Something that dawned on me recently after watching videos and other information put out by Matt Cutts from Google, is that we as webmasters need to focus more on our “value add”. In this post I’ll explain exactly what this is and how to do it well, so your sites rank better.
What’s the Least Work I Can Do?
Info marketers are especially guilty of putting content on their sites as fast as they can with as little effort as possible to make money from it. One of the most common questions that I get asked is “how long does my content have to be?” which is often followed up by “can I get away with 500 words?”
When people ask me this I can immediately see that they have not adapted to the changes in the way online marketing has gone and in particular the way Google has gone.
What I mean is that a better question to ask yourself is “how can I make my content awesome?” and “what will make me stand out in this niche?” or “what is my value add?”
Matt Cutts from Google says “…They need to ask themselves what really is their value add?” Cutt’s also says that people should NOT expect sites with no value add to rank well in Google!
What is Value Add?
‘Value Add’ is something that differentiates you from other sites in the niche. I don’t know how Google can tell, but I assume they can and that they will only get better at working it out. Gone are the days where you can whip up a 500 word article, that you wrote in 30 mins after rewording the content from the 3-4 other sites on the front page of Google, doing that is essentially having no value add at all.
If you think of it from an offline perspective it’s like someone deciding to start a new business, let’s say for example in ‘car insurance’. They then set up the company and research what all the other companies are doing and offering and they do exactly the same and offer no point of difference whatsoever! They have the same old stuff that everyone else is peddling. Sure they might have some success, but not as much as they would if they differentiated themselves and had unique benefits.
Why do you think internet providers and electricity companies offer so many different packages, of what is essentially the same thing at the end of the day!
What’s This Got to Do With Websites?
So what does this have to do with affiliate marketing or any online marketing for that matter? Well Google does try and mimic the offline world as much as they can, as they know that what consumers like offline they will most likely also like to see online. With that said if all the results in Google were pretty much the same stuff just regurgitated then that would not make for a great user experience for Google users.
This comes back to the value add. I believe when planning our websites we need to be thinking of ways to make our sites awesome, ways to make them standout, so that people remember them and also so that Google can tell, even algorithmically, that our sites are offering something different for the user. Like I said I don’t know exactly how they can tell, but I think you can safely bet that they do know and will get better at working it out too.
When it comes to information sites, having a value add can be more difficult, as these sites are primarily text based, so the user experience is largely dependent on the text. However you could add things like tables, info graphics, videos, and of course make sure the content itself has unique elements to it.
I know some of you are probably thinking I’m hypocrite right now, as this post is predominantly text based. However like I said, this is something that I too am working out right now myself.
I’m sure there’s plenty of new ways to make content more unique than just text, and I would love to hear from you all in the comments below, as this is something that I’m spending time considering at the moment. My theory is that plane text sites are becoming less and less interesting to people these days, and this trend is only going to continue. Who knows, perhaps in 5-10 years people will find it humorous that most websites relied on text to communicate their message!
To summarize, I think we all should be thinking of what our value add is, and aim to make awesome sites, even if there were no search engines like Google to please anyway.
I look forward to hearing from you all in the comments below and am open to your feedback on this topic.
Related articles
Great article as ever Matt.
I have always gone for an original article and never limit the words as a factor, and never count the time it takes for any article.
I put a picture of the product in the article which becomes a video review when clicked.
Then I include at least one user review, and yet I don’t think all of this originality is recognized or appreciated by Google.
What more can one do to get recognition for the value add?
Matt Carter Reply:
July 26th, 2012 at 8:10 am
.
.
Good to hear Art
I’ve come to this same conclusion. One of the questions that I now ask myself after putting content on my site is, “if my mom came to this page, would she be proud of me?” And “would she want to come back tomorrow and read my site again?”
In the past, I have had entire websites that the answer was a resounding no. Did I make money on those, sure, for a little while, but then Google changes their algorithm and my attempts to cheat the system were over.
The bottom line for me now is putting something valuable and lasting instead of a momentary cheat.
Matt Carter Reply:
July 26th, 2012 at 8:10 am
.
.
Totally agree Andrew!
An interesting article about ‘really taking a good hard look at standing out’ in our niches. I guess we all need to take a look at ways to make things unique…inforgraphics and videos along side text perhaps?…I know I’ll be taking a good look to see what I can change on my websites..
Thanks Matt..
Great article Matt.
Hello Matt
One thing I am intrigued with is SEO. If you think I may be an expert then think again. I got a product some time ago and followed it and I rank with it still with keywords, although not quite as easily as early this year.
It is difficult! My guess is if you write good material from the heart with your own words and ideas you do better. Also quoting sites with the right mix and density and tagging pics with the videos etc.
There is a whole picture to it that needs study to succeed with it in my humble opinion.
A post like this wonderful one sure helps those struggling with it.
If you are fortunate to capture the right combination against the right competition, whammo!
The right backlinks are the difficult part. Jonothan Leger talks about getting the ipe address right. How do you know these things? There is so much to this subject.
Thanks Matt
Not only a great post in making a valuable website, but it also comes down to basic business principles. Being in the SEO business I have literally 1000s of competitors, not only is the content got to be spot on, but the ‘value added’ in terms of the services, business communication, and customer relation needs to also be above par to meet with demanding clients, and to stay on top of things in the industry. There are only so many artistic ways of describing ‘writing unique quality content’. Do you have any advice or tips which would help in standing out from the crowd?
You’re dead on… It’s the little thing that matter.. I believe you can get away with a 500 word document if that’s all it takes to cover the topic, but….
Adding video, pictures, etc is more important than ever and just plain out makes your site, post/page look better and gives a better end user experience.
I’m spending a lot of time going back and revamping sites I have and making sure I have a better multi-media presence.
Thanks for the post sir!
Good advice Matt. In a competitive environment regardless of the niche if visitors see your content and say “hey I’ve read this already” on your competitors sites how long are they going to stay on yours? Probably not too long so unless your content differs somewhat from everyone else is writing on the topic, whether it’s acne cures, hair loss treatments, or whatever, you are cheating yourself. I’m personally not convinced that there’s anything wrong with straight text articles. Too much window dressing with graphics tends to slow page loading so I usually go for one key article on a topic that includes a choice graphic or video then link to it in every other post on that topic. Checking where content might be ranking is too time consuming so I just check site stats (Jetpack) to see which posts are getting most visits.
Matt,
As always, you write very thoughtful posts and I appreciate it.
I think Value Add is really important but not for Google (although that’s useful, of course) but to the reader / consumer. I think of the reader / consumer before I consider Google (although I do check for keywords, etc..).
The problem, of course, is keeping the reader’s attention in our information-overloaded society. So making sure you do your best to understand your reader’s problems / interests and offer ways to help them will go a long way no matter what the media.
In my experience, video can work very well, especially in non-IM niches (but keep them to the point / relatively short). But I know readers to some of my sites prefer text. And if your blog posts / articles are long, you could also offer them as PDF downloads (or even better, get them to opt-in and offer a selection of your best / most read posts).
All the best, Andy
Matt
Thanks a lot for pointing this very important issue (value add) out to me. With the continue struggle to rank websites all the trusted info is appreciated. Knowing you and who you surround yourself with lets me trust this information.
A Big Thanks From the State of TEXAS
DJ
I totally agree with you, Matt. In the post-panda work, your content has to be unique and offer a tremendous value in information, not just a reworded or spun copy. One of the ways to add engagement to website copy is add to personalisation with humour to make it a more genuine content. With Google aggressively filtering only the cream of the crop, marketers have to decide for themselves if they want to be part of the cream!
Hi Matt,
I have been following you for awhile now and I absolutely love the way you run your business. You seem to be a real genuine person and an excellent role model in this industry.
You have certainly helped me shape up my blog. Thank you for the valuable information and keep up the good work my friend!
Take Care,
Chris
In planning your site, think primarily what would be in your site user’s experience – this is what Google is looking for. You have always stressed this, and continue to do so with the above post. A visitor to a website is looking for something useful (or of interest or value). Your blog has always provided useful and valuable information to your subscribers. Your continuing education has always stressed doing what is right for long term success. Many thanks.
Hi Matt
In a perfect world all interesting and informative websites would be on the first page of Google and all the scraped garbage would not even rank. The problem is collateral damage where good sites were swallowed along with bad, I agree with your post totally, but we are dealing with a business here that wants to increase it’s bottom line – that’s it.
The days or “do no evil” are gone, sadly.
Gail
If you look at the advent of tv you have to conclude that video is the way to go. We want it easy and video shows us information in a much friendlier way. It is more fun too as video is interactive and evokes emotion.
I’d like to leave my website but today I discovered that my domain name has been stolen. In consulting with the provider that set up my site, they say there is nothing I can do about it except to change it.
I always enjoy your articles. I’m getting ready to start writing for a new site and I feel like I have a mountain standing in front of me. There is so much to learn. It seems that it’s never ending.
It’s my website and write what I want and not what you should write for google. We seem a robot as we continue like this. The only internet marketer Who do not play with the top marketers and the secrets release.
Hi Matt,
We’ve touched on this topic a little bit in IM Super Elite. IM Super Elite is awesome for any one who is thinking about joining. I’ve learned so much and I’m still learning everyday, I’m not being paid to say this although I’m hoping to win member of the month some day. I guess its important that our value add reaches our target market. I continuously want to help the poor who can’t afford to be online or people who are not interested in my content. Thanks for everything Matt!
Fred Tappan
If anyone wants me to win member of the month please share this post with all of your friends. The prize is a 30min Skype meeting with Matt Carter one on one.
Hi Matt,
Great article, I think you are on the money with adding value, no matter what your niche is.
Its something that I have been focusing on for about 6 months ago now, and the good news it works a treat, and is more likely to be successful in the long term.
My customer always comment about the info I provide, and value adding content is also more likely to be socially shared.
One thing I do nowdays when writing about a topic, is to search that topic to see what currently ranks 1,2 or 3, and then ask myself how can I make this more valueable, more in depth (and maybe even write an entire series on the topic), and make this awesome.
Cheers,
Cade
I am new to the affiliate game and with all of the dust flying in the air right now may be a good thing. I believe delivering good content with the value added is of course an important step in building the relationship between product and customer. I know its a fine line between seo and user friendly site. Getting the two right at the same time is the tricky part. Building any type of relationship takes effort and time. So seo, wordcount, links and the kitchen sink are a true necessities but so is taking the time to build customer trust by being in it for the long haul. Hopefully then the customer will continue to come back for more just like they do at Walmart when they need their gallon of milk.
Software and Tools are always a great way to show value add. For example, maybe you have an awesome tool which adds more value to the Google keyword tool (or your own keyword tool).
It’s free to use, people just have to create a free account and log in to use it.
If it’s a good enough tool, you could be showing tons of repeat traffic to your site.
If your site is big enough, you could even have a chat area. Perhaps staff trained by you could be there to help others at any time. Kind of like a support for people who have questions.
Just some thoughts off the top of my head.
Thing is, what Matt Cutts is talking about is nothing new. Businesses always have to figure out their USP.
Content is a real challenge for all Internet marketers these days. I don’t think anyone really has the answer right now. I have found that regularly updated blogs are preferred by Google. It no longer helps to have the keyword in the domain although it has to appear somewhere on the site — on a page or a post especially. And content rich sites are preferred over thin sites. That’s very obvious. It is most difficult to take an old site that was in the top search results and has fallen out of favor and try to resurrect it. It almost pays to start all over again and hope you do things according to Google. I don’t really know if LSI works yet, but I’m trying. You certainly have hit the nail on the head, however. It seems that dynamic websites will be the winners out of all this Google mess. Affiliate marketers are going to finally have to work for their money.
Good post Matt,
I think ethically and in the long term, this was always the best strategy, and it will only become more important.
I really feel that this is such an important topic because everyone of us are affected by these Google updates.
There needs to be something a little more definitive like a checklist of 10 things that we can do to add value to each page.
Andrew Reply:
July 26th, 2012 at 11:32 pm
What you could do is do a search for your target topic and emulate the top results pages, for example this page on ‘How to Grow Potatoes’: mahalo.com/how-to-grow-potatoes/
-is an epic page, look at the facts section, the interlinking, the references throughout & at the bottom, the embeded videos, the social stuff, the readability of the text (easy to read/scan through), the headlines and bullet points, heck even the ads can serve as an added resource to this page.
Hi Matt. A question if I may. Your site uses predominantly text posts but I am willing to bet that due to the authority nature of the site, they rank quickly and well. I would also assume that it would rank for a range of keywords, either targeted or not due to your site’s positioning.
I suppose this question is, for this site or any authority one for that matter, is the extra work required to ‘pretty it up’ actually necessary.
I understand that for the end user that graphics and engaging material is better but from a google rankings view, will a sites power win out over these tweaks which google is now looking for.
Cheers Matt
spot on Matt…
I myself have been guilty of putting up thing content minisites in the past. At the same time I also had some sites where I put in the work of putting in awesome content. Ironically, these were the sites I did the least backlinking for and yet these seem to be the ones that did not waver in the face of neither panda nor penguin…
Andrew Hansen also did a blog post about a very related topic a few months back. I think it would be interesting to read right after this post here… he published it right after Panda I think. Here is the link…
http://andrewhansen.name/seo/case-study-how-new-factors-effect-your-rankings/
Asim
Great Work Matt,
I’ve been working my site for a couple of years now, and at times when I think I need to coop an artificial dead-line (that’s non-existent) pressures are created from within. It’s here that I believe that most of the problems come about where contents strictly concerned. That’s more to the point I suppose, Google may indeed not know for sure just exactly what their looking for at this point, as you pointed out if they don’t they will soon..! So I will continue to try and lay down the very best content I can for the moment. Care to all..!
Hey Matt,
First I would like to thank you for making the time to constantly write helpful info for us whom you don’t even know… you are more appreciated than you might realize.
I would love to give some feedback on a principle that has been working very well for me…
I have been utilizing a particular type of video content with my review websites that recommend affiliate products from say clickbank for example.
I create a short 1 to 2 minute video that I keep above the fold. The video tells a very quick story which is as follows:
1. It’s a HD video of me talking so people can see who I am and I briefly mention why I write these reviews. Using this style video has dramatically increased the time people stay on my page by an average of 642% based on the last 8 months stats of over 22 of my websites. This style of video seems to take away the subconscious belief that someone is hiding behind the website;
2. I mention briefly what the info below the video contains (usually 500 to 2000 words pending my what own research reveals. And yes I invest quality time doing real research which often means making phone calls to people listed as testimonials on products I am recommending);
3. I then ask for the consumer if they would be open to help me… If they choose to purchase one of the products I recommend after my review to please help me by clicking on the referral link from my website. If they do I will throw in something special valued at $20. This “special” will be a completely related bonus that has proven to be of value, not some PLR freebie or something I want to use as a filler.
4. Lastly I very quickly ask the listener to shoot me of an email that I will feature on the website if they think I provided a good review.
That’s about it… Yes I know this is additional work but it’s not all that time consuming once you get the hang of it and it has increased the conversions of affiliate sales for me considerably without having to spend a single dime more on traffic.
What Video Recorder To Use:
The best is to make sure you use a High Definition video recorder, not a cell phone. I use a Kodak Zi8 which I purchased from ebay for about $350. Don’t be afraid of putting your face online or how you look… I personally don’t have a good voice or face for video but it works. Dress neat and have your short 1 to 2 minute script memorized… you don’t want to be looking all over the place when making the video or shooting the video in an untidy spot as it makes you look like an amateur. It’s important you appear as an authority figure at what you are doing.
I may at some point share one of my affiliate sites here that utilizes this style of video just for an example but as you might imagine I really protect my personal websites.
All the best and I really hope this is helpful to someone…
Warmly,
Mark B
Sydney Australia.
Good posting as per usual Matt … and naaah I don’t think we would say you are a hypocrite when u pertained to the text and video based or text / video based sites. It’s only becoming the norm that people are generally getting more drawn to audio-visual material. It gets peoples’ attentions more quickly and they tend to stick around longer
Hi MAtt
As someone who likes writing I agree that even without Google stepping in, the internet is littered with basically no-value sites. The problem is-you don’t need to even know good grammar to make money and people like me (who actually have an English qualification) are struggling in some respects to get to the next level even though we could write a good article. By the way it’s “plain text sites”!
Great information as always Matt…thank you. You are the “king” of added value 🙂
Linda
Hi Matt, Thanks for the article great job as usual.
I don’t know how an article can be written in only 1/2 an hour like a lot of marketers tell you that they take, mine seem to take me all day, and sometimes the second day too.
I only write original content, although I must admit that is is difficult to keep comming with something new.
I proof read my articles several times, and each time I still find a way that it can be improved, so I don’t press the publish button untill I am happy with it.
I tend to include videos and sometimes pictures too, in other words I put my all into my work, therefore I only manage a couple of article a month.
Hi matt
If we talk about value, it is always difficult to produce a lot of great article in a bulk. How you do that in your marketing?
Should we write using keyword for SEO or just for Value / answer the visitor needs?
Thanks.
Hi Matt,
It strikes me that most internet marketers seem to think an internet business model is completely different from any other type of business model.
If you started a cake-making business and opened a store in a quite side street, do you really believe people will coming flooding into your shop without you giving them a compelling reason to do so?
And would you really expect to gain customers without spending any money on marketing your business? Sure, some people may drift in if they happen to be passing (i.e. free traffic) but you’ll gain considerably more business by pro-actively marketing (i.e. paying for advertising) an irresistible offer and reasons why they should patronise your business.
Please tell me if I’m wrong, but I get the distinct impression that the vast majority of Internet Marketers expect nothing but free traffic to build their business. This doesn’t happen in the off-line world and it sure as heck isn’t going to happen on-line.
Simon
Mark B Reply:
July 27th, 2012 at 1:23 pm
Hey Simon,
I agree with you that the ‘model’ is not different.
There are some side line differences (in my opinion) that people need to be aware off and when adjustments made from testing and measuring which is within the model will reveal the answers always.
So the model is the same yes… there are slightly differences in business types though (in my opinion based on experience of success and failure).
ON free traffic specifically SEO:
Many of my private clients initially believe natural search engine rankings are free but when I explain how they really aren’t they initially look puzzled.
We invest both time and money to rank on Google and other search engines so it is not free.
Thank you Simon for your post and I hope you don’t mind my small addition.
Mark
Good post with some interesting points Matt, (as per normal).
Personally, I add 2-3 optimized images into every post, add high PR non affiliate links to source material that I’m either elaborating or commenting on, as well as making sure I pose questions in each paragraph to promote interaction and feedback from readers.
Also, orignal source matter and ideas to write about have never been easier to find if you set up google alerts on hot trending and globally searched topics.
Hey Matt, great post as usual!
you said: “I know some of you are probably thinking I’m hypocrite right now, as this post is predominantly text based. However like I said, this is something that I too am working out right now myself.”
But I see many things on this page/site that add ‘value’ like:
Your products you offer.
An RSS feed.
Free Video Coaching Series.
An E-mail every time you post a new post.
The IM Super Elite Membership (a huge value).
A social community on Facebook.
Webinars,vids you put on the blog.
Reviews, How-Tos, case-studies.
And Value is added for you when we all post comments.
(I spent more time reading comments then I did reading your post lol)
Anyways hope others will see that value doesn’t just come in the form of text, value can be something as simple as an e-mail you send out to your subscribers to tell them about your new blog post.
.Andrew.
Matt Carter Reply:
July 27th, 2012 at 7:10 am
.
.
Thanks Andrew!
Great article Mat. It seems to be getting harder and harder to get a simple one product affiliate site ranked. After all there is only so much you can say about a single product. So even with great articles, graphics and video’s what else can you do?
With all the stuff Google’s being doing lately I’ve been getting a bit depressed and for the last few months almost given up on affiliate marketing.
Owen
Simon Reply:
July 27th, 2012 at 8:01 pm
Don’t give up Owen! Have you considered making your site larger by adding products closely related to your current product? The aim is to build your site into an authority on a niche subject area. Worth thinking about.
Simon
Matt, Fiverr is a great source for infographics if you’re not into making them yourself.
I haven’t found much help with these, although my sites tend to have plenty of rich media anyhow.
Hi Matt,
Your article is terrific. I am older than your mother but I liked this article as I have always liked your articles and webinars. I make time to watch them even if I am not watching the output of anyone else. I believe I get more value out of your work!
Thanks for writing,
Susan Coursey
Create a site you would want to visit yourself, being a self critic is not the easist of tasks so ask your nearest and dearest for an honest answer.
If they think you have created something they would wish to return to then you have achieved your aim.
Remember it is Joe Public that buys not Google so your aim is to please Joe.
Regards
Thank you Matt for the informative post. If you want to rank well in Google, it only makes sense to listen to what Matt Cutts from Google suggests for SEO.
Perhaps, a short bio of yourself and what benefit(s) the consumer will get from reading your content via video would help with length of time on site and the ‘trust’ factor.
Hello Matt,
Always appreciate your your online insight and willingness to share with us information that is valid and applicable.
Uniqueness and quality is the way of today’s’ marketing strategies.
Have a great day,
Shaefercd
Hey Matt.
Great information as usual!
This will make the Google experience better for all in the long run. But my question is this…how can anyone manage the time and expertise needed to become an authority on, and create authority content on more than just one site?
Your insite is appreciated.
It’s great to hear from someone in authority. My curiosity to learn something new everyday from a different perspective most specifically understanding and learning how to deal with Google’s algorithm changes , leads me to your site. Thanks a lot.
Hey Matt, wonderful post as usual man,
I want to ask you question about the Penguin update, I was making my Back-links as %20 (pictures and exact domain anchor text ) – %80 anchor text by the exact match Keyword/s that I’m targeting.
Now after Penguin what do you think is the right percentages I should use?
Thanks Man for your great support as usual.