SEO tip from Google: Focus on content

Google has released a blog post offering marketers “more guidance on building high-quality sites,” and the key takeaway is that quality content is most important. As Brafton has reported, the company's Panda update is focused on providing high-quality results to Google searchers. Now it is offering insight to marketers on how to turn out high-quality sites that will be relevant to online audiences and organically come out on top in rankings.

High-quality sites, Google says, are those that spare searchers from low-quality content. The company's algorithm ensures high rankings for brands that boast good content, and Google sheds light on how it is algorithmically assessing websites. The types of quality questions marketers should ask themselves when trying to plan search engine optimization for the algorithm become synonymous with the challenges of making sites relevant to online audiences.

Some of the questions Google offers marketers to help them get into the right SEO mindset include, “Would you trust the information presented in this article?” and “Does the article provide original content or information, original reporting, original research or original analysis?”

Content of a high editorial caliber is obviously a necessity, as Google suggests marketers consider the question, “Would you expect to see this article in a printed magazine, encyclopedia or book?” With this kind of benchmark in mind, it makes sense that a number of B2B marketers are turning to journalists for content marketing assistance.

Ultimately, Google seems to indicate that SEO is nothing without a quality content marketing plan. “Our advice for publishers continues to be to focus on delivering the best possible user experience on your websites and not to focus too much on what they think are Google’s current ranking algorithms or signals,” the company says.

Content marketing is poised to be a priority for a number of brands this year. As Brafton has reported, 78 percent of marketers say content is key to the success of their organizations.