One of the key elements of search engine optimization (SEO) and online reputation management, is high quality content. This is something any SEO company will tell you, and this is also why a content strategy will be the main element of their work. Words can influence, inform, change, and shape the behavior of others. Hence, content has to be delivered the right way. But what is “quality” content, and how do you write it to notice a positive effect?
- Put Yourself in Their Shoes
You must understand that it is your content that will determine whether or not a customer choose to do business with you. Put yourself in your customers’ shoes: they will go to Google to find something they want and read some of the search results that come up, including reviews. Based on that, your customer will decide where to go. Of course, everybody has their own individual motivation. However, everybody wants to trust and like a company they do business with. That trust and likeability comes from the things they read online.
Thinking like a customer is the most important thing you can do. You need to provide high quality content that succinctly and quickly presents the information you want people to know, but it has to focus not on your needs, but on theirs. Think about how they can gain from what you are telling them, which benefits they will experience through you. This has to be straightforward and very clear, but it also has to be authentic. That has to be a key element of your brand’s personality.
- Quality Content for Search Engines
The second element is that the search engines like your content. This means that it has to be grammatically correct and that it contains the right keywords and keyword phrases, in the right numbers. However, what the search engine algorithm thinks should be of secondary importance. This is because those algorithms also focus on relevance and credibility. Your focus, therefore, should be on what your visitors want to know, and this should be clear on your social media channels, your blogs, and your website. Once they start to convert from searchers to visitors, and ultimately from visitors to customers, your rankings will go up as well.
- Embrace Change
Finally, once you understand the link between high quality content, your search rankings, and your online reputation, you will be able to come up with a strategy that enables the effective delivery of this type of content on all your channels. And once that happens, the way people see you online will be transformed. No longer will your content be informative only it will be insightful. And that is precisely what will give you the edge over your competition.
The internet is saturated with content that is mediocre at best. Write something of high quality, and you will stand out from the rest. Doing so makes people trust you, makes you look more credible, and fosters aspiration, admiration, and respect. It is a very worthy investment, therefore.
Daryl Green 
Paul Petersen