What is it we SEOs do? Most of our answers probably boil down to this; we help webpages rank higher at search engines by improving each of the three cornerstones of SEO. The first aspect; technical problems - like indexable content, meta robots tags and URL structures - has been cracked by SEOmoz’s awesome web app. Suddenly we can get a complete dashboard of errors to go and sort - easy.
Then of course, then there’s the “trust” issue. Getting authoritative and relevant links; and with Open Site Explorer where advanced link analysis and data is now only a click away. And with the a huge range of link building tips, strategies, and tactics here, it’s fair to say that we’ve got the SEO ninja skills to go and create “trust-worthy” websites.
So that leaves content…
Content is abstract. It’s irrational. It’s hard for CEOs, managers and influential decision-makers to get there heads around. It’s fantastic.
What's the point in what you read?
We consume content to solve problems, be entertained and to satisfy curiosity. Based on where you are in a decision making process, you can divide ‘content’ into four different categories. This post is all about defining each category.
In an age of tweetdeck, rss, five sentence emails and the internet making us stupid, supposedly, who on earth is hanging around to read meaningful stuff? I mean, it’s a bit over-rated when you’ve got to be checking your inbox every five minutes, keeping current with Twitter, and all these feeds, and then some...
IMAGE via: Geek and Poke
The reason such technology exists is so we can be on the edge of stuff.
We can see and read the latest ideas, news and commentary. We can connect with people who share common interests and start a conversation. That kind of ‘content’ is a) meaningless to those who aren’t in the know and b) not particularly relevant a week or so down the line.
This is what is making the web at the moment - current conversation. Everyone can chip-in on what other people have to say. We all have our own circles of influence where we can share and spread ideas. We’re all wittering away with our own little thoughts - it’s not cohesive and it’s unlikely to be useful to an outsider trying to figure it all out - at least on it’s own. I call this Blurb.
Blurb Content is conversation.
It’s two way. Blurb is exclusive in that it’s meaningless to those who don’t understand the community, who don’t know the secret handshake and who aren’t clued up on the topic - but for those who are “in the know”, blurb is where discussion, debates and drama define opinions and leads to decision making. Within the club, blurb is awesome.
We’re lucky on blogs like this to have really great conversations, fleshing out theories and the results from experiments; it attracts intelligent two-way conversation. It’s why you might tweet about it more, because there’s so much value in the conversation. It’s why you’re more likely to take action, because you’ve heard it thrashed out by a handful of the industry brains. It’s why you're more likely to come back for more conversation.
Equally, there’s pretty useless blurb. “Great post” “really enjoyed it” or “tldr” which has no real value to other visitors, and therefore no real value to search engines either. The real power of blurb and UGC is things like this (YOUmoz), Threadless and - dare I say it? - Wikipedia. People have been empowered to go and create their own awesome corner of the web.
The Rule of Blurb - Culture Valuable two-way Conversation.
Conversation is the fuel of the web; and with hundreds of millions of us online, that’s the potential for a big conversation. The problem we face, both as SEOs and marketers in general is initiating that conversation.
Who’s Gonna Break the Ice?
IMAGE: UrologyOnline
We can do this two ways:
1) Create content and ask for conversation (tweet this, leave a comment, let’s connect on facebook)
2) Create a system where you encourage other people to initiate conversation
Which way do you think is harder to replicate, will be more scaleable and have more influence across the web in the long term? You said two, right? The question is - how. Let’s go back to the SEOmoz model (because most of us have had a good look around this site and know it well, so it’s doubly relevant):
What got you to the point of chipping into the conversation on here? What qualified you to know what you were talking about, and pitch in with something valuable? I bet that this blog post hasn’t taught you everything you know about SEO (and if it did, you’d probably reside to saying: “great post. really interesting stuff” anyways).
The reason why is because at some point in your SEO education, you’ve stumbled across someone or something with “the answers”. Something that answers your questions fully. Where somebody has simply communicated the concepts behind SEO to you in one or more pieces of content.
- A good book...
- An awesome video...
- A seminar...
The fundamental difference is it’s a one-way conversation.
Consider this scenario; your lost in an foreign city - you were supposed to be in an office meeting fifteen minutes ago. What do you do? You ask a local. They tell you how to get there. You listen and do what they say. They’re the expert, so you listen.
Example two. You have a medical problem. You go to your doctor. Your doctor examines you and tells you your problem, and prescribes a cure. Sometimes you might be reluctant, but you trust their skills and expertise so you do exactly what they say.
You watch a talent show on TV and want to take up the guitar. You find a teacher and hang on their every word whilst trying to work out how to play chords. You may ask them to go over something again, but it’s still a one-way conversation.
This behaviour is typical of “newbies”. You’re mind is like a sponge, you're being entirely receptive to someone else's ideas and explanations and because of this you’ll be able to understand and talk about the problem and solution - i.e. you can engage in the conversation on the web. This kind of content focuses and concentrates attention on one specific problem.
This is called Definitive Content.
This brings up three things:
1) Definitive content cultures conversation and decision-making
Definitive Content educates people so, with their expanded knowledge can engage in conversation and make informed decisions. This content is educational. People who are searching for information have already identified that they’re not comfortable making uninformed decisions. They’re looking for “the answer”
2) Definitive content must be remarkable + awesome + white-paper-worthy.
In a world where attention is a scarce resource, your definitive content needs to stand out from the crowd and be worth the time spent consuming it. It must be remarkable in order to have conversation about it. It must also be jaw-droppingly awesome so reactions and remarks are positive. And it must be white-paper-worthy in order to address the problem fully without “selling” (that comes later).
3) Blurb is frustrating for learners becuase it isn’t definitive
That’s why bloggers teaching stuff bitterly frustrates me. Back to basics, a ‘web log’ was originally meant for journalism, commentary and personal tales, and yet the platform has been stretched over other uses. So people now create niche blogs and post about something specific, perhaps offering tips. So far, harmless blurb…
Then they try writing something “definitive”…
This doesn’t work for three main reasons:
- Bloggers are afraid of completing the article – they thrive from the conversations that evolve from a good blog post which doesn’t quite close all the doors.
- Bloggers are afraid of forcing their readers to spend too much time reading for fear they’ll get bored. Bloggers are dependent on ‘little and often’ readership.
- Bloggers are possibly even afraid of spending extra time on “definitive content” for fear that they won’t be able to produce enough posts so readers will lose interest.
And what’s sad, is that after the first few days after the post is published, the traffic will drop down to a mere fraction of what it was, since your readership has simply “been there, done that”. Congratulations; you’re now in a business where your ‘product’ becomes worthless practically overnight.
Blogging is about the person, not the problem.
Blogging has it’s place creating blurb content, not definitive content (when you confuse the two, you have a personal problem). In fact, blogging could be considered a response to definitive content; it’s the ultimate example of user-generated content, or rather... user-generated conversation. The early days of SEOmoz saw Rand posting his commentary to SEO news.
Now, that’s not a stab at blogging - more a criticism of how people blog. Some of the best blogs about blogging use definitive content in order to bring newbies up to speed so their regular blurb is both relevant and newbies can talk about it. Darren Rowse’s Problogger is one of the biggest and best blogs about blogging, and even so Darren suggests buying the ProBlogger book in order to get all the details on starting up all in one place. And that makes sense, doesn’t it?
Everyone’s blogging like sheep, churning out loads of mediocre content. The world doesn’t need more content. It needs more remarkable, definitive content. Suddenly, those creating Definitive Content become somebody. Blogging has it’s place in it’s roots; a platform for commentary on news, personal affairs and creating conversation - not being manipulated out of place creating definitive pieces.
(There was a really interesting article about the Death of the Boring Blog Post which essentially outlines this problem from a design perspective. Apparently the answer is 'blogazines' - but this doesn't solve the fundamental problem of answering the problem people are typing in. Pretty is impressive but doesn't necessarily mean it's the best.)
Definitive content is the stuff which you reference, re-read, remember and in some cases - recite! Ever been in a position where you’ve been telling someone about an awesome book, or video that you’ve gotten a bit obsessed with? And what’s interesting, is even if it isn’t necessarily “current” or trending on Twitter, you’ll still reference it ‘cause it’s awesome. Hence, Definitive Content is evergreen - which means in the long run it’s a high effort-reward strategy.
Definitive Content Strategy
Step 1) Find an in-demand niche within a niche.
Step 2) Go be king.
In emerging industries, rarely have people launched with awesome definitive content. Instead, as the industry matures and begins to fragment - then the niche players can identify and distinguish themselves. A great example is looking at the search marketing industry:
- Cindy Krum created Rank-Mobile.com ~2007; a website selling her mobile marketing consultancy services. She’s established herself by being the go to girl for all things to do with mobile. She’s enforced this by literally writing the book on Mobile Marketing, and then supplementing this with her blog commentary on industry news- her blurb.
- David Mihm is ‘local search guy’. His collaboration to create the Local Search Ranking Factors (currently in it’s third volume) with other top brains in the industry helps not only define the fundamentals of search but also positions him and his website as experts. On top of this, he blurbs about local search all around the SEO space.
- Perry Marshall wrote the book on Google Adwords in 2006 as businesses began to wake up to Adwords and the program really began to take off. He offer expensive consulting-based direct marketing products to his email list which he’s also built up by offering freebie definitive content for signing up (email courses, PDFs, mp3s etc.)
- SEOmoz! Countless Definitive Content pieces like the Beginners Guide to SEO or the Search Engine Ranking Factors articles which get referenced by hundreds of SEO blogs and professionals. This is then supplemented with an the SEOmoz and YOUmoz blogs with the weekly Definitive 'Whiteboard Friday' videos fueling the fire.
Timing is important with creating Definitive Content - I think there are two important factors:
- Be the first.
- Do it yesterday
All three of these people followed these two principles and suddenly you’ve got four excellent examples where ‘content is king’. No one’s anointed these people as experts - instead they’ve written their way to the top and they were first to do it.
Definitive content is all well and good, but if no one know’s about you and it, then it’s not going to be of much benefit. This is where my earlier question of creating content asking for conversation vs. creating a system that asks for conversation comes into play.
You’ve created your Definitive Content; now you’ve got to use your network, your social sphere of influence, your ‘leverage’ to promote it. Naturally, they use content - perhaps a review post, video, google ad - or even just a tweet - to introduce your Definitive Content. This is called Manifesto Content and this in itself is a behaviour search engines are also looking for.
Manifesto Content does the simple job of introducing the problem, introducing you, and introducing your way of answering that problem
It pre-sells your Definitive Content. Think about the weight of links in this context; the origin of your inbound links will contain content of some sort (at least to provide value to a visitor) - that content is Manifesto Content. It's kinda like a CV for the Definitive Content, and the better the Manifesto Content, the better your first impression - and first impressions count.
IMAGE: CartoonStock.com
Manifesto Content distribution is a better way to consider link building. Link building is a game about numbers; Manifesto Content distribution is about building unmeasurable things like trust and credibility - which shows up to search engines as “link getting”.
- Do link directories offer great introductory content to you and your website with just a title, few lines of text and dozens of other pieces of similar content around them?
- Do guest posts or interviews for relevant related blogs offer great introductory content to you and your website?
- Does a Twitter ‘win a widget’ competition asking for retweets offer great introductory content?
As I said at the beginning, content is abstract, hence the philosophical-esque questions! However, this thinking is essential if you’re to come up with your own Manifesto Content marketing strategy. Here’s a handful articles on getting your Manifesto Content shared:
- Top Ten Things You can do to Get Blogged
- The Internet Marketing Guide to Infographics
- Seven Scientifically-Proven Ways to get Shared on Facebook
- Reel SEO Viral Video Tips
- The Secret Strategies behind many Viral Videos
- Learning the Art of Guest Blogging
- Top Ten Viral Email Tips
The size, strength and distribution of your manifesto content will determine the overall strength of your web content, and of course good SEO practices of ensuring it gets indexed, it targets specific problem keywords and is “technically tidy” to ensure your Manifesto Content gets targeted traffic and click-throughs.
Great. Now Show Me the Money.
Now, you’ve been introduced as a credible source of information, you’ve educated them and cultured conversation-making abilities so they can engage in blurb. They’re now in an informed discussion about their problem, and likely, your solution if you target your blurb correctly - and all the while, you’ve been earning trust and credibility as someone who know’s what they’re talking about...
Why wouldn’t they consider your solution you’re selling?
This removes the need to “hard sell”. You don’t need to be a copywriting jedi because you’ve already built a level of equity that can’t be copied, even by the best copywriters - they’ve already know you and trust you. To hard sell would simply be a sign of insecurity and stupidity. That said, you need to be able to write sales copy with confidence so you don’t fudge the important bit! Luckily, the brains at Copyblogger will teach you how to ‘sell without selling’ - here’s their best definitive article on writing sales letters (with part 2 and part 3)
Roundup
That’s rather a lot to take in; so a quick roundup. The best way to illustrate how content strategy works is by comparing it to a jet engine.
A what...?!
Bare with me on this. A jet engine, at it’s most basic, has four parts. A front fan, a compressor, an ignition stage and the back turbine with a nozel - or very simply; suck, squeeze, bang, blow (excuse the innuendoes) - and these exactly map onto our four-part content funnel.
It’s essential that they all work together in order to produce results, like this:
- Manifesto content is the Suck. It draws people into your content funnel.
- Definitive content is the Squeeze. It focuses attention and educates prospects.
- Blurb is the Bang. It’s where conversation and the magic happens.
- Copy is the Blow. It’s where decisions become actions and the whole thing moves forwards.
What I like particularly about this analogy, is that the actual physics matches the real life SEO analogy:
- Most of the power of the engine comes from the front fan - the size, strength and distribution of your Manifesto Content will correlate to the overall output of your web content strategy
- Without the compression stage, air doesn’t have nearly as much pressure for when it’s ignited - without Definitive Content, your content funnel doesn’t have nearly as much focus and attention to culture conversation
- The burning reaction releases energy - conversation leads to decisions being made, opinions being formed and CHANGE.
- In a jet engine, “exploding” gas is only going to go backwards - highly targeted, focused prospects with a problem, who are educated about their options and are engaging in conversation about their problem - are likely to make decisions (and buy).
- The flow of fuel keeps the engine going round - the flow of conversation keeps the content funnel functioning and growing.
What this also helps explain is why guerilla-content SEO is so much better than ‘traditional’ advertising which is more like a rocket. Create a reaction of advertising bucks and “targeted” prospects and point it in some direction is complicated (it’s rocket science) and not sustainable without continued effort.
This compares to the Manifesto > Definitive > Blurb > Copy content strategy which is “evergreen” once you’ve created it. A ‘definitive’ piece of content will always be there, as will the articles linking to it. What it means is your web content strategy (including search) is dependent on how you culture conversation. Let me introduce the concept of Tribes - Tribes are created when you connect people around a cause
Seth’s talk on TED explains...
(If you haven’t come across Seth Godin before, you’re in for a treat Everyone who I’ve worked with who I’ve asked to watch this video has viewed it all the way through said it was awesome. Net result? We’ve both gotten more done.
So take just 17 minutes out and watch Seth’s talk to understand why Tribes will shape our future. If you really don’t have time now, keep this tab open and watch it over lunch or something.)
Finished the video?
This is what I see SEO as - getting in the problem solving business... and not just solving your problems. “I’m not ranking number 1 - I’ll go and build some links”. Put that in context on Tribal SEO. “I’m not ranking number 1 - I’ll go and promote manifesto content”. Creating a tribe will drive your content. Tribes need to connect via blogs, online communities, social networks - in any case you need to be at the helm and leading.
We have the responsibility to create awesomeness.
You’ve heard the ‘Voice of Google’, Matt Cutts, bangs on and on about creating content for visitors vs. creating content for search engines. He’s absolutely right - if you’re trying to make crummy content and webpages rank, just like trying to sell crummy products and services, then shame on you!
I’m gonna end with a couple of questions and an apology. I've broken one of the cardinal unwritten rules of blogging (keep it short, stupid!) and you've probably spent waaaay too much time reading and watching all this. Whoops...
But then again, does Defintive Content need a cap on the length. Shouldn't it be as long as it needs to be? Which begs the question, how would you classify this post based on the scale I’ve talked about?
- Is it Manifesto Content? Does it introduce you to new problems, people and answers?
- Is it Definitive Content? Sure, I introduce a few ideas and articulate them in a way you’ve perhaps not seen before - but I haven’t “written the book” on Tribal SEO so to speak. Heck, I’m just a kid - why would you share and bookmark this? So far this is just a hypothesis - I need to enlist help in defining and proving these principles, which leads me to...
- Blurb. Is this merely a topic for discussion, something that’ll be todays topic of conversation and yet will be forgotten by this time tomorrow?
- Or is it copy? Me, shamelessly trying to promote myself or the Mozzers in a bid for private gain!
Secondly, how do you see this Manifesto > Definitive > Blurb > Copy content cycle fit in with this Whiteboard Friday concept of ‘The Path to Conversion’ and your business?
And finally, do you think that ‘Tribes’ make an effective long-term SEO strategy in your business, or any other business that springs to mind?
Let’s chat.
Mmm... let me blurb a second, because I still have to finish your post. Overly is very interesting, but a little bit long... let me give a constructive review: next time follow the basic of rethoric when it comes to posts so long:
1) short introduction of topic
2) short definition of the thesis
3) short pointed list of the steps you will follow
4) the long part... step by step and interconnected (I say this that cause this the means that that conseguently lead to this which mean my thesis is right)
5) conclusion
Ok, I'm going back to your post.
p.d.: since where I've read I find your thought intriguing. Love the blurb definition.
p.d.: does anybody remember Tom Hulce in "Amadeus"? That is who you remind me of... and one quote of that movie could fit well with you " It's all right here in my noodle. The rest is just scribbling. Scribbling and bibbling, bibbling and scribbling."
Hi gfliorelli1,
I knew someone would say that! But that's where this thesis has to stand up on it's own -- this isn't your regular blog post. You, me and perhaps most people on here are probably used to skipping between posts and RSS feeds and skimming through material on a regular basis... hence this is a shock to the system right? Hey, maybe you're even feeling a little angry that I've "stolen" some of your time (fair enough) but here's my thinking...
If a stranger is giving you directions...
If a doctor is diagnosing your problems...
If Danny or Rand are doing a Whiteboard Friday video...
or if any of the folks at the PRO Seminars are halfway through their presnetation...
Why How would you try and determine a cut-off point? Shouldn't it be as long as it needs to be? (as long as a piece of string - haha). And that's part of my pet-problem with blogging. It isn't definitive. It doesn't solve the problem completely. You have to string lots of bitesize chunks into one cohesive idea yourself; and who has the time to do that?
Will note your suggestions for future posts definitely, but I'm still kinda intrigued as to how people will react.
Heheh... liked the answer... let me tell you that the usability man in me was needing that ;)
I think what I found disturbing was my poor concentration span. I used to be able to read books - now I'm challenged by a blog post that means I have to scroll.
I think it's a really useful post and loads of good links to even more content...
I know how you feel! Unless I come across a really revolutionary book, I find it hard to take the time to go through and read something. We (us internet people) have cultured a crowd of people who make decisions in the time to make a click --
That said, books don't help themselves by being pretty dense text throughout! If only they could write blog posts with pictures and video to break it up ;-) I have seen some good books where publishers have thought about this - Steve Krug's 'Dont Make Me Think'; an awesome book on usability for non-usability experts (written to be read in a train journey, to quote the author). Then there's Seth Godin's books where he salami-slices topics up (almost into little blogpost type sections) - they're an easy read.
I think the usability issue regarding Definitive Content is an interesting one. Most of the people who've come here (I'm guessing - haven't checked the stats yet) have come via RSS or Twitter where all they've seen is the headline and the link. There's no quality explanation why they should read it, except perhaps that previous YOUmoz content has been pretty awesome so expectations are such that it'll be worth the read...
But what if some said, "hey, read this post. And watch the video -- because it's got a really funny joke at the end". The BECAUSE bit's important I think... https://numericlife.blogspot.com/2006/04/power-of-because.html (short post on a little bit from a great book).
So Manifesto Content (which creates links) is all about the because; why should you spend your scarce time reading, watching and absorbing this?
Really interesting point.
Have you ever thought that that is the reason of the success of books like "The Da Vinci Code"? Short chapters with short visual paragraphs and almost identical to a first version of a screenplay?
But I invite you to persist and read books... novels, essays... whatever: they are food for the brain and fuel for the soul.
I had the same reaction at first.
I haven't had my Chinese Gunpowder green tea today, so my brain was stalling a bit when I began reading the post. Not because it's overly complex, but because it wasn't what I was expecting.
This post actually makes you think. These aren't the same, rehashed ideas we see too much of. It was promoted to the main blog for good reason obviously.
Whatever you "stole" in time, you gave back in value.
Just too darn many notes.
Well done Fryed7! This is one of the top 10 blog posts I think I've ever read. Thank you for taking the time to share your knowledge.
Is it just me, or do we have a "thumbs down spammer"? Who the hell gave this post a thumbs down??
NEW RULE: if you give a thumbs down, you must give an explanation in the comments. If for no other reason, then do it to help others :-)
Wow....Are you really 16? other than a typo - shouldn't bare with me be bear with me? I'm amazed, inspired and impressed. I've only been blogging 6 weeks - feels like a lifetime! Got the content, got the conversation - guess I'll have to do some SEO stuff now. A POST blog or not! should be as long as it needs to be to impart the relevant information. When we create generations of readers with 17 second attention spans, we lose as a society of individual thinkers, and therefore lose as a society new and compelling thinkers! Thank you for your help - I'll be watching the video and clicking the links - as soon as I get my Friday post up. Smiles, Jacqueline @ Liveyourdreamblog
Hi Jacqueline!
Glad you enjoyed the post. As a startout blogger, you might want to take a look at ProBlogger.net too - a guy called Darren Rowse has created on of the best blogs about blogging (and his book's very good too). Take a look at the Beginner Guide to SEO on here too :-]
Maybe your right about the 17-second - but I guess it depends on the context. Your probably reading loads of new, interesting stuff at the moment (your learning - hence Definitive Content is exactly what your looking for) whereas some of the people who have maybe skipped through the article are looking for things to quickly talk about - there's perhaps not so much new to them.
But who actually creates the conversation in the end...
;-)
RE: the thumbs down. Yes, perhaps you could take it personally, feel rejected and never submit to YOUmoz again for fear of failure... but I like to follow Seth Godin's advice.
Seth is one of the business and marketing world's best brains, and yet even he when he releases another book or video or even just a blog post fears rejection and failure. It's the lizard brain in action (https://vimeo.com/5895898). But even when he gets a horrific review, he doesn't screw up into a ball and accept failure. He celebrates. Why?
The purpose of publishing stuff like this is not to get likes or be told "well done". It's to make you think, take action and in the perfect world come and find the author at an SEO conference and talk about what you've done with their ideas. Now, has the 'thumbs-down guy' thought about it? Yes. He's made a judgement.
If I hadn't published this post, he wouldn't have made that decision. We both win.
Makes little sense, but then the best things don't do they :p
Hi! Great post, even though lenghtly. As for the thumbs down: I think that, once content writers post something (especially bloggers), they should automatically expect a few thumbs down, even if those thumbs down are not depicted graphicaly. And accept the fact that there isn't even a rule that says people that give thumbs down should explain themselves. It's a risk that goes with writing. I just felt the need to express this belief of mine, even though you already summed it up pretty good already.
Don't forget, people thumb up and thumb down posts for many reasons. This post is quite long, that could have been the reason for the thumb down. Everyone has their own reasons. :)
This post deserves to be on the main blog. Good work Fryed7
Agree.
I 'third' that!
Thank you for this guide but i dont read all - is very long. Really :)
Ed, wow - a thought provoking and well referenced blog post. I've actually never seen a blogger write about content in terms of categories - and I really like your model. And hey - there's nothing wrong with a long post, this is a complex and thought provoking topic that deserves some thought (and then some conversation :-)
Awesome! Richard Baxter
I would gladly support the move for promotion on this post. Ah, I just suggested that on twitter ;-)
Hi Richard! Glad you like the post :-]
I think segmenting types of content is really important; it reflects the different stages of an individuals progression through a search session (as explained in the WB Friday Path to Conversion Video). The jet engine model makes sense (to me at least, and people I explain it to in person - it's my back-of-napkin drawing :p) but it raises different questions about SEO strategy (at least compared to the standard on-page optimization, link building etc.)
1) How can we systemize manifesto content distribution - this isn't link building - this is M&S link building link getting. I've got a draft post already for this - bit shorter this time ;-)
2) How can we create tribal communities around our sites themes (Richard Millington's Feverbee helps answer many of these questions: https://www.feverbee.com/2010/01/how-to-build-an-online-community-the-ultimate-list-of-resources.html)
3) How can we culture meaningful blurb? How can we culture conversations worth having?
Google's in the business of finding the most best, relevant stuff. If you can create a website which has "the answers", meaningful conversation, lots of pieces of manifesto content referencing it then isn't that (in principle) what Google's looking for? So then it's just a question of building trust and sorting technical issues.
I think the "post's too long" comments highlight a different problem -- have we trained people to 'accept' mediocre content (by which I mean Seth Godin's definition: average = mediocre). Have we inadvertently cultured 'blogging blindness'?
I'm at the stage where I'm trying to map the model onto my own and other people's websites I'm working on. I'd love to chat in person -- if you get a chance at PRO Seminar this October, let's talk?
And very kind of you to suggest a promotion to the main blog :-]
Well done Ed! A bit on the lengthy side, but there are definitely some good tips in here. Nice work :)
For your age, you have a level of understanding on this subject that is unparalleled by most... I'm just beginning to get into the SEO game at 23 and still have way more research to do than I'd like to admit. Reading posts like this that take a fresh approach to an aging issue is exactly what is needed to spark creativity and discussion among the community.
I hope that in a few days/weeks/months/years I can have a similar grasp on this subject that you as well as the other Mozzers obviously have... In the mean time, keep posting great content and helping a guy like me get educated!
Good post Fryed7. I like you attitude - you believe in something and stick to it. I guess its our sedentary lifestyle and 140 characters limited emotions that has made us impatient. The post should be as long as it needs to be.
Fabulous writing, I’ll be printing this one off to read again on the train. Great illustrations and photos. Well done.
Wow a very long post. Wit so much information.
Like the analogy of the jet engine.
Awesome web content does not come easy. It's a skill that not many have mastered. Taking your Jet Engine analogy a bit further, if foreign objects get sucket into the jet engine, disaster can strike. It could well be fatal. So it is imperative that the correct components get fed into the blog content.
Nice point of view. Content is undoubtedly the most fundamental element of a website that is why it is considered as the king because this is what the people are looking for.
When the article is this good, I don't mind it being this long. Nice job - deserved to be promoted to main blog. I'm bookmarking and sharing the heck out of this pony :)
Nicely done Ed
Fryed7, first I'd like to say thanks for the post, yes it's a bit long, but there's at least one presentation in here for me to explain content to clients with plenty of great examples, so well done.
I think it's vital that you sit clients down and look em in the eyes to discuss the role of content because the vast majority hear "content" and immediately think "SEO".
I use the SEOMoz pie chart highlighting authority and link building as the two most important components of the algorithm and then I get them to focus on the role of content i.e. forget about SEO, what is the role of content on your site e.g.
•On Site
–Information
–Engagement (Important for Bounce Rate!)
–Inspiration
-Entertainment
–Sales Tool
•Off Site
–PR/Branding
–Social Media
–Link Building
Now I'm going to have to pull you over the coals for your punctuation!
your lost in an foreign city - Should be "you're"
You’re mind is like a sponge - Should be "your"
A really fantastic blog, and a big thank you for sharing your knowledge with everyone.
A BIG thumbs up and I will share with my colleagues.
I especially appreciate the part.” Definitive content must be remarkable + awesome + white-paper-worthy.”
I too vote for promotion to the main blog.
Ditto promotion to main blog. This post is brilliantly conceived and executed.
I think what we need for home page is "content for google". + "Design for customers".
For customer we need traffic, once visitor comes through. If design is good, He doesn't concentrate on nonsense or spammy text.
He just visits portfolio, then contact..and reach you. That is all we want. As we are seo company in Turkey, we have implemented this and
have success.
Thanks for interesting topic..
Very good Stuff. I wish i would have found this earlier.
tl;dr
Only joking I read it all.
Good post and to be fair you did title it as a "definitive" guide so anyone who expected it to be short deserves the shock they got.
If you'd been monetising this content on a ppm basis would you have kept it on one page? Or been tempted to break it down into a series - still providing the same definitive content but in a more profitable, episodic format?
Generally I've got to agree with most of the things you've put. Coming from a writing background I have to agree that there is already enough low quality "content" out there - one possible reason for this is that people think of it as "content" not as "something I actually want to read" and that's why definitive content (or entertaining) content rocks.
Regarding the PPM issue, yes it does make sense from an advertising point of view, but for SEO? Which one of the half-dozen pages are you going to link to, tweet and otherwise reference? And in which case wouldn't you rather link to a version of the full article?
Wired Magazine does this. You open up the article, you'll get page one with links to the next page or the full version. But for the ad revenue they'll always try to share the first page version if you tweet or share via their toolbar.
But from the readers point of view, what would you prefer? An article like this 'all-one-one-page' or what Wired do?
Like so...
https://www.wired.com/epicenter/2010/10/love-google-hate-facebook-why/
Which of the half dozen pages am I going to link to as an end user? Probably the one that I'm on because i'm a lazy schmuck.
Have you seen this discussion about pagination of longer articles?
From a readers point of view it very much depends whether I'm a casual reader or an advanced reader. On a subject I know a lot about I prefer all on one page articles because I'm equipped to navigate through it but as a casual reader it can be intimidating to see 3000 words of text. Break those 3000 words down into a course of smaller articles and you've still got a valuable resource - it's just a little less scary.
Again, (see my answer to FreshFishDesign further up) it's the "because". What makes the difference between an advanced and casual reader? Arguably, it's similar to a potential buyer -- the context of their searching experience and their motivation to solve their problem.
If you're just casually reading through your RSS feeds latest posts, then yes a shorter page might make sense (if you want more, you'll ask for more by clicking for the next page right?) but if you were introduced perhaps via another website you found at Google which explained how a piece of Definitive Content breaks down solutions to their problem in a simply to understand way, then they'd more likely sit down with a mug of coffee and work through a bigger "meatier" article.
The reaction of readers towards a longer, definitive piece doesn't depend necessarily on the headline or actual content so much as the context, I think. Therefore the introduction to the Definitive Content (the Manifesto Content) must say: "you should read this because..." or words to that effect. Manifesto Content ties a tangible benefit of reading it, and has the bonus of being a third-party vote of confidence.
This is a well informed kudos to you and the SEOMOZ troops for promoting it. I had the time; it's 8:30 am on a Saturday. But of course I've been working for 4 hours now. LOL
Do you see the problem as fluff not pie or..
Length vs Quality?
Some topics are best left short. It suits the reader and the life we lead. Lengthy dissertations on the process of processes? Well... maybe some other time. Like Sunday morning. Thanks
Long post, intiguing but useful. I will wait for similar post in the future.
this is definitely white paper worthy. I'm a bit confused on where copy comes into play, is it the about us, product descriptions? if you can help clarify copy that would be great.
Copy is the decision-making writing. If you're trying to get the sale, then we call it sales copy. Sales copy will draw upon the education (Definitive Content) and conversation (Blurb) to draw a logical conclusion that your offer (product at the right price, place etc.) is the best thing for them.
Copy contains a call to action. Assume you've got a problem (an itch) - Dr P has just explained to you that you need ZCream and you've had a brief, but focused conversation on different alternatives. But the ball is now in your court to go and make something of it -- all Dr P can use is 'copy' content.
I definitely like your post here. Good to know that at a very young age you managed to say these things which are helpful indeed. I'm just wondering why are you so deep one when you are in fact very young. Seo nowadays is very vital for each and everyone and more ofthen than not we all are competiting but in order to compete well you have to take into consideration things like your content wherein should be great. I would like as well to point out that effort should always prevail in seo and correct analyzation and surely you'll see your effort is worthy.
I like it that you're able to write so much and write it so well.
I would ask that the next time you feel the need to write a long post, break it up into 4 parts and post it piece-meal.
We can then eagerly wait for each anticipated post.
Ya, multiple posts would have been a good idea!
This just solidifies the fact that most bloggers for hire are data entry first and bloggers second. That is of course, unless you go outside of the norm to find people passionate about the industry which has been working much better for me. We just needed to bring a part-time editor on board.
I completely agree with your analysis of "definitive content". Finding the perfect niche and fleshing out ultra-relevant and informative content is exactly what we set out to do with our news and content writing services. Not only does it create a basis for your web visitors / customers to interact with you beyond your products, it forms the impetus for people to share your content and establish your voice and words as gospel in your industry.
Definitive content truly is the key to trust and respect online.
Interesting post, but yeah it is a little long for a blog post but great content mate, Crazy that youa re only 16 and born in 1993!!! I saw this guy at work born in 1990 and thought damm SEO's and SEM's are getting younger and younger!!! Been born in 1987 I feel old now haha...
But keep up the good work mate and keep up doing the good things...