Strangely, website content may see a boast in quality. Why is this strange? Only a small percentage of people who produce content for websites actually care about producing useful content. Mostly, those who produce web content look for shortcuts to gain ranking. That's not a slam against SEO agencies or anyone with a blog. It's based on the law of averages. Now, why might we see a challenge to this law of averages? Is it because everyone woke up one day and decided to produce outstanding material from which others might learn or take some pleasure? Sadly, no. As usual with all things internet, Google has made a new content threat. This threat has some gnashing their teeth that their website ranking might plummet.
Who should & shouldn't worry about google Panda?
It seems that Google wants to perform the heimlich maneuver on an internet chocking on bad content, so they made a new algorithm called Panda. This adorable mathematical equation will gently remove the obstruction: garbage content at the top of the search results. Panda's results have been mixed, but that's another story. You should be able to produce quality content without worrying about what Google does.
why a content strategy matters?
So what makes content successful? Answers to that question (just like results) vary. If you query Google for the answer to that question, their resource page, discusses the importance of varying titles in an html document, which probably means nothing to anyone who doesn't work in web development or SEO (Search Engine Optimization). For many in the SEO field, the answer usually lies with their services.
Experience has taught me that successful content also differs. Obviously, successful content for someone who runs an e-commerce site which sells antiques will differ from someone who publishes a blog for her law firm, yet what seems obvious is still an enigma for those who want to produce successful content. Successful content works the same way that anything works which is well made. It requires actual human beings who care about what they do. That isn't just some romantic sentiment. It's based on experience. Content differs from one site to the next is the same thing as content differing from one newspaper or blog to the next. Once one embraces the idea of unique content, one can begin shaping a content strategy. That content should be driven by goals which a person or a group has for a website. That person, however, may need to adjust what she considers quality content to achieve those goals.
Consider a doctor who lives in Sarasota or Tampa. She wants her practice to gain more exposure, and she believes that can only happen through a number one ranking on Google for a specific search term. She may claim she doesn't care about the quality of the site's articles or how well it has been organized on the page. A high ranking is the only objective. On one level this doctor has a concrete goal. She also understands the importance of ranking. If she hired an SEO company to game the system for her, using a content farm for example or some other unethical practice, she might achieve her goal. She would also have to worry about losing that ranking if those algorithms change. She'd would need to worry about the cost of hiring SEO company. What happens she decides she doesn't want to pay them anymore?
If, however, she adjusted what she considers quality content, she could gain much more than a high ranking. Instead of hiring an SEO company to flood her site with content lifted or scraped from other sites, she could develop a content strategy. That content strategy could help her attain her goals and create content which others will find useful. She could become an authority in her area or her field.