When it comes to content development, what exactly is content? Far to much emphasis is placed simply on the article or post with arguments still continuing as to how many keywords you should have, where they are placed and the optimising of images and video.
In reality, content is everything that is contained within a page. From the header to the footer, an article or post, sidebars if you have them, advertising and links. I get a little tired reading about whether you should write for the user or for the search engine. The bottom line is, you write for your visitors – both human and robot.
You could have a page that is SEO perfect when it comes to keyword optimisation; perfect headings and titles; optimised URL’s; and appropriate META tags. However, the page could look dreadful to a visitor with ads cluttering the content to the point it makes it unreadable; links, particularly those colored paid links that expand whenever the mouse gets too close; and meaningless graphics or videos. The written words themselves could be meaningless.
For the search engine robot, the same could be true. The content is great but getting to the content is hard work for the spider. The use of tables, flash and many other programming tricks can often stop the spider dead in tracks – the only option then is to quit and move onto another site.
Content should be developed using a holistic process. If you have a blog, start with a clean slate and stand back and look at the page. Once content is added, is that the primary attraction, or are the visitors eyes dragged all over the place. Whether it is a blog or a web site, minimalist seems to be the preference these days. The KIS principle still rules – Keep It Simple.
Create content that is easily spidered by the search engines and you’re on the road to ranking well. Optimise that content for keywords and you will rank well.
The argument about whether or not content is king and who you should write for is dead and should be buried. But then – maybe the argument has always been wrong to start with – its not the content that is king – it is the visitor – both human and robot. Time for a new headline:
The Visitor Is The King – Feed It Well
Now, if we provide content to that philosophy – how could we go wrong?
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