The Importance of Content in SEO

The results of Search Engine algorithms are intricately linked with website content. Today, search engine optimization (SEO) has much more to do with content than any other factor. The story of content in SEO makes for interesting study. As most know, keywords are the basis on which SEO is built. Not too many years ago programmers intent on good search engine results would stuff their online content with keywords. In some cases, web pages were brazenly filled out with a huge percentage of keywords. A stage was reached when content on web pages were no longer suitable for human consumption but targeted only at Search engines. This situation obviously could not persist. This is where the guys at the major search engine companies stepped in. Their research indicated that natural languages contain key words which are never repeated more than a few times in hundred. These results led to the development of what we now call keyword density. A keyword density of 3-4% is now considered normal.

Why is content so important for SEO

There are several purposes that we conduct searches on the internet, chiefly for learning, for entertainment, or to locate a product. In the simplest form, we are looking for particular content. The credibility of a given search engine therefore depends entirely on the kind of results it places before the searcher. It is essential that search engines provide relevant, appropriate and up-to-date results. Content, then, is at the center of a search engine algorithm.

The next related element for SEO is how to filter out dummy sites and then rank sites according to their relevance. We know now that the survival of a search engine is entirely dependent on the quality of search results. This is where quantity of content comes into picture. Typically, the more relevant content on a website, the more valuable the site is in a search. The most successful sites have hundreds of pages of relevant content. A whole new industry of content writers has sprung up catering to this market.

The proliferation of content leads to another SEO element: duplication. Most sites start looking similar to one another with same or similar content. Search engines have to somehow differentiate between original and duplicate content. The basic question here is how much of content should be considered duplicate content? Though this may seem purely subjective, search engine algorithms are fairly effective at identifying duplicate content. Individual search engines have their own unique formulas, but 40% duplication seems to be the accepted norm.

We can safely conclude that if you want to attain good search engine ranking, you must provide plenty of good relevant content on your website that is not simply a duplicate of existing websites. Value, relevancy and uniqueness are the three important keys.

About the Author

Brian A Moore is a successful home based business coach and mentor who builds profitable online businesses with multiple incomes streams. Brian brings to the industry 25 years of experience gained in the high-tech corporate world where he developed a reputation for building and maintaining successful teams. Brian's clients also heavily rely on his expertise in product launch management and vastly increase profits as a result of his guidance.