Creating content is about more than simply putting words on a page. Today’s content must be even more focused on in-depth examination of various topics or must provide original, useful facts or opinions. Tired, recycled content is simply not going to make the grade with algorithms of increasing complexity.
Google rocked the SEO world with its introduction of Panda, the cute name for a viciously difficult algorithmic process that promises to send some websites plummeting to the bottom of the SERPs or throw them off the pages altogether. Panda is Google’s quality content filter and it is merciless when it comes to demanding white-hat SEO and proven, ethical marketing content strategies.
However, Google did not just stop at punishing the wrongdoers. Positive reinforcement always gives the best long-term results, and Google intends to reward those who create great content. This is being done currently through the introduction of In-Depth Articles. Simply speaking, Google is now highlighting long-form content at least 2,000 words in length. This represents an increase of five times the amount of content generally considered a standard minimum at 400 words.
Of course, this does not just mean that you can simply write 2,000 words about something, post it on your website and sail to the top of the SERPs. Google is using other factors to help rank content as well such as headlines, alternative headlines, crawlable and indexable images, publication dates and a well-structured article body. Pagination schema should also be something to look into.
Most importantly, however, is the concept of evergreen content. Evergreen content is as fresh two years from now as today and addressees the inherent needs of an audience over time. This means a lot of research and addressing quality over quantity. It also means writing about ideas that are not only timely but are likely to stay timely; often this means basic concepts that have been written about over and over, further challenging the “freshness” and “originality” components of the content.
However, it is not impossible to write in-depth evergreen content. It simply takes dedication to research and editing until a piece is worthy to take its place and stand in as an “expert” resource on a particular topic or field. The goal is to build a content piece that becomes the standard reference in a particular niche.