High-quality content is now the biggest concern of online marketers. We have Google to thank in part for their recent Panda/Farmer update. And I’d also like to think that website owners are reaching a maturity level where it’s understood that their readers want more high-quality content to help in their research and buying process.
What makes content high-quality? I am thinking out loud a bit here, but I would say that high-quality content writing must be:
Original content that’s not found elsewhere.
This applies to the wording in your content, but it also applies to the topic and thinking expressed on your website or in your online article. It’s too easy for people to swipe content and simply reword it for posting on their own sites. Sure, referencing other articles and quoting them in part is fine. But give it your own perspective, make it relevant for your own audience. That’s where the real quality comes from.
Authoritative. Accurate in statements and facts.
I see this all the time from SEO writers who do a high volume of work – they don’t fully understand the nuances contained in the original articles they reference, and meanings end up changed in their efforts to reword and rewrite. High-quality content requires the writer take the time to fully understand the topic.
High-quality writing is also personal.
This is my philosophy. I think high-quality copywriting must bring a topic closer to the reader. It must make it personal, even if it’s for a dry, industrial topic. It’s a person who is reading your content, remember.
Employs keywords wisely. Naturally.
You want to know which keywords you’re targeting, probably 1-3 per page, and then use them as they should naturally occur. Otherwise, you’re missing out on SEO opportunities.
And did you know that seeing the search term used in their query can also help put the reader at ease? If you searched on “high quality content writing” and landed here, you probably felt like you landed in the right place when you saw that term used on this page, right?
Grammatically correct. Free of typos.
By now this is a no-brainer. High-quality content requires a certain level of proficiency in grammar, word usage, spelling and so forth. This is particularly painful for people who don’t write for a living. And even for some copywriters. And I’m probably getting myself in trouble here, as I will surely have some sort of typo in this post. Yet if I’m writing a website for a client, every page I submit goes through a barrage of proofing. I’ll save those details for another post…
Anything I’ve missed here? What do you think makes for high-quality writing?
Hi Lisa,
“What is high-quality writing?” Being a content writer/editor myself, I often find myself trying to answer this question, especially when marketing my business, and have even asked this question publicly on high traffic IM forums. Based on the feedback, the general consensus amongst top writers is that high-quality content is in a big way ‘whatever the reader perceives it to be.’ And while I agree with this to some extent, I still feel that quality writing is in fact characterized by a set group of features, so to speak; some of which you’ve touched on in this post. I especially agree with your first point; personalizing content certainly brings out the quality in one’s copy. Anyway, thanks for the great post. Regards.
Hey Lisa,
You have explained very well how to write quality content. Thanks!
Hi IWT, you’re most welcome. 🙂