Don’t over optimize. Don’t buy links. Be a good boy and go build “GREAT CONTENT”. I have heard this for years and years and years in this field. “Build great content and they will come”. Build great content and now they will share it via Social Media. Build great content and Google will love you and rank you high and you will live happily ever after if you just…build….GREAT CONTENT!
So why wouldn’t you? Why not build great content and watch the world beat a path to your Internet door. Let me go start.
Ohhhhh wait. I sell “xxxxx”. A boring dull old tired “me too” commodity or service. Ok…wait….I know what you are thinking. I am just not creative enough…or smart enough or enough of a wordsmith to create great content. Someone else will build it and THEY will win. Really? Really?
So let’s take a real world example.
A client sells UPS Replacement batteries. Very exciting. A few facts.
-Domain has been registered for over 10 years.
-The site was one of the first Internet resellers and has always done well in the SERPS based on best SEO practices and being online early.
-No link buying was done and most links were obtained via Distributors and resellers linking back to the site.
-Focused on “part number type” keywords and regularly enjoyed thousands of visits a month.
-Competition was largely other early Internet battery resellers.
Now we switch to a “Post-Panda” world. Today, traffic has almost halved. And the SERP’s are dominated by “big Brand Name” sellers such as Amazon, Staples, eBay, CompUsa, Newegg, TigerDirect and the like.
It is all brand name ranking and most of it with inferior and thin content. They rank because the are big names and big brands with big sites and lots of links and advantages. SO where do we go from here? How much can we wax poetic on a sealed lead acid battery when most batteries have the same spec and features. What great content can we legitimately produce?
And let’s consider the “Visitor” we are targeting as well? What does he want?
-Find info quickly
-Quick and easy to purchase.
-But this commodity and move on down his to-do list
He does not want to be entertained or educated beyond the basics of is it the “right battery”. Our analytics tell us that usually happens in under a minute before buying or leaving which seems average.
So I sincerely ask:
-How will great content save us and what is it?
-Can we compete against the big brands that now own the SEPRPS?
-We have updated all our specs and expanded technical info to no avail.
So that great content. What is it? What will make people want to share and shout about something they might buy every 2 years in about 2 minutes? I am not trying to whine and I am working hard not to be facetious. But what is the “great content” that you speak of?