What the hell is quality content?

30 replies
Sorry if anyone is offended by my title.

I was just reading another PDF, on generating traffic, and the author tells me "...I am talking about posting quality content..." I have read this so many times, when talking about writing articles, web content, and blog comments, and probably other things besides.

I often wonder, what exactly makes something 'quality content' as opposed to not quality content? I mean, I can see if something has spelling errors and major grammar or syntax errors. But I am sure there is more to it than that.

I feel kind of stupid for not knowing the answer to this. I think I know the obvious, but I don't write articles as I don't really know if the article would be considered quality or not, besides the fact that I don't like doing that kind of thing. Is there a definition for this, or is it just a subjective term that you either know it or you don't?
#content #hell #quality #quality content
  • Profile picture of the author Bob1
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    A quality content is something which have sense in that in which we can explain someone what we really mean.
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    • Profile picture of the author Paul Myers
      A quality content is something which have sense in that in which we can explain someone what we really mean.
      As opposed to this post, which was just made to drop the link you used to have in your sig file.


      Paul
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      • Profile picture of the author Dennis Gaskill
        Originally Posted by Paul Myers View Post

        As opposed to this post, which was just made to drop the link you used to have in your sig file.
        Followed by the ban hammer...best laugh I've had all day.

        Tim, quality is subjective, at least to some degree. Paul gave a useful outline. I would add that quality content provides some kind of value to an interested reader/viewer. That value might be educational, entertaining, reassuring, useful, or provide any number of other benefits.

        It's kind of like the old saying about art. You may not know what art is, but you know what you like.
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        • Profile picture of the author Paul Myers
          Dennis,
          Followed by the ban hammer...best laugh I've had all day.
          There were actually three in this thread. Two from the same guy, who linked to a blog which advocates, among other things, spamming forums to get links and traffic.

          Yes, he said spamming.


          Paul
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          • Profile picture of the author Dennis Gaskill
            Originally Posted by Paul Myers View Post

            Dennis,There were actually three in this thread. Two from the same guy, who linked to a blog which advocates, among other things, spamming forums to get links and traffic.

            Yes, he said spamming.


            Paul
            You know, Paul, sometimes I have mischievous streak. It usually doesn't get past my internal gatekeeper, but my first thought when you said that was, "I wonder how he'd like a few thousand Warriors dropping by his blog and leaving spam comments. Might be fun.
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            • Profile picture of the author Paul Myers
              Dennis,

              Fun, but not something we'd advocate here. There are legit ways to deal with people like that if they persist.


              Paul
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              • Profile picture of the author Dennis Gaskill
                Originally Posted by Paul Myers View Post

                Dennis,

                Fun, but not something we'd advocate here. There are legit ways to deal with people like that if they persist.


                Paul
                Oh I know that...I wasn't advocating it either. That's why I said this mischievous streak of mine doesn't usually get past my internal gatekeeper. I still had a little fun thinking about it though. Crows coming home to roost and all that.
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              • Profile picture of the author Jay Jennings
                Originally Posted by Paul Myers View Post

                Fun, but not something we'd advocate here. There are legit ways to deal with people like that if they persist.
                It starts with an ad in the back of Soldier of Fortune magazine...
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      • Profile picture of the author Seattle Mike
        To me quality content is useful and interesting material on the topic. Not a typical SEO article which is a bunch of babble with the long tail keyword mixed in for good measure.

        Would you want your friends and family to read it?
        Would anyone tell someone else about it?
        Would an authority site link to it?

        Does someone say to themselves "Wow, I am glad I read that" "This is good stuff"
        Or "God I just wasted 4 minutes of my life reading that useless ____" eza article editors probably have this posted on their monitor.

        Teach them something. Share something good. At least tell a good story.

        I was researching a niche the other day and read a blog that had 15 or 20 posts. All keyword rich and they didn't actually say much of anything. Just tossing out words, none of the articles were worth reading. Even if you ranked well for a keyword, you sure wouldn't get any repeat visitors and I sure the heck wouldn't buy anything from them. Just a time waster.
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  • Profile picture of the author Paul Myers
    Quality content: Basics... Legible, useful to a targeted reader.

    Mid-level: Above, plus well-written.

    Real quality: Above, plus entertaining, thought-provoking and/or challenging.


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  • Profile picture of the author DotComBum
    It means the piece is easy to read, in good english and informative, that's quality content.
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  • Profile picture of the author Andyhenry
    Hey Tim,

    I think the reason you see the words 'quality content' are because of all the PLR and Article spinning in use these days.

    There are now so many tools for creating and manipulating content that when people want to talk about normal human written content designed to be useful and readable to your visitors they feel the need to call it something so that you know they mean 'not crap, respun or auto-generated' content.

    Also you could be pulling in content from elsewhere using rss and some people might want to tell you to use unique new content, so that could also be referred to as quality content, depending on the person doing the talking.

    So as Dennis rightly said - it's a bit subjective too.

    Andy
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    nothing to see here.

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  • Profile picture of the author mrs spencer
    i agree with many opinion here on what quality content is i just need to add some

    iv written articles to many people to understand what they meant when they tell you they need "quality content" quality content include:

    * a good grammatical expression

    * your readers must love what they read

    * they might go ahead to bookmark your article

    * your article must pass through copyscape

    *easy approval by ezine article

    this are the essential ingredient needed to having an article tagged "quality"
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  • Profile picture of the author Asher
    Personally, I think writing quality articles is totally
    subjective.

    We can only write the best way we know how...

    Cause the internet's such a huge space, what we
    deem as high quality may only be "ah, I already
    know that" quality to another person.

    People who appreciate the quality of the articles
    written would likely be those who actually know,
    understand, apply and live the word Gratitude.

    Asher
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  • Profile picture of the author Rich Struck
    Look at the average article site. Quality content is the opposite of that.
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  • Profile picture of the author seobasics
    Make sure your content is unique... you can use a content duplicator or a similar tool to help you.
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  • Profile picture of the author CDarklock
    Originally Posted by timpears View Post

    I often wonder, what exactly makes something 'quality content' as opposed to not quality content?
    The first and foremost purpose of quality content is for someone else to read it.

    Note that I say "someone," which necessarily means a human being, and therefore excludes any and all spiders and bots from consideration.

    Quality content is not posted to gain higher search rankings, or to provide backlinks, or to excuse your use of advertising on the page.

    It is posted for human beings to read.

    Anything else it may do is secondary to this purpose.

    You may want your site to rank well for a particular search phrase, but if it sounds awkward or strange, you will not use that phrase - because the content is not posted for better rankings, but for someone to read.

    Likewise, you might have links to another site in your content. They might even be affiliate links. But if they don't belong in that content, or they interrupt the flow of the content, you will leave them out... because your content is not there for backlinks, but for someone to read.

    And, finally, you may place AdSense or banners on the page that contains your content... but you don't really care how high the CTR is or what the average CPC is for that page, because it is not there as a transparent excuse to show someone ads, but for someone to read.

    That's the hard part about affiiliate marketing via quality content for something like, say, folding tables. You need to be - or find - the sort of person who can write things about folding tables that people want to read. And, honestly, it's really hard to judge that unless you can get excited about reading an article on folding tables.

    But let's not forget something here: quality content in this sense is all about its primary purpose, and that doesn't mean it's "better" than other content. It has nothing to do with grammar or spelling or whether English is your native language. It isn't about whether you did or didn't spin your article. It isn't about how many article directories got your submission. And it is most definitely not about how much you paid for it. It's about what people are supposed to be doing with your content, and if you're saying anything other than "reading it" then you don't have (or want) quality content.

    And let's also not forget that some people really aren't trying to get people to read their article. They just want the search ranking, or the backlink, or the ad click. These people aren't somehow "beneath" those who use quality content; they're just not doing the same thing.

    There's not supposed to be a value judgment in the phrase "quality content." It's just a different kind of content. We should probably use something that sounds less judgmental, but you can't decide what things are going to be called. The world decides that for you, and you just have to accept it.
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  • Profile picture of the author timpears
    You know I have wanted to ask this question for a long time, but resisted. I am glad I finally asked it. The answers have been very interesting, and I thank you all for them. They have confirmed some of my theories, and cleared up others.

    Even the off topic posts were interestingly funny to read, and I enjoyed them as well.

    I am very surprised at the number of responses I got, so quickly. I don't think I have ever had this kind of response to one of my questions before.
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    Tim Pears

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    • Profile picture of the author filiks
      it must be fun, pique your interest,and worth a good bucks!
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  • Profile picture of the author itcoll
    it means people will be willing to read through the entire article.i believe that is what means quality content.
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  • Profile picture of the author tribros
    Just take a look at the following blogs with quality content and you can learn from them how they are providing quality content as well as promoting their stuffs.

    Perry Marshall's Google AdWords Advertising & Pay Per Click Program
    Jimmy D. Brown
    pay per click search marketing

    I hope it helps.
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    • Profile picture of the author Allen Graves
      I believe that quality content is absolutely necessary. Unfortunately, as the OP states, it is frustrating that nobody puts a definition on it when they tell you to use it! They just assume you can read their mind.

      Here is the definition that I place on quality content in my ebooks and newsletters...

      "Quality content is original and justifiable human-written content, covering a specific topic which flows naturally and seamlessly from one idea to another, answering at least one aspect of a question and is written in proper English with no grammar or spelling errors."

      If "common sense" actually sat down and thought about it for a minute, I know it would come up with a very similar definition.

      Write well, answer at least part of the question, keep it compelling for your target audience and you have quality content. It's not rocket science and you don't have to have an English degree. You just have to give your writing a little thought and make it interesting.

      While a lot of people honestly believe they have the ability to read your mind or judge you by what you have written about or how you've decided to present it, only you really know if the content was a legitimate effort at quality.

      Maintain your integrity and if somebody somewhere doesn't like it - screw 'em. But don't take it personally, just move on, and maybe try again with something a little different on your next attempt. Tweak and test little by little as much as you can.

      Respectfully,
      Allen Graves
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  • Profile picture of the author thebitbotdotcom
    Quality content to me means informative, original content that gives the authors unique perspective. Not something copied. Not something spun. The fact that it should be grammatically correct and conversational should be a given.
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  • Profile picture of the author Paul Myers
    Ya know, we're making a classic mistake here. We're limiting the response to textual material. Content can be graphics (cartoons or illustrations of a process), audio, video, software interfaces, and anything else that's intended to convey a message.


    Paul
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  • Profile picture of the author stefffff
    quality content is mostly about how much your visitors enjoy reading your blog/site... if they find your content worthy they will come back again and again, giving you more traffic, after all that's what we are all after... remember that your content serves your visitors in the first place and search engines after! always think what an user might be interested in when landing on your website!
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  • Profile picture of the author sbucciarel
    Banned
    Quality content is content that is written for the audience instead of junk that is written for SEO. It's content that readers actually read and enjoy reading or videos and images (as Paul said) that bring readers to your site.
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  • Profile picture of the author jbsmith
    Paul's list certainly covers it, but just to elaborate from my own experience writing articles, blog posts, press releases, & info products over the last 9-years or so...

    1. Relevancy. Most people will find your content by actively searching for information (to improve or overcome a challenge they are having). For your content to be effective, it needs to match the exact conversation going on inside the head of the visitor in context and language

    2. Usefullness. Paul mentioned this one and yes, it is extremely important. Your visitor may be drawn to your content by its relevancy, but they will disappear into the ether if they don't see useful content within a few seconds of seeing it. Useful must also take into account the context of who you are targeting. Often it means including some actual experience, application of information, steps to follow, - hard hitting rather than light and fluffy.

    3. Hook - assuming the purpose of your content is to get your visitor to take action (sign up to RSS feed, sign up to your list, click through to another page, respond to a survey, etc...) then you want to let them know there is MORE you can offer - more relevant information and more useful help you can provide them.

    You can be good at #1 & #2, but still not see great results from your content until you also get good at #3.

    Jeff
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  • Profile picture of the author Raydal
    I define quality content as content which you'll buy
    except that it is given away for free. We know quality
    when we see it because we value the article.

    -Ray Edwards
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  • Profile picture of the author jonbeebe
    Content that is useful and convenient... period.
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