This 6:36 minute video defines “engaging content,” what we at periscopeUP belive will be rewarded by Google. The transcription is available here. You can also scroll down for a regular blog post version.
What does Google mean by “good quality content” and how might we implement it on a website?
As with everything we do, the direction for this comes from Google’s own words. We go to the source when trying to understand Google’s definitions. The information for this post is coming from a few statements in this Google post about More Information On Building High Quality Sites.
You may already know that content needs to be unique and well-written, but the question Google is trying to answer when ranking a site is: Does the page provide substantial value when compared to other pages in search results? How does Google define substantial value?
There are two definitions in Google’s definition of a high quality site that we need to dissect:
- Are the topics driven by genuine interests of readers of the site…?
- Does the page provide substantial value when compared to other pages in search results?
In order to understand these ideas of “genuine interest” and “substantial value” I’d like to look at two
competing websites. Both have unique and quality content, but one, I think, Google will reward over the other.
The first site, www.CuisineSolutions.com is a great website for a great product, but it’s all about them:
When when you look at their content you might save yourself : this is good content, its unique, professionally written, authoritative. It’s great, right?
It may be great, but it’s not of “substantial value” and I don’t believe it will be linked, liked, or shared as much as with the next site we’re going to examine. Why? It’s about the company, not about the user. Even the navigation is our products, our chefs, our industries and the content itself is also all about us, right? It’s all about the company. You might say: isn’t that the purpose of a business website , to explain how
great your company is?
I’m going to argue differently. I think that a business website needs to be much more than a brochure. It needs to show how your product will solve my problem. In this case, my problem is that I don’t have time to cook gourmet meals.
This is not about you. This is about me. So can we make this about me please?
Let’s turn now to content that would be useful to me, helpful in improving my life. A site that does a good job of this, in my opinion is www.paperchef.com:
Even their navigation — recipes, articles, videos — is geared towards helping me, improving my life through the use of their product. Let’s look at the recipes: Apple cinnamon, papillote with cognac and red currants? Yum. I want to make that! I want to tweet that! I’m going to put my photos of it up on Facebook and brag that I made this recipe.
Their articles and videos accomplish the same thing. In Google’s words, this content is of genuine interest to the reader and provides substantial value. In other words, it’s “engaging.”
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