We’ve talked about content a lot. And it’s not for no reason, either – content is, hands down, the best way to build your business.

The keyword is BUILD. When you build your business up through your content, you create a brand. You create something people want to follow. And you get to take advantage of all the potentially rapid growth the social world has to offer.

We’ve talked about this extensively – the days of 500-word articles are over. People are starting to take notes, writing longer, more in-depth articles, and publishing more and fresher content.

Great! 

But there’s a problem. The vast majority of people who do this aren’t using content to build their business. They’re still looking at content as an SEO strategy! They’re writing content for the sake of having long and fresh content, in the hopes that Google will rank them well based on this content!

This is BACKWARDS! This is not how you build a business off of content! This type of strategy is so flawed I don’t even know where to start.

PLEASE don’t tell me you are still creating keyword-based articles? If you are, I am surprised you are still even indexed with Google, seriously…surprised! Keywords are still a part of the search engine's algorithms of course, but with so many updates, they are now able to scan the content on your site and read it almost as a human would. So, if it is stuffed with keywords, it will be looked at as invaluable to Google, and therefore, kicked out from the search results. 

Why do business owners want to put their lives in the hands of Google? Google has shown OVER AND OVER that they have no problem de-indexing thousands of sites in one fell swoop. And although “New SEO” gives you the absolute BEST chance of weathering Google updates, it’s still not a guarantee.

And there will NEVER be a guarantee. NEVER. Because Google will always be in charge! No one can ever guarantee what Google will do, because Google is always in complete control.

So please, don’t rely on Google! Yes, Google is a phenomenal source of high-quality, buying traffic. It’s AMAZING traffic. And it’s absolutely a pillar of a successful business.

But it’s just that – one aspect of a business. It’s one stream of traffic, not the stream for your entire business!

If you want to keep up with the major search engine, do what they do….RUN YOUR BUSINESS FOR PEOPLE! That is exactly what Google is doing. They are creating all these updates so that their users are more satisfied. It really has nothing to do with you, so quit taking things so personally! 

The only reason you show up in Google’s search results is that YOU ARE USEFUL TO GOOGLE’S USERS! Which, makes you useful to Google. 

So, work hard to gear your website, design, content, blogs, social media networks, and everything you do to please your customers….that’s it! 

How to Build a Business with Content


So writing 1,500-word articles isn’t about Google. The whole point Google wants these articles is because they’re useful to viewers! Remember the golden rule of “New SEO”? Google is a business! 

When someone searches for something on Google, Big G wants to deliver exactly what the searcher is looking for. And in most cases, longer articles have a higher chance of delivering value than short, random 500-word articles.

So that’s why Google wants longer content – not just for content’s sake, but because it’s more valuable to the reader!

When you write an article, think about what your audience NEEDS to know, WANTS to know! Look at your competitors, what have they already written? If they have written a top-quality article, and you can’t do any better…don’t try! Your content is only as valuable as your audience rates it, so if you are just saying the same thing as someone else, and you have not given the audience anything new, chances are, that number one article will stay number one, and yours, well, it might as well be a 500-word keyword-stuffed piece of crap…so be unique, be useful, be share-worthy!

So instead of writing content for Google’s sake, start writing content to get more customers.

Answer a question, solve a problem, offer a new spin on information already out there.

It blows me away to see business owners writing long, high-quality articles, then submitting them to their blog and doing nothing else about it. Publishing the article is just the first step! You want to post it on Facebook, Twitter, Reddit, Hacker News, EVERYWHERE. The more places your article shows up, the more people will see it. But, there’s a catch! More is not always better. Look for quality places to post your article. NEVER post your article to a low-quality site. Doing so is SEO suicide, even if your article is the best one on the Internet.

Folks, we’re in the “social era”! Information is spread faster than ever before. Take advantage of this! Submit every article to every social medium you can think of! No, not every article will go viral. But if your articles are useful, and you’re writing content only you can create, then you’re going to have a MUCH higher chance of going viral than just submitting your content and looking at it.

And while we’re at it, make sure your blog design is conducive to “going viral”. You should have share buttons at the beginning and end of each of your articles. You should know which social media site your current article works best with, then make that share button bigger and easier to click.

Stop thinking about Google – start thinking about ways you can market your business with your content. Ways you can build a BRAND, a BUSINESS based on your content – not just a Google ranking that could disappear tomorrow!

Of course, we’re not devaluing search engine traffic, just insisting that SEO, by itself, will not build a massive, profitable, and STABLE business. SEO is just one aspect of your business, not the entire marketing strategy!

 If you are still worried about the search engine rankings, well, quit stressing. Writing quality content, and marketing it correctly…will get you high rankings in the search engines. They still want top sites for their users, so the more value you offer, the more likely you are to be seen on top.

The main point is to write content for your audience, not Google.

Find out who your audience is. Social media is a great place for this. You can create a page, listen to your followers, and when you share content, you can monitor it to find out what does the best. This is a tried and true way to establish what your audience wants, and who they actually are.

Blogs and forums are another great way to find out who your audience is, and what they find valuable. Post your content, and read the comments that are left. If none are left, then it is not being read, or people reading it don’t find it valuable enough to even leave a comment. 

Prefer social media? No problem. Head on over to our Facebook page and toss us a “like.”

Lastly, don’t forget to run a free on-page analysis. If you’re not on page #1, it could be due to your on-page optimization. Get that checked!