Adventures in Quality Content: Writing the Great American Blog Post

Hello there savvy business owner. The last few years, you have labored to get a website up and running that shows a pretty good profile of your company and ranks well for searching customers.

Good work.

Now all you’re probably hearing is, “That’s not good enough. You need content. You need engagement, more pictures, content, tweets, high-fiber content, an Infographic-video-social-content-blogosaur!”


Oh boy. What’s this content craze? Well, it’s the true currency of the internet that people actually want; genuine information and entertainment that they can use.

But as with every industry enlightenment, there are those that misinterpret the message and trot out some well-intentioned, catastrophic mess.

Folks don’t want just any kind of content. They want content that has quality and purpose. If you’re trying to attract links, traffic, and ultimately customers, you need to add content to your site that passes both the quality and purpose tests.

Test 1: Quality
This test is at the very crux of Google’s recent algorithm updates. For too long, crappy content manipulated by scuzzy programmers was making its way to the top of search results. Not any longer. The people demand quality and Google has responded. It’s up to you to make sure your content is useful and never confused for filler, or even worse, spam.

Here are a few things to check your content for:

• Is it unique? Redundancy kills. Keep your content original and fresh. This will build your reputation as a current and creative leader in your field.
• Is it focused? A post that talks about cars as “good at moving people” is not going to be as useful as one that describes the difference between carburetors and fuel injectors.
• Is it polished? If it was true in your high school classes, it’s still true now. Edit your writing, align your pictures, tighten your videos. Exude professionalism and earn respect.

Test 2: Purpose
If its purpose isn’t clear, the highest quality content will seem like a diamond ring on a monkey’s paw; or in other words, random and weird. The content you create should serve a specific need and reflect an author that is aware of the industry environment and deliberate with all output onto the Internet.

Check your content with these questions:

• Is there an audience in mind? The answer to this question can shape the tone, direction, and impact of an entire content campaign. The absence of an answer can derail a project before it even gets started.
• Is it educating or entertaining? Usually, your original content will do one of these. If you’re really ambitious, it can do both. Keep in mind what the underlying goal is for your audience and stay on task.
• Is it relevant? Your content should fit within the logic of your site. An amazing, high-quality, purposeful analysis of cinematography as influenced by socio-economic perspective will feel out of place on a web site that sells little hats for cats. And vice versa.

By running your content through these initial tests, you should avoid getting caught up in the harried craze of content marketing and produce quality, purposeful material for your site that generates traffic and potential customers. To amend a popular saying, think before you post, and your diligence will not go unrecognized.

Sam Mock is an SEO Content Specialist at Chicago Style SEO, a full service Internet marketing firm. He is particularly interested in the growing importance of writers in shaping the Internet.