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The Quality vs. Quantity Debate in The Search Economy
Brett discusses the age old quality vs. quantity debate with content and to think about it when trying to find your next customer
Brett McGrath
July 19, 2024
Death, taxes, and the quality vs. quantity debate with content.
I canβt escape the debate. Every time that I think the dust has settled and the conversation has been put to bed it suddenly pops back up in my hemisphere. I was having a conversation with an old colleague this week. He was running a research project on a new content product and asked, βIs the quality of content vs. the quantity of content still an issue in marketing? If so, whatβs your position on it?β. Before I could even respond I made a note to myself because I knew it would make for a good topic to tackle for the newsletter this week.
Simply put, my response is that the debate is still ongoing and likely will never end. Also, if I was being pressed to ask my position I would take the easy way out and just say both. Content is the fuel to get seen by your next customer in ππ‘π ππππ«ππ‘ πππ¨π§π¨π¦π². The more that youβre putting out content on the topic that youβre addressing the more likely Google will start to pick it up and youβll get seen by your next customer. The issue is that itβs way more complex than when I first started my career in content marketing. Iβll try not to date myself too much here, but back when I started you could run really freaking hard on the content hamster wheel and it worked. You could jam a bunch of keywords into a blog post and publish daily to rank. We could afford to lean towards quantity over quality because there wasnβt as much competition and Google loved consistency. The more crowded the space got, the harder it became to successfully execute a production line approach to your content.
My current philosophy on how to get seen by your next customer in ππ‘π ππππ«ππ‘ πππ¨π§π¨π¦π² is creating consistently with quality top of mind. This week on the podcast David mentioned the importance of topical authority. Google rewards expertise, credibility, and trustworthiness when it comes to creating in a specific domain. Topical authority is particularly important in SEO when weβre trying to get seen by our next customer. We not only need Google to understand weβre credible, but also have to establish audience trust. Itβs critical to be consistent. Furthermore, itβs essential to produce high-quality, informative content that showcases your expertise.
Hereβs an example of what weβre doing to fuse consistency with quality in our content at Pneuma:
Keyword: ππ‘π ππππ«ππ‘ πππ¨π§π¨π¦π²
Publishing cadence:
1 blog article per week
1 podcast episode per week
1 YouTube video per week
1 newsletter (ππ»youβre here)
Consistent social posts mentioning our keyword
We want to be known for ππ‘π ππππ«ππ‘ πππ¨π§π¨π¦π² at Pneuma. We donβt expect our next customer to be searching for our keyword now, however, as we continue to build our brand we believe itβs critical to have the right search infrastructure in place for the future. Also, collaborating with our internal team on SEO is a big part of what Iβm working on this quarter.
The podcast and videos on YouTube are already taking the top spot on Google. Also, weβve earned placement in the see results about section.
Once you scroll past the top you can see 2 of our blogs in the top 4 spots.
Consistently creating high quality content is how weβve started taking over a strategic keyword that will positively impact the brand that weβre building.
It canβt just be quantity. It canβt just be quality.
In order to win in ππ‘π ππππ«ππ‘ πππ¨π§π¨π¦π² it needs to be both.
The Content We Dropped This Week
In the ninth episode of ππ‘π ππππ«ππ‘ πππ¨π§π¨π¦π² podcast we discuss the role of great content.
Iβm joined by David to discuss great content from average content. David shares how he thinks about the role of content in his role as CEO and opportunities ahead.
Please follow and subscribe to ππ‘π ππππ«ππ‘ πππ¨π§π¨π¦π² wherever you consume fine audio and video content.
Quick Tip for The Search Economy
Your greatest opportunity to differentiate yourself in ππ‘π ππππ«ππ‘ πππ¨π§π¨π¦π² is to inject your authentic point of view in the topic that youβre covering with your content. You can run laps around your competition by making yourself vulnerable and sharing your beliefs in your content. Itβs important to take the time to establish your brand voice. You can think about it as building the steps and front porch for people to come visit you. Once youβve established your brand voice through your content your next move should be creating a kick ass SEO strategy. This is how you pour fuel on the fire.
If youβre looking for a team that will help give you a jump start into ππ‘π ππππ«ππ‘ πππ¨π§π¨π¦π² give Pneuma a shout for a free traffic audit!
What Theyβre Saying About Search
I fall victim to making marketing things too complicated sometimes. I love the sentiment of Johnβs post. His suggestion encourages quality and enforces the power of distribution.
This is a potent combination for getting found by your next customer in ππ‘π ππππ«ππ‘ πππ¨π§π¨π¦π²
If youβre looking for a team that will help give you a jump start into ππ‘π ππππ«ππ‘ πππ¨π§π¨π¦π² give Pneuma a shout for a free traffic audit!
Content That Supports The Search Economy
I was researching topical authority and came across this conversation from Candour Agency. If youβre looking for a deep dive on how to prove yourself to Google and other gem sources of authority look no further. I learned a ton from this conversation.
I appreciate you being here for ππ‘π ππππ«ππ‘ πππ¨π§π¨π¦π² newsletter. If youβre looking to learn more about how your company can get found by your next customer then give the Pneuma team a shout.