If you’ve just started out in online marketing, it won’t be long before you come across the quality vs quantity debate that has continued to rage since the birth of the internet. If you’re a seasoned digital marketer, you’ve no doubt been following this debate closely for years and will have likely picked a side. In this article, we’re highlighting the top reasons why quality content wins this battle hands down.
Haven’t invested in content yet? You should know, websites with a blog tend to have 434% more indexed pages than those that don’t. It’s time to jump aboard, and if you’re going to do it, do it right!
Let’s get started. Here are the most important reasons to go quality over quantity with your content strategy:
Targeting human beings? Then only the best content will do
First and foremost, if your brand needs to impress living, breathing people, then it needs to be publishing content that people actually want to pay attention to. A lot of marketers might be tempted to think it’s all about the numbers – the bigger the numbers, the better you’re doing. Quality content doesn’t just get people through the doors, it makes them believe something or take whatever action you want your users to take.
What’s more valuable to a business that actually sells a product or service, 2000 window shoppers or 2 real buyers desperate to grab what the business is offering right away? Loads of content might bring you some empty numbers, but quality content that’s been carefully crafted to attract the right user’s is the best way to achieve the results you really want.
A developed audience is more responsive than an ever-changing one
By throwing out posts that really help and guide users, you’ll develop an audience that really trusts your brand and listens to what you have to say. If you’re throwing out cheaper volumes of less helpful content far more often, the only thing you’re really building is view count. The better the quality of your posts, the more you‘ll have proven yourself to be an expert or leading entertainer. This means achieving a following that you know wants to see more from you.
Simple blogs are not the only type of content your brand can look to utilise, check out this great brainstorm by Moz depicting a wide variety of the many content types you can consider creating:
Not only will a more developed audience prove more keen to engage with your most recent posts, they’ll also be far more influenced by what you have to say. This means more impact from your posts, but it also means you can create each post faster and faster over time. As your audience begins to regard you as an increasingly reliable source, your claims will have more impact and you’ll be able to create content with far less reliance on facts from outside sources, interviewing other experts with more credibility, and other time-consuming methods employed to prove yourself trustworthy.
Standing out is going to become harder and harder
Content marketing is incredibly accessible and hugely important to a lot of people. Whether you’re blogging for personal or business purposes, the web is already rammed and the amount of people creating content is only going one way. The number of active bloggers in the US alone is expected to reach as much as 31.7 million by 2020. Which would mean nearly 2 million brand new bloggers over the space of less than two years. It’s crowded out here, and that’s not going to change anytime soon.
So how do you plan on standing out from the never-ending sea of rivals that fills your niche? By just throwing out more than everyone else? Doesn’t sound like enough does it? The best way to make your mark is to construct content that stands out for the right reasons gives your target market exactly what they’re looking for and makes them believe you’re the best place to get answers. Then it doesn’t matter how much rubbish your neighbours flood the space with because you’ll always be one of the great sources that your target audience can rely on.
Longer posts with rich content steal the show
If all you’re worried about is the time it takes to make posts and how many you can pump out per week, you’ll probably end up with a bucket load of short posts (less than 500 words) with vague points, no links, minimal research and zero images. Does this sound like the kind of blog you’d look for when you have a burning question? No, of course not. You want your information from an expert that’s prepared to outline everything you need to know in a comprehensive guide – so do all your readers.
People like rich content that gives them more than any overly simplistic piece that feel like it was bashed out in seconds. Images are a great touch but the size and depth of your content is equally as important.
You can learn a boat load by looking at what top ranking pages are doing. Short-vague content is dying, long-from content is relevant. You should be aiming to nail this 1k – 1.5k sweet spot with the vast majority of your posts. Consistency is also very important for building a following. Publish on a consistent basis to place yourself as a source that people can depend for regular updates.
There you have it! These are some of the strongest reasons to aim for quality content rather than mass producing for sheer quantity. By taking the extra time to compile blogs and website copy that offers readers far more substance, you’ll convince a lot more viewers that your brand is worth paying attention to. Nothing will shoot bounce rates up more than short blogs that read as if they’ve been knocked out with minimal care or purpose.
Quality blogs take longer to produce and they’ll probably take a lot more effort to plan, but this is the only way to stand the test of time as well as rise above your competitors. Stick to a focus on quantity and your content will be lost in the ocean of average posts that litter the internet.