate.
Like others I found the the $5 article writers were not able to come up with the goods because both grammatical and comprehension issues occurred all the time.
Having just committed to SYNND after you recent webinar I am now a little concerned that their whole approach involves using spin tags in any text that is prepared for submission.
And I do not say this lightly because the one and only Bookmarking Campaign that I have run (very small) appears to have knocked my URL right out of the Webmaster listings – and it was averaging position 7.3 or thereabouts for quite some time.
So I am off to ask the question in their forum right after this reply
Interesting comments to this blog post.
Now lets evaluate this site. http://www.drudgereport.com/
P/R 7, Alexa Ranking 376, 117 pages indexed in Google.
Do you think it has original content?
Do you have to have a pretty site?
Cheers Bruce.
Matt Carter Reply:
February 11th, 2012 at 4:12 pm
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Druge report gets most of its traffic from direct traffic not Googl, and having a high PR doesn’t mean you rank well, nor does index count.
Bruce Stewart Reply:
February 12th, 2012 at 1:07 am
Thanks Matt for clearing that up for me I am learning all the time.
Matt, why don’t you do an interview webinar with Dr. Andy Williams, who created Web Content Studio? Talk about quality, Google-loved content.
Thanks Matt
I will keep this in mind I have actually just had a new site get a PR ranking and this is an experiment site with lots of good content and not ads on every page but information linking to reviews of the product with ads on the review page. I have 24 keywords ranking in the top 10 so Im waiting to see what happens.
Linda
Great information Matt. Looks like all of the above is in compliant to Big G. Tks alot.
I think the benefits of EMD are overrated in google by seopros and other unexperienced people. An aged domain with a good pr can easily out rank the EMD.
Make sure the #1 spot does not have the EMD for your keyword,otherwise it’s fine for you to use the domain you bought.
make sure as soon as you are bough a an aged domain, immediately set the whois settings to private, otherwise all benefit and pr will be lost.
Viviscal Reply:
February 12th, 2012 at 10:54 am
Thanks Jasjot,Actually the no. one position is an EMD but it’s the official site and I am not aiming to outrank it anyway.I wanna be in the first five results for my chosen keyword as it has sufficient searches.
Hey Matt – great post and I am so glad that the Big G is appearing to reward sites on content and originality. One thing that still bothers me however is backlinking. For me, I try and allow my sites and linking articles do the majority of my backlinking. I now and then add a few forum or blog post comments – good comments only of course but really it is only about 4 or 5 in total every few days and that is across all my sites.
What irks me is that all the strategies for improving traffic involve massive backlinking efforts ranging from automatic submitters, backlink services, social bookmarking, Fiverr gigs or spammy blog and forum commenting in massive quantities. In my opinion the absolute majority of these backlinks are of little value whatsoever for the site visitor and yet it seems that Google continues to reward those sites that have huge numbers of backlinks even though they are spammy and unnatural?
So many times I see the number 1 position in many niches and keywords taken up by crap content and minimal user value but surprise surprise… heaps of backlinks!
I am loving that Google is upping its quality standard but I wish they would take away the emphasis on backlinks or at least workout which ones are just pure crap driven by the hope of increasing traffic that don’t benefit the site visitor. Rant over! 🙂
Hi Matt
Is it necessary to buy adsense template for adsense site…for example like CRT Theme…are they really useful in ranking…?
There is a new software by the name of “SEO Link Monster” is this worth subscribing, it cost $147 every month…
Thanks Matt,
As always, you give the greatest advice. I have your Rapid Profit formula and I have to go through the updated version. Most People would just try to sell you a new Course, but you give more Value than anyone else I know of. Thanks!
Ann
Matt,
As always thanks for the updates and quality information. It really is reassuring to have you on my team keeping me up to date on what needs to be done, changed, adjusted, etc.
Keep up the good work!
Matt
Good points here Matt. Always have the reader in mind when building your website. Ask what else can I do to help the reader with what he is looking for on that page.
Hello Matt,
I am very new at AM and bought your Rapid Profit Formula. I truly am impresssed as to how you teach as I am a math tutor and have a good understanding of the process. I have registered a URL, have studied my niche and now am watching your new(updated) videos.
I plan to write my own content but want to know what format this blog is? Word Press? or ?.
Do you suggest I have a generic blog that links to all the sites I plan to build or have a blog specific to each site. Also, I found an EBook in my niche on ClickBank that I want to promote… do you recommend quoting from the book as teasers for potential buyers to go to that site? If not, what is the best way to promote the book as it relates to my site?
Is Rapid Writer still available? if so, what is cost?
I know you’re busy but I really would like response,
Talk soon, Allen
Matt Carter Reply:
February 12th, 2012 at 6:08 am
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Hi Allen
Good to see you getting stuck in, however my blog is not for support questions, please use the ticketing system.
Matt
Allen Cox Reply:
February 12th, 2012 at 7:54 am
Thks for the reply,
I have tried the ticket system in the past and got no reply…that is why I tried the blog.
I will try again as you requested,
Allen
Images, button, videos. I have none.
Thanks for the great advice.
I forgot that images is a great SEO tool too. I will start using images on my blog.
I want to have better content, I’m just not that good of a writer. I guess I need to either sharpen my writing skills or start hiring to good writers.
However, this is good news for freelance writers, because demand for better articles should increase their income.
This is high-quality content right here. Should have no problem ranking high in Google 🙂
Thanks for the insight into today’s search engines. I’ve been meaning to upgrade my content to provide a better experience for my readers and this article will provide extra motivation.
Hi Matt,
How do you go about doing your research if you are intending to write the content yourself but you don’t have any prior experience in the topic?
Thanks.
Edmund
Matt Carter Reply:
February 15th, 2012 at 2:37 pm
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Read lots!
Matt
Great post Matt but as well as good quality content I think it’s also true that you need more content than just 3 or 4 articles. Google seem to be not only looking at quality but quantity and the more authoritative sites rank better.
Hi Matt,
Good stuff. I had a site that was spanked to oblivion for too many crappy articles not written well or not relevant. Got rid of the lot of them and am now climbing back up. It’s a long road to hoe, would have been much better off with quality content to begin with. 40 bucks a pop is too rich for my blood, I’ll just have to type with me own fingers!
You are right about good content. I am attempting to put good content on my blog and submit the same to article directories also. I will continue to follow your blog and I appreciate the advice you have here.
Thanks
Scott Moore
Thank you for your advices, Matt, who gave me the strength and knowledge to try to earn my life from my writings on internet. Good continuation !
It takes at least an hour sometimes to write a good quality content post. Sometimes I can get it down to a half hour when I’m really inspired. I haven’t trusted anyone to write for me yet but I may give it try in the near future. If you don’t put it the time you’re not going to get good content. It’s that simple.
Good content and submit in quality article directories is the key
Great contribution Matt.
How do you think Google reacts to duplicate content on AF niche websites, in respect to “Disclaimer and Privacy Policy” pages.
Many of my sites [and my competitors] have pretty much the same basic pages, slightly changed to suit the particular product.
I have not appeared to suffer at the hands of Google. Have you?
In a perfect world we would make sure they are all “spun” but doing this to these pages is a thankless task.
Your thought….if you have a moment.
Cheers mate
I do agree with you Matt, quality is important. I’ve always had a hard time hiring a writer for my sites in the past, as the quality is mostly not good at all.
But I must say paying $40 for a single article is a bit steep for me. Nonetheless great article once more Matt.
One question Matt, I’ve heard you saying on your webinars that SEO is going out and social media is taking over.
With that said, is your seo course “SEO experts academy” still relevant? Do you still recommend we go buy it?
Hello Matt,
I want to take this time to say thanks for giving me the
opportunity to learn free affiliated marketing information from a pro. I am confident that this will be a positive start for me. I have a passion to do this and I know it will all happen for me in the future. Getting free expert advice is really saving me.
Thanks again!
Lucille
Hey Matt, great post, and I just went through the revamp of Rapid Profit Formula. You did an excelent job of updating the program. Thanks for staying on top of it. While most experts would just sell everyone a new program, you took the time to help your existing members. Thanks a lot.
I have recently had an adwords account suspended. Their reason was something about landing page but the reason was so broad I couldn’t figure it out. I think it has something to do with the content. Thanks for sharing all your knowledge, you’re great:)
Great post. I think the days of throwing up lousy content are limited. It may get you ranked a bit, but sooner or later Google seems to find a way to ‘clean house’ and keep their platform as ‘spam free’ as possible.
I believe in the long run, higher quality articles will fetch better returns on SEO efforts.