Why Content Sucks For Search Engine Optimization and Rankings
brandondrury
In the quest for super search engine rankings, people debate about whether content is worth their time. I can tell you right now, CONTENT IS USELESS. Content is useless because if you have already asked that question, you’ve missed the boat.
Assuming you ended up on Text Link Center, you were either tricked into coming here by a friend who wanted to get even with you for defecating on his/her carpet or you are aware that search engines base most of their rankings on the number of quality links pointing to you. At Text Link Center, Luke and I place more emphasis on quality than most of the web world (and we will fight to the death to defend our stance on what we call “future-proof SEO”).
Where’s The Motivation, Bob?
Anyway, so the issue always arises as to the best way to obtain links. It gets down to human motivation and human ability. Let’s just assume you are a guy who wants to have some naughty fun with a chick. How do you get her to do “the deed”? (We’ll leave out the usual junk about telling her “she is special” and that sort of thing and get down to brass tax) If she is going to go to town, she is going to do so because she wants to or because she gets some sort of other fulfillment out of the deal. Examples of “other fulfillment” include cash, a promotion, a big house, bragging rights, or maybe to get revenge. (If we could only figure out how to get links by somehow giving of the gift of revenge, we’d be trillionaires. I can imagine the trailer now. GET EVEN WITH YOUR EX-HUSBAND. SEND A LINK TO BRANDON!).
Of course, before a chick can rock your world, she also needs the ability to do so. For example, you really can’t get crazy with a chick on a balance beam unless both you and her have great balance. You can’t “get freaky” (as Colour Me Badd would say) if she’s in LA and you are in the Windy City. It’s just not possible! In this case, a person can’t give you a link if they don’t have a website.
So, in order to get any real search engine rankings, you need to find people who are motivated to link to you who happen to have a website that is similar to yours. (The more similar, the better!) How do you do this? You can pay the webmaster for links (hence this monstrosity known as Text Link Center). You can ask nicely and maybe they’ll be generous. You can send them flowers (seriously, I may try this!) or do something nice for them. Or….best of all…..you can be a Luke Perry….the standard by which all men are judged….in 1991!! Instead, I’m going to go with Bret Michaels from Poison in 1989. He simply had to show up for the naughty fun onslaught to begin back in the hey day.
Bret Michaels vs Brandon Drury (with CONTENT!!!)
Okay, so it’s a no holds barred, steel cage match of who’s going to have the most naughty fun with super hot chicks. Bret Michaels from Poison or Brandon Drury from Text Link Center w/content. (Ancient Mayans believed that bold text was a sign of dominant sexual power. I DID NOT make this up!)
To help even the odds, I’ve added “content” to my naked body. So who is going to get the chicks without any “other fulfillment”. If conventional webmaster forum wisdom holds true, I’m a shoe in to win. Brandon Drury naked with content is a WINNER!
—-
So how did I do? Well, so far it looks like I’m losing drastically. My all time numbers aren’t nearly as impressive or morally sound as Bret Michaels numbers. But, this blog isn’t over, so who knows.
Why Hasn’t Content Helped?
In the Bret Michaels vs Brandon Drury battle, content didn’t do me a bit of good. Why not? Isn’t content king? Content didn’t do me any good because “content” in this case was a bunch of white circles with the word “content” written on them. Who cares!!
I can’t count the number of times I’ve been on the waste-of-time SEO forums (interesting hypocrisy in that statement) and heard people say “I’ve added content to my piece of junk site but my rankings didn’t go up”. When you visit the site, it’s clear they spent 5 minutes of writing on a subject they have 3 minutes of experience with. While they have technically taken the time to write out a collection of words, they have NOT provided me with anything of use. They have not made my life any better.
The Content Song
I warned you that I was also going to audibly explain why content sucks. If this mp3 doesn’t sell you on the idea of “Content Is Crap”, I don’t know what will. Download The Content Song
I should probably give credit to myself for all programming, vocals, and songwriting. Thanks to Echo Echo Studios for allowing me to record myself for free!
Forget About “Content” And Make Someone’s Life Better
Content is NOT something you cram in a box to ship it. Content is not little white circles on a gorgeous webmaster / model’s body. Content is not a html, txt, pdf, mp3, or mpeg. Content is a connection to the user. Content is coming over and mowing my yard (I’ll seriously give links for that!!). Content is making me laugh. Content is sharing real, useful knowledge with me. Content is solving a problem I have. Content is making me laugh. Content is making me cry. (Good luck on that one! I’m WAY too tough! I discovered the wheel!).
Conclusion
I realize that when people say “content” they are speaking of substance that actually will stimulate the user in a positive manner. However, I see SO many beginning webmasters and SEO people who have gotten the wrong idea. I thought I would try to illustrate my point that content is nothing but filler without a real connection to your visitors. If you can provide real value and actually connect with your audience, you’ll have more links and hot chicks than you’ll know what to do with.
P.S. If you are a female webmaster, you also get hot chicks. Too bad! This is my blog. Ha ha ha h aha
October 7th, 2007 at 12:12 am
Quality content is the cornerstone of any SEO campaign that’s effective over the long term. You’re right that nobody cares about writing the word content in bubbles around your portrait, but give people something they’ll want and the story changes drastically. You’ve heard of linkbait, no…?
October 7th, 2007 at 8:04 pm
I couldn’t understand some parts of this article tent Sucks For Search Engine Optimization and Rankings | Search Engine Traffic Blog, but I guess I just need to check some more resources regarding this, because it sounds interesting.
October 8th, 2007 at 3:53 pm
Sorry,
seems like always in all the other discussions i see on the net, a good intention, but at the end of the day a useless discussion because nobody nows the real rules, their interactivity and how Google really evaluates a site.
I am reading such a lot of wrong advices/conclusions that, after years, it seems uncurable.
Daniel doesn’t understand “some parts of this article”, I can’t blame him!
He is searching for valued information (which seems to be a part of the discussion here) and I, an experienced search engine optimizer since the “stone ages of internet”, when Google didn’t even exist yet, feel confused.
All my client’s sites rank well, all my clients want me to keep working for them since years, some since decades. I never agreed in terms of SEO with all the public discussion, ’cause there is so much confusion, so much mis-information, so much attempts to manipulate webmasters and marketing experts for some, god only knows, sake. Nobody who knows, tells the truth because if you do, it will be mis-used by those who never understand that one satisfied client is a client for a long - if not a lifetime; and a “couple” of them releases you from the nessecity to search for new ones “every day”.
Just my two cents to the discussion:
Content is, and always was KING (if you know to present it search engine optimised)!
It is the basic for all internet, or search enginge ranking success!
There are limits that require inbound links without any doubt, but if you want a real and stable success with search engine optimization and/or marketing there is no economical way that does not start with content and onpage optimization. When this is done and for market reasons a link campaign seems to be the adequate action do it, but I never asked for links, nor paid, or submitted to directories - the “natural” link grow was always good enough to keep my client pages at the top of SERPs when content is not used s a ranking factor, but provides the information your visitors expect to find. (All the SE want - their business is based on that, not on your dreams)