What is more important: the quantity of my content or its quality?
Does my content resonate with search engines and consumers?
Is choosing handcrafted content worth it?
Making sure your content delivers for your business is a daunting task. This decision has become even more complex with Google’s recent updates to their search methodology and algorithms that lower the ranking of “unhelpful” content in search results and sites.
Google’s actions stem from a desire to stop companies from writing content expressively for the search engine – not for the people searching for the content. While the “Helpful Content Update” created a ripple of fear throughout the eCommerce world, it reinforces our belief that content is and will always be king. We have designed our product content solutions around this principle. To explain why this matters so much, let’s explore Google’s actions in a bit more detail.
In mid-August, Google’s Helpful Content Update changed the search engine’s algorithms to lower the ranking of content designed to excel on the platform, not offer value to consumers. It does this through signal searches for red flags such as:
- Sentences stocked with keywords to the point of unreadability
- Images that don’t match the content description
- Content with a high number of internal links
- Duplicate or recycled content
- AI-generated content
The rollout was completed on September 9, 2022, and one day later the company released its September Core Update. Unlike other Core Updates, it isn’t site-specific and won’t affect all websites or documents. What it does is enhance the search engine experience for customers. Elements include:
- Personalized results
- Multi-search expanding to 70 languages
- Visual knowledge panels
- Page insights
- Ways to explore
- Read the full list
In Google’s own words: “the changes are about improving how our systems assess content overall. These changes may cause some pages that were previously under-rewarded to do better”.
What these updates show is that content is and will always be the most important part of your eCommerce package. If you want to keep your product information easily accessible and highly visible to prospective customers then you need to focus on the quality of your product descriptions, images, links, meta descriptions, and website content. You need CF1.
We take care of companies with 360-degree product content solutions grounded in human truth, powered by digital expertise, and customized for your company, regardless of size.
From taking the time to understand your brand and customers to gathering product data to processing images to creating optimized texts, we deliver personalized and complete content solutions that give your customers an in-person experience. And when shopping online, your content IS the customer experience. It is the equivalent of picking up or trying on your product, reading the details, and deciding if what you’re selling best meets their needs.
So what are your customers really searching for?
Finding the answer to this question is fundamental to creating a strong digital presence for your brand. Like most human truths, the answer isn’t straightforward. Each product must fulfill a functional need and an emotional one. Creating effective content takes experience in understanding how people behave and knowing how to deliver engaging communication that shows that your products satisfy these needs on a practical level—and a personal one.
At CF1, we have over 22 years of experience in understanding the complexities of human behavior and translating this into innovative digital solutions that succeed in today’s eCommerce marketplace. It is the combination of both factors that ultimately drives action and, when the product meets expectations, keeps customers purchasing.
Author
Content Factory 1 is an experienced content company with 23 years of expertise in providing product data solutions. With our highly-skilled professionals, deep customer understanding, and digital know-now, we are your reliable partner in making eCommerce more accurate, reliable, and trustworthy. To discuss how we can do this for your company, contact us at info@contentfactory1.com
Postscript: AI
Yes, but AI does this too right? At its best, artificial intelligence tries to mimic human understanding. But as the Harvard Business Review comments, it ultimately cannot take its place. In an upcoming post this fall we’ll explore in detail what AI can and cannot do regarding developing product content. Stay tuned