Ever since Google started to hit low quality content providing services with the Google Panda and Penguin updates few months back, experts have again and again predicted good content as the only saviour. This makes me wonder, if providing quality content is the only option left for the SEO practitioners. And if yes, why to have a handful of writers in SEO teams? But before I proceed, let me share two wonderful articles with you
https://moz.com/blog/the-death-of-link-building-and-the-rebirth-of-link-earning-whiteboard-friday
http://econsultancy.com/in/blog/10924-could-content-marketing-replace-the-seo-department
Our previous practices really needed dedicated SEO people. People with in depth knowledge of link building strategies who can go through complex processes to earn precious linkbacks, people who can sit with web developers and tell what keywords they want and exactly where, people who knew little weaknesses of Google and exploited them to the core.
The message is clear from Google, are we interpreting it correctly? image courtesy : deyotron.com
Present scenario
Let’s jump to today, October 22, 2012. We don’t need backlinks that much, even forward linking to something relevant and useful can earn you points from Google. Your content should be unique, fresh, useful and relevant. The user should be able to trust your site as an authority on the search query. Also avoid spammy link building, suspicious link networks, link exchanges and paid links as you may get heavily punished. With the latest EMD update naming your website according to popular keywords will kick you out into the space unless you have something great in the form of content. Google has really become smarter and would prove to be smarter in the future.
By the looks of it the less and lesser amount of technical knowledge of classic SEO is required by Google and a more convenient user link behaviour would be helpful. More and more authoritative writing, writings which can satisfy a user, writing which can answer questions, writings which can enrich the reader are the need of the hour.
What the companies are doing?
Especially in the SEO firms, the balance is still heavily tilted towards SEO guys with authors and writers in the minority. But after the updates, the companies have understood the necessity of writers (well, that’s my guess going by the fact how the companies are looking for writers all of a sudden) and trying to make the balance less tilted towards the SEO. The point is, not only the companies need to recruit more writers to have more quality writings but also need to empower the writers. The authors must know what they are doing, what gain they can bring to the organization and its clients. After all, a fat man will exercise more sincerely only if he is told that exercise reduces weight, isn’t it?
Thus in my opinion, companies must include writers in its SEO policy making activities for a better understanding between the writers and the SEO team and also reap benefits from the inputs of the one of the most important SEO practitioners, namely the writers. This also means educating content writers about the basics of SEO and enabling them to write more intelligently. Furthermore, as we don’t need trash writings anymore, more emphasis should be placed on the quality of the output and not on the quantity.
