SEO: How to Come Up With Original Content?
12.14.09
It is not a secret to anyone that, when it comes to Search Engine Optimization, I’m still learning. Hopefully, most of you guys are in this process with me. I don’t believe it’s possible to master a certain Marketing tool. The way people look for products and services keeps changing. I mean, even the snottiest of doctors still have to study and learn new stuff every day in order to provide a better service and implement all those technological advances that have made life easier and longer.
Why should we be different? SEOs, at a certain point of their careers, seem to embrace a couple of techniques and they stick to them. While it’s true that some of these are quite effective, they probably will be rendered as obsolete in a couple of years.
That’s why I’m one of the few that still advocate for content. It’s an almost safe bet.
Why original content is an “almost safe bet”?
Let’s say that we’ve got every possible SEO base covered. Keywords all over those special parts (which I like to call h1 and h2… you pervs…), optimized content, a flexible writing strategy that allows me to optimize contents in a more accurate way, my promotion strategies are working and I’m getting fine rankings on every possible search engine.
That’s half of the battle. SEO, by itself, cannot create instant conversions. In fact, unless our customer knows exactly what he/she is looking for and is ready to make an investment, it’s freaking hard to make them buy.
SEO is just half of the battle. The other half is original content.
What is “original content”, anyway?
I’ve given up several times while writing for this blog. Sometimes I feel so frustrated I end up pulling “5 tips” or other types of lists in order to keep up with deadlines and the commercial goals of the company. Starting today, I’m back to my own voice. Even if it takes me longer to write these posts, I will try to stay away from the easiest way out.
“Original” is a really ambivalent word. Everything has been said and done and it’s hard to generate new thoughts out of the blue. In my humble opinion, originality does not equal flamboyancy. The things that I consider to be original come from a personal perspective that forces us to swerve from our comfort zone. Other people’s everyday life is original to me because it’s not mine.
How to create original content?
Not an easy question to answer, but here you have a few ideas:
- Take a question that is pertinent for your customers. How would YOU solve it?
- Use your perspective in order to explain or to describe scenarios. You don’t have to be exotic and wild. Just by being yourself, you’re being original. Seeing through the eyes of others is a powerful experience.
- Don’t underestimate your everyday life. These experiences are common to many of us and create bonds. Contrary to common belief, it is okay to talk in the first person.
- KNOW YOUR TRADE! If you don’t know how to implement keywords and you don’t have some basic SEO rudiments, creating sensible contents (let alone original ones) will be harder.
Search Engine Optimization might clash with some of the things I’ve learned before, but it becomes a challenge. I no longer want to re-invent the wheel, but to create a nice wheel that works.
