The Write Stuff

Google just made a rare post to their Webmaster Central Blog. You can check it out here.

And, to ensure that the quality of everything you publish would pass Google muster as described above, here are some observations of our own:

What makes one piece of content superior to another today, especially when it comes to getting found online? According to Google, it’s nothing more or less than the quality that compels a reader to bookmark it, share it or recommend it. This means that social signals come into play to a great degree, as in social media.

Here are the questions you need to ask about everything you present to customers and prospects to ensure that your offerings are not only easy to find, but presented in the right context and contain the earmarks of authority they deserve. Note that this is what we at WriteAngle do routinely on your behalf:

1. What makes the information you’re presenting trustworthy and why would a reader recognize it as such?

2. What makes you confident that the material reflects expertise in the subject matter? Put another way, why are you confident that it would not be dismissed as shallow or thinly-veiled promotional fluff?

3. Again, in the case of website content, would you be comfortable sharing confidential information (contact, credit card, etc.)?

4. Does this article have spelling, stylistic, or factual errors?

5. What have you done to differentiate your content from that associated with “content farms” (e.g., are the topics driven by genuine interests of readers of the site, or does the site generate content by attempting to guess what might rank well in search engines)?

6. Does the material provide original information, reporting, research, or analysis?

7. Does the page provide substantial value when compared to other pages in search results?

8. Why do you assume your existing customers would feel compelled to share it with their peers and associates?

These questions are our interpretations of the points Google raises in its post. We point them out because they substantiate and reaffirm our insistence that your content be well-written and obtainable exclusively from you. Your content must be your content.

Note also that Google intends to make hundreds of search-engine improvements in 2011 — more reasons to plan for identifiers that make your content unique and high-quality. These should include social-sharing buttons to prompt users to pass it along.