Content: Here's why it truly is king

I've written one article devoted purely to content and have mentioned its importance in most of my other humble offerings. Here it is again: The content on your website and the content you share via other routes is the most important element to your digital presence and the future of your business.

It is the immovable object in digital marketing and until the search (Google) world defines for us a new irresistible force, our unrelenting focus on content must remain. The more detailed you become with your content and the more often you update, you set yourself apart and stand out as the authority. This is exactly what you want for your digital presence.

As the Internet gets "faster" and the search engine game updates its rules, the importance of quality content becomes more relevant than ever. Google will never cease to modify their algorithms with the goal of making the user experience "better." We've looked at Panda and Penguin, more updated versions, updates to updates, and they will just keep coming.

These latest updates have prompted us to think of new ways to create compelling content for users. Resorting to tweaks and tricks to merely improve search engine rankings may have worked in the past, but those days are over. Shortcuts and laziness will now hurt your rankings, and this is actually great news.

Content-centric marketing

Google's aim is clear and simple - easy and effective search. And in its goal to ensure relevant search, Google will continue to adjust its algorithms to deliver more valuable content to users. Develop effective content that is deserving of a superior ranking and serves your goal of adding value to your customers. Continue to ask yourself - Do I deserve to have top ranking?

Create solutions; not problems. In the e-commerce domain, almost every online store is akin to a digital product shelf, functioning on the premise that users want to buy a product with ease. Offer your products with detailed information and buying guides. Solve the user's dilemma, and they'll be glad to purchase from you. Without your clear direction, they will leave to look for a better user experience.

Devise content strategy

Content is a powerful tool that can drive targeted traffic and increase sales; something link building cannot easily do. With link building, we hope for increased search engine visibility; not necessarily lead generation. If you write it, the links will come. Get the content right and link building can happen as a result of meaningful, shareable content by your customers.

If it's good, it can never be too much - well, almost never. So keep adding more! If an older page is updated with a good amount of original content, Google interprets your site as having a hard-working Webmaster and activates the "freshness formula."

On the flipside (though the amount of content updated on the site is crucial), simply adding new links to an old page can be damaging, and Google regards this suspiciously, so do not stuff links to your site.

Best practice is to write original, fresh and significant content, using a sincere tone that covers the preferred keywords in a natural manner.

Increase frequency for Google's indexing. The more pages you add, the more frequently your site will be indexed. Being indexed regularly maximizes the potential for your well-optimized pages to be rated higher than your competitors.

Get to know your keywords. When building good, original content, pay close attention to the relevance of keywords. Cramming the content abnormally with keywords will not produce a good outcome for both readers and search engines.

Answer: Content is priceless

I have personally watched a test site go from invisible to the No. 1 position in Google search (in 7 out of 10 keywords selected), in less than two months. All we did was edit content, consistently blog, and put in the proper meta tags.

If your website is not the primary source of new customers for your business, please let us have a look. We want to at least provide a detailed assessment to give you all the critical information you need to take the next step. There are just way too many websites in our community that are idle but have the potential to really impact the business. Some have spent thousands on them and some have built them on their own, just as a stop gap, and never transformed them into what they should be.

Creating good content precedes everything else in the world of digital marketing. Better results are seen with premium content, and the more quality content you produce, the better the outcome.

Although search marketers are frantically trying to bypass the Panda and Penguin guidelines and retrieve their lost search engine rankings, the fact is that future updates from Google will certainly be even more stringent. On the positive side, it means increased demand for quality writers, bloggers and original content creators - that's us! Develop outstanding, engaging and interesting content following SEO best practices and now you're ready for the world to see you. Add your next ingredient- a full comprehensive, detailed SEO campaign, and watch the traffic flow in.

Jacob Myong is a WSI Internet Consultant with The Coeur d'Alene Press. He has worked in digital media for over 15 years. Email Jacob@cdapress.com or call 208-416-5173. www.cdainternetmarketing.com