Comments on: Examples of What Makes Good Content

By: Andrew Warner

Andrew Warner — Fri, 12 Sep 2008 10:52:30 +0000

I learned a great lesson on how to have good content in an interview I did recently. I was told that you don’t have to “create” good content, you can just discover and expose it.

For example:
- Interview the smartest people in your industry
- Shoot video at conferences
- Quit pretending what you know needs to be a secret.

Here’s the full interview:
http://blog.mixergy.com/create-good-content/

Feel free to post it on your site, if you think it’ll help your readers.

By the way, I’d love to learn more about how to make posts into link magnets. Love that point.

By: john andrews

john andrews — Sun, 07 Sep 2008 21:25:32 +0000

Yes. As for conferences, blame the organizers not the speakers. They call something “advanced” and book intro speakers/sessions, and then call something “Advanced” but sell tickets to everyone so the room is full of newbies who can’t tell smart from Black Hat 50% of the time. The speakers are put in a tought spot. “Show code and the audience goes to sleep, so keep it simple” says the moderator, while “it was so basic and lacked specifics; I was bored silly” says the critic.

By: Yura

Yura — Sun, 07 Sep 2008 21:18:20 +0000

Actually, Jane wrote on the same topic that Aaron Wall covered a while ago.

Though I wouldn't technically compare people advising on getting better content to snake oil salesmen, because that's a hint in the right direction, because content promotion comes afterwards, and it inspires curiosity.

By: Nicholas J. Johnson

Nicholas J. Johnson — Sun, 07 Sep 2008 19:31:07 +0000

I find it difficult not to lose my sale message in amongst ‘useful’ or ‘funny’ content.

By: leo k

leo k — Fri, 05 Sep 2008 18:53:34 +0000

Yeah, this sounds weird because they both say the same kind of thing thing and I wouldn’t call the SEOMoz post bitter either, more like frustrated with the bullsh**. Besides, what does Jane Copland have to be bitter about anyway? Nothing I can see. Some inflamatory language for attention here IMO.

By: Lisa

Lisa — Fri, 05 Sep 2008 14:59:42 +0000

Hey Scott,
This post isn’t an attack on Jane. I disagreed, blogged my thoughts, said where I agreed with her and where I didn’t, and provided some examples of what I thought good content was. There’s no attack present.

By: Scott Willoughby

Scott Willoughby — Fri, 05 Sep 2008 14:53:52 +0000

So having just read both pieces, I don’t understand why this post is framed as an attack on Jane. This post seems to be more of a counterpart to Jane’s post than a rebuttal. The types of content you mention as “popular” tend to be so because they offer interesting, original, valuable information…which is exactly what Jane was arguing for.

By: Mark Olsen

Mark Olsen — Fri, 05 Sep 2008 13:56:23 +0000

Lisa – nicely put.
I agree – while content is of the utmost importance it is also very subjective based on the site, blog and audience involved. My blog focuses on issues/thoughts I have with affiliate marketing – someone else in affiliate marketing may have something good to say – but to a different set of affiliates in a different way.
Anyway – nice post (content) – just my opinion.

By: David Mihm

David Mihm — Fri, 05 Sep 2008 13:33:34 +0000

Lisa, I totally agree with your comment here:

"really what more can they do in that type of forum? It's not that they're lazy or boilerplating their answers, it's that they're writing for a large audience not for one person or business."

When it comes to conferences, oftentimes the Q&A's are the most valuable for me because the speakers ARE able to get into specifics for a particular website. Even if that industry doesn't apply to you or your clients it is often a more insightful look at the WAY the speakers think.

Nice wrapup!

By: World's Greatest SEO

World's Greatest SEO — Fri, 05 Sep 2008 13:27:12 +0000

Speaking of good content available from SEOmoz... I highly recommend their new article: The Professional's Guide to PageRank Optimization. It definitely falls into the category of "Something No One Else Has," and it provides a thorough understanding of PageRank that every SEO should have.