What is Quality Content? – Let’s Go!
Search engines, especially Google, are known to change their algorithms every now and then. In fact, you can even track these changes using tools like MozCast or SERP Metrics. One such recent change was the movement towards “quality content” and away from “link building”. This has led many marketers and website owners to ask what exactly does Google mean by quality content? In this article we’ll look at how Google defines quality content as well as how it affects your rankings.
READ: WHAT IS SEO / SEARCH ENGINE OPTIMIZATION?
Google’s definition of quality content
Quality content is any content that provides an answer to a searcher’s question and meets the needs of your audience. When you’re writing, ask yourself if you would find the article helpful in answering your own question. If not, why should anyone else?
Google also says that quality content has the following characteristics:
- It’s useful. You can use this as a guideline for what makes good content: Is it useful? Would someone who reads it be able to complete a task or learn something new after reading?
- It’s accurate and trustworthy. The best way to measure accuracy is by fact checking the information with other sources (not just Google), but another way is by understanding where research sources come from before using them in your writing so that you know how reliable they are going into it.
- It’s engaging. This means that people will want to read your article because they care about what you have written about – not just because they’re looking for an answer on Google.
Quality content also looks at your website structure and UX (user experience)
Google has also made it clear that a site’s structure and user experience (UX) are important for a page to rank well. As you create your content, keep these tips in mind:
- Use a grid layout
- Use headings and subheadings
- Use images and videos wherever possible to boost engagement with the page
- Keep navigation simple, clear and consistent across all pages
To keep your visitors engaged, ensure that they can easily navigate your website. If a visitor is browsing on a mobile device at work and then continues browsing from home or on their commute, make sure the site looks the same in each environment.
READ: What Is Google’s E-A-T SEO Algorithm And How It Affects Your Rankings
Linking and Google’s quality content definition
When it comes to links and Google’s quality content definition, there are a few things you can do to help your content rank better. First, make sure that the sites linking to you are high authority websites with a lot of traffic. Second, make sure that the pages linking back to your page have relevant information about yours (i.e., if one of your pages is about dog training in Denver, then it makes sense for another page on the same site about pug puppies in Sacramento). Finally, try not to link back from many different places on a single page—this is called “link spamming” and will lower the value of all links pointing toward that page.
“Topical authority” and quality content
Google’s definition of quality content has several elements. One such element is topical authority. What is this, exactly? It’s the concept of having a lot of people link to your website because they consider it to be authoritative on a specific topic or subject.
The best way to build topical authority is by creating content that focuses on one specific topic and writing articles on that topic, then linking back to other related articles when relevant in the body text of your page. This allows Google know that you have expertise in this area, which will help them rank your page higher than those who haven’t created as much content on their site around a certain topic or subject matter.
You can measure how much topical authority you have with metrics like Domain Authority (DA) and Page Authority (PA). You can get these metrics by running an SEO report for your website through tools like Screaming Frog or Ahrefs Site Explorer; these reports will tell you where all the links are coming from and what types of sites they belong too (i.e., whether they’re trustworthy sites vs spammy ones).
Quality content or just helpful?
Google’s definition of quality content is:
- Helpful to users
- Original and unique
- Accurate, reliable information
What is quality content? Quality content is what’s most important. Users come to Google (and other search engines) to find answers or helpful information. Quality content should be well-written, provide accurate information, and be of value to the reader. A post about “How To Make Your Own Chicken Soup” could be considered quality if it provides a step-by-step guide using ingredients that are easy for everyone to find in their local grocery store.
It’s important for businesses to show that they are experts in their field to rank highly on Google.
You need to show that you are an expert in your field if you want to rank highly on Google.
Good content is the key to achieving high search engine rankings, and Google rewards good content with high rankings, which means more traffic and conversions for businesses!
Google wants to show the best content to its users so it can offer them a better experience. The higher quality your website is, the more likely it will be ranked highly by Google.
Conclusion
Quality content means well-researched, well-written, and ultimately useful information. It’s not just the words on a page—it’s also how they’re presented to readers and your website structure. Google wants to reward this type of content creation because it helps make Google search more useful for its users.
If you need help with content creation or your website structure, we can help! We can create an online marketing plan that will help you engage and convert your users.
