Is Content Still King?

[TransferMan]

I wondered the same.

Rarely use Bing but have made it my default SE on one of my browsers (on a laptop) as a test. Seems to me finding your page out of 34 results vs 296,038 is a good thing, but perhaps it is just wishful thinking.

Google seems to distort the results, showing my pages higher (especially those shared on Google+) higher than when I switch browsers from Chrome (my default) to FF or IE. It's almost like Google wants me to actually believe I am better than I really am.

Or something like that . . .

That's Google's search history feature affecting the search results you see. Unless you disable it (or do whatever you're supposed to do -- I can't remember), Google will try their best to give you search results Google thinks you want to see.

A lot of people often search for their own website and then click on the listing. Google thinks of this as an indication that you like the/your site -- and will accordingly show your site higher in search results -- they're trying to please you based on your browsing habits.

A lot of people don't know it, but everybody doing a search on Google is technically getting a "custom" search result based on their search history (unless they disable the feature).
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Something you all might want to know is that, on average, sources say that only 7% of the backlinks you create ever do get crawled. There is actually a sub-industry (or whatever you want to call it) that offers services designed to help you get your backlinks indexed.

Also important to note is that backlinks get crawled over an extended period of time that can encompass months. In addition, not all search engines crawl the same backlinks.

 

[RockyTop]

Which is better for high vis SERP? Good content or offsite "SEO" with links? Will good content automatically generate quality links or does it need . . . encouragement? Are RSS feeds worthwhile? Are any better than others?

My sites automatically notify pingomatic on updates. Is this useful or are there better services?

How do you get picked up by Google reader for inclusion in their daily feeds? Does Bing have a similar feed?

I have been getting frustrated with Google searches which seems to have a page 1 crowd of paid results and the most annoying captcha when you want to modify your search or even view page 2 results.

Bing seems to provider fewer results (often less than 30) vs thousands with Google for the same search term. Is this good or bad (other than the fact that Google is dominant)?

Content will always be king! Your article on you main page should be at least 1000 words targeting your 2 main keywords and very well written.

Websites have to have a privacy and terms web page as well as contact and about pages. Sites with 4 - 1000 or higher word articles and at least 6 - 400 word articles tend to do better.

You need your articles to match your targeted keywords. Lets day you have a really good article about Life Insurance. Trying to rank for that is not going to happen as a local agent. You have to get local. Like "Buy Life Insurance Dallas Tx" or "Life Insurance agents reviews dallas tx"
Use Google adwords tool to look up keywords for your market and find what people are looking for AND ALWAYS USE EXACT MATCH! It's an option on the left. Unselect BROAD. You want to know how many people are typing in your keyword on average monthly. You would be surprised at the results.

I use wordpress and add social plug ins so people can share them and like them and read them and so on.

You can rank video faster than articles. You can get traffic from press releases. You have to mix it up.

Hope this helps.

 

[marcus118]

Content will ALWAYS be king in online marketing. If you can put out more value in the form of content than your neighbor, you'll win every time.

 

[JohnWalker]

Content is NOT king links are. Google finds content through links. Until the www goes away links will always be king. links are how the search engines crawl the web to find your content. Now the most common way to build links is with good content but good content is not necessary for building links. Google determines if your content is good by the quality of links pointing to it. You can easily turn crap content into high authority content with the right links and the right author. Is it an effective strategy to make crap content authoritative? Probably not but it can be done. Bottom line is if nobody got links from content, most sites would never create it. Any commercial use site would just be a series of landing or product pages.

 

[Insurancetechhead]

Which is better for high vis SERP? Good content or offsite "SEO" with links? Will good content automatically generate quality links or does it need . . . encouragement? Are RSS feeds worthwhile? Are any better than others?

My sites automatically notify pingomatic on updates. Is this useful or are there better services?

How do you get picked up by Google reader for inclusion in their daily feeds? Does Bing have a similar feed?

I have been getting frustrated with Google searches which seems to have a page 1 crowd of paid results and the most annoying captcha when you want to modify your search or even view page 2 results.

Bing seems to provider fewer results (often less than 30) vs thousands with Google for the same search term. Is this good or bad (other than the fact that Google is dominant)?

I think the real question is what is your overall inbound strategy? If the only tactic someone is deploying in their inbound strategy is SERP results then Johnny is 100% correct. But it really depend on the niche and what the most bang for your inbound buck is. If I had a pie made of inbound marketing it would be made with Content, PPC, SEO, Email Marketing, Affiliate Marketing. Backlinks are really only important for 1 of these tactics. But content is important for all. At least for us.

Take our business for instance, We operate in a pretty niche market (Get ready for the plug) We build sites then help agents create inbound marketing using that system to generate leads. Really not a lot of searches for that, The competition is not too fierce but when we added everything up It made more sense for us to create a content marketing strategy that was based around education, our blog, Social distribution and partnerships then it was on hardcore link building.

I just read this really great article in smashing magazine with a quote "A great design without content in mind is just a bunch pretty images" Its true for webdesign and its true when we lay the bricks of our efforts on the designs of our marketing.

In conclusion, don't forget the other pieces of the inbound pie or someone else will eat them.

 

[JohnWalker]

I think the real question is what is your overall inbound strategy? If the only tactic someone is deploying in their inbound strategy is SERP results then Johnny is 100% correct. But it really depend on the niche and what the most bang for your inbound buck is. If I had a pie made of inbound marketing it would be made with Content, PPC, SEO, Email Marketing, Affiliate Marketing. Backlinks are really only important for 1 of these tactics. But content is important for all. At least for us.

You probably just don't know how to build links that generate referral traffic. My most recent link building campaign has actually netted me more referral traffic than they have generated me SERP traffic. This means people actually click on the links I build, get quotes, and buy policies. I'm basically getting both a referral source and an organic SERP boost. All these links are traffic driving so regardless of how the search engine feels about them, I generate more traffic just having the links than all of my organic keyword traffic.

Take our business for instance, We operate in a pretty niche market (Get ready for the plug) We build sites then help agents create inbound marketing using that system to generate leads. Really not a lot of searches for that, The competition is not too fierce but when we added everything up It made more sense for us to create a content marketing strategy that was based around education, our blog, Social distribution and partnerships then it was on hardcore link building.

Now I'm curious how do people find this blog of yours or your content? Let me guess either they don't because your website looks like it has little to no links or social interaction on it, or you have to continusly put it in front of them by trying to be an expert on sites like insurance forums. Which by the way, I'm curious how well has that strategy been working out for you? Have you made any ROI on your time here at IF .

 

[Insurancetechhead]

No one is saying the links you build are worthless, I am sure you are a very competent SEO, I am not saying SEO is not a good idea. Link building is important. So is drinking water. Drink to much and your brain swells.

However blindly building links without sitting down and thinking out what your actual strategy will be, what course your customers will take to get the sale, that is a bad idea.

Because the searches for our type of service is so small compared to the number of operating agents, and the learning curve so long, education, email list building & social distribution not forced link building for top serp results is our strategy. When people come to us for demo's it is important to us they feel comfortable and ready to take part in a serious & informed discussion. So when we go to the whiteboard and map out our early adapter customers paths then compare our ROI for each tactic we use...well for us when we run the race it just makes more sense to eat a balance breakfast then it does to drink 10 gallons of water.

As for directories I think there may be a misconception as to what I meant by that. When I say directory I am not talking about general web directories. However to compete successfully on a local level not just in serps but in referral &or socially acceptable traffic local citation directories such as yelp where you have the opportunity to get reviews and be "active" on a local level.

However we are not SEOs nor do we wish to be, not our niche straight SEO. We do believe you should put content over link building to earn rather then force build links, but don't take our word for it, take Rand Fishkins from SEOmoz

The Death of Link Building and the Rebirth of Link Earning - Whiteboard Friday | SEOmoz

 

[YouGotMyMoney]

InsuranceBeanStalk, since you just said "we are not SEOs", I hope that means you will agree you are clueless when it comes to SEO on "da street"..

 

[JohnWalker]

However we are not SEOs nor do we wish to be

It's funny how the first service listed on your main navigation is "local seo"

The Death of Link Building and the Rebirth of Link Earning - Whiteboard Friday | SEOmoz

Rand is talking about earning links over building links I am saying its still links.

 

[Insurancetechhead]

InsuranceBeanStalk, since you just said "we are not SEOs", I hope that means you will agree you are clueless when it comes to SEO on "da street"..

Clueless no, my companies job is to get agents online, get them generating leads, then making sure they are nurtured and automated until they are closed. That includes Local SEO. We do not however contract for just seo. We do not offer generic link building. I am sure you know more about SEO then I do, you have an incredible reputation on the forum.

Content and SEO cross paths in today's marketing environment, when a company has finite resources they need to ask themselves which would make more sense for ROI. Stright seo or lead capture ebook, article or kit that generates email marketing lists through targeted PPC (not adwords or adcenter).
Each situation is different, in the end I stand by my original position, Content comes first, after that its how you wield the sword.