What Makes Great Content?

In this session from conductor's, SEO Bootcamp, let's talk through what makes great content.

At its very core, great content is helpful, reliable, and people. First, Google actually provides a great article on its developer site with lots of self-assessment questions to help you ensure your content is meeting the highest standards. You can check it out at the link below, but let's dive into the basic concepts to keep in mind.

Great content is people-first. The key is to focus on creating content primarily for users, not for search engines. It should be engaging, informative, and valuable to the target audience.

Content should demonstrate both expertise and trustworthiness, including accurate. Well, research information and citing reputable sources regularly update your content to maintain its relevance and accuracy.

Great content has a clear purpose and focus. Each content piece should fulfill a user's needs, and you should avoid covering too many topics with no clear focus.

Content should also provide unique insights and perspectives and not be duplicated or rewritten from existing content without adding substantial new value.

User experience is also important. Content should be easy to read and navigate with clear headings, concise paragraphs, and visual aids to enhance understanding.

Great content addresses all aspects of the topic thoroughly and answers potential questions users might have about the subject matter.

Following SEO best practices like using relevant keywords naturally within the content, optimizing page elements and ensuring it's mobile friendly is also important to keep in mind.

And lastly, avoid manipulative practices at all costs. Great content does not use misleading or clickbait. Titles isn't keyword stuffed and doesn't promise something that it does not deliver.

I know this seems like a lot, but if there's anything to retain from all these guidelines, it's this first one here.

The importance of understanding the needs of your customers can't be overstated when you anticipate what they need from you. You can create content to meet those needs even before they realize they have the need. Connect to them with targeted findable content based on questions, pain points, and any feedback you collect.

Content marketing works best when the strategy is centered around delivering the right content to the right audience at the right time. This means creating content for each stage of the sales cycle, awareness, consideration, and decision or conversion, and distributing this content where your audience is looking for it. By providing valuable content for each stage in the sales cycle, you're able to answer customer questions, solve their pain points, and educate them, and finally show why your product or service is the best option for their needs.