Do You Know Good Content When You See It?

Did you know? Have you heard? Content is king! While that is hardly an original sentiment, it really is true. The days of shady link building, key word peppering, and unethical SEO are over. The days of hiding behind strategy are over. If you want to get noticed, now you actually have to be noticeable. Having good quality content to interest readers and draw a following is the way to do it. Here’s how you know if your content is going to get the job done.

Good Content Has No Hidden Motive

Don’t make a sales pitch. Don’t write 500 words about your own product. Don’t talk about how great you are. Don’t pepper every sentence with the same keyword. If you really want to include a brief intro to yourself with a link at the bottom of the post then you may, but only if what precedes it is really and truly valuable. 

Content marketing is counter-intuitive. If you want to gain any benefit from it, you are going to have to ignore your own needs and focus on the needs of your audience. Give them some valuable information. Entertain them. Teach them something. You wouldn’t go to a party and spend the entire time promoting your business. You wouldn’t find a way to incorporate a phrase like “lead generation” into every sentence. Don’t do it online either. 

Good Content Incites Action

The entire point of creating content is to entice people to share it. Here are a few questions to ask yourself before publishing:

-Is my content readable? Do I have proper grammar? Am I clear and concise? Am I conversational? 
-Is my website user friendly and visually appealing? 
-Would I want to share this with my friends? Would I find this interesting if I didn’t write it? 

-Is this a tired subject? If it is commonly discussed, have I said something unique? 

-Am I either helpful or entertaining?

Keep records of highly shared content and content that flopped. Spend time thinking about why one worked and one didn’t. Content marketing isn’t an exact science. It involves some experimentation. 

The final indicator of good content is this: Does it provide value or just clutter up the internet. If you can give value to your audience through your content for free, then you will create loyalty as well as increase your visibility. 

photo credit: Olivander via photopin cc