Today I’m faced with a difficult task. I wanted to title this blog post “Your Content Sucks!” but headlines like that really offend me. If I got an email like that from a marketer, my hackles would go up and my response would be, “No, my content does not suck! You don’t even know me!” Delete! I would never get to read their message or find out what their solution was. So, instead, I chose an inoffensive headline that might not be as effective, marketing-wise, but hopefully left your hackles in place. (Besides, I’m Canadian… we’re polite!)

So, what is the “difficult task” I’m faced with today? Well, I have to tell you, most people’s content does s-u-c-k. And most people don’t know that it s-u-c-k-s. So they can’t understand why their Web site is not on the first page of Google and why they aren’t getting a flood of traffic. I see it in the XSitePro forum all the time. “Why isn’t my Web site on the first page of Google?”

When I take a look at these sites, I’m often appalled at how terrible the content is. Sometimes there’s a ton of unique content, too, which should earn the site a lot of brownie points from Google. Right? Nope! Google isn’t just about content, per se. It’s about GREAT content. VALUABLE content. LIKABLE content. READABLE content. LINK-WORTHY content. SHARE-WORTHY content.

It’s about freely-given, well-written, honest, thoughtful and intelligent content. No spelling mistakes, no grammar gaffs, no awkward sentence structure, no glaring typos! It’s about the proper use of headings, bullet points and whitespace. It’s about content that’s written to inform, to entertain, and to give people something from your heart, your mind and your soul, not from your money-grubbing marketing mouth.

There, I’ve said it!

Affiliate Web Sites Are Often the Biggest Offenders…

I must admit I have a couple of affiliate Web sites populated with PLR articles. I’m not proud of them and they don’t make me much money. The affiliate sites that make me money are the ones populated with my own well-researched, well-written, thoughtful content. (Go figure!)

By the way, if you’re building product review sites (still the most lucrative affiliate marketing model, by the way), your reviews MUST be real and honest or Google will slap you silly! (That’s one of the things that happened during the recent Google Panda updates.)

But What About Bricks-and-Mortar Businesses?

Bricks-and-mortar businesses often tell me they want a five-page Web site that will show up on the first page of Google. Their Web pages typically include: home, about us, contact us, photo gallery, privacy policy. All I can say is, be prepared to spend at least $1500 a month on my SEO services. Still no guarantees, of course, unless maybe you’re the only game in town.

Please, business owners, find someone to help you write content… good, honest, useful, content! This can include tips, tutorials, reports, whitepapers, informational articles, how-to articles, demonstrations, detailed product descriptions, industry information, upcoming events, anecdotes, etc. Add press releases, newsletter issues, and any other off-site content to your site, too. Make your content friendly and informative; leave your corporate voice in the boardroom. People want to be entertained a little bit, even on a business Web site.

Truthfully now, if this article were as dry as dust, would you still be reading it? (Note: The verb “were” is used here because it’s in a conditional clause. If grammar isn’t your thing, there are inexpensive Virtual Assistants out there who will polish your writing and make it shine.)

Online Businesses Can Shine, Too!

While my XSitePro Designs site isn’t a bricks-and-mortar business, in that I don’t have an office downtown, I do make a full-time living from it. And, because I share a ton of freely-given, valuable, well-researched, well-written tips, Google loves that site. It’s typically #1 in Google for my main keyword phrase “xsitepro templates.” That’s not really a surprise, folks! It took a lot of hard work, it took thought, it took a deep understanding of my clientele, and it took time.

And I am still slowly, slowly building my tiny empire: http://www.xsiteprotemplates.com, http://www.xsiteproreviewtemplates.com, http://www.xsiteprosalesletters.com, http://www.xsiteproinsidersguide.com. I also own xsiteproseo.net, but I haven’t put a site on that domain yet (it forwards to xsiteprodesigns.com). The site is coming… but the XSitePro SEO services already exist. When my clients started asking for full-blown SEO services — above and beyond the usual tweaks to XSitePro — I decided I’d better make those services available! Why?

It’s All About Added Value… and That Applies to Your Content, As Well!

Let’s say you’re a Seattle dentist. You toss a one-page Web site up on the Internet with your contact information on it. What happens next? Not much. The only good it will do is when a patient you already have gets lost on the way to your office. Since they already know your business name, they can (probably) find your site on their iPhone and get the address again.

If someone is shopping for a Seattle dentist, however, you’re going to be hooped compared to the site full of testimonials, before-and-after photos, self-help ideas and reassuring articles explaining their techniques, services and specialties. You have your address and phone number, they have articles like, “How to prepare your child for their first visit to the dentist,” “Three early signs of gum disease you can easily treat at home,” “How poor dental health is killing Seattle seniors,” etc. Which site do you think Google is going to pull up first in the search engine results? Not yours, that’s for sure!

Now, let’s take a different scenario. Let’s say you both have a bunch of content on your sites, but your site is much better written, thoughtful and carefully researched. Let’s say your site includes clear, helpful diagrams and stunning photos, and cites all the proper references. Let’s say your writing tone is friendly, you have an easy style and you add some gentle humour where appropriate. Let’s say your grammar and spelling are exemplary.

Don’t you think people finding your site will be thrilled and will pass your site on to others? Of course…

But, wait! Google knows all these things, too!

Google is not just a bunch of algorithms, robots and spiders. Google has a ton of real people surfing the Web and feeding their very human experiences into databases that engineers use to create those algorithms. Google is run by real people! And the goal of those people is to give every person using their search engine the best possible experience. That means great content, thoughtful content, well-written content… not just words on a page.

(I can hear some of you muttering in the background about Google’s imperfections and self-serving attitude. But Google’s not on trial here, so let’s not get sidetracked…)

The Bottom Line

If you put your site up this morning, no, it won’t be found ahead of your competitors’ sites tomorrow, but, over time, your site will rise to the top like rich cream. It will win out over sites with poorly-written, mindless crap, it will win out over sites with just a phone number and address, it will win out over sites no one has any reason to link to or share! So, please, please learn to write great content or find someone who can write it for you.

But first you’ll need to learn what great content really is. Here’s a clue: it doesn’t come from your money-grubbing marketing mouth. Instead, it comes from the very best part of you: your heart, your mind, your soul.