Definition: Content (German: content) is in the area of online marketing called a Web page, the entire contents. As a rule, this is (HTML) text, but also images, graphics, videos, music files or gifs. Content is essential for ranking in search engines, for the length of stay of website visitors and their interaction on the website.
Outside of online marketing, Anglicism describes all editorial, classic media content that is offered through media formats such as TV, newspapers, magazines or radio.
Content as a means for search engine optimization
Search engines try to present the most relevant result for the user. In order to evaluate the relevance of a page, over 200 signals are evaluated. Among other things, the structure, type and amount of the content.
On the one hand, the entire page is checked to see how much interesting content the page has in store for the entered keyword, on the other hand, corresponding offers offer visitors the opportunity to stay longer and interact, such as sharing links, writing comments or similar on the Move page. The length of the stay, the clicking on links in the text or in the menu and also the interaction flow into the ranking of the website in the search results. The following applies: The longer the user is on the site, the more actively he deals with the content, the more positive and stronger the signal to the search engine.
Text content
This means all text content on a website. Names in the menu structure are also regarded as text content. If a website is checked by a search engine with regard to the text content, this initially includes the entire scope of the text. The texts themselves are checked for structure.
According to ezhoushan, sections should be well distributed and headings should be used sensibly. The choice of words is also important. The WDF * IDF has been around for some timeCheck, which looks at the existence of so-called terms (relevant words in relation to the keyword) in connection with the length of the text, links set and other factors. This is to prevent text deserts, which consist almost exclusively of the keyword, from spreading on the Internet. A so-called Gibberish Score is used for this, for which the search engine Google has applied for a patent. This is an evaluation of the textual content in terms of added value and depth of content. This is to prevent so-called “thin content”, i.e. content devoid of content. That is why one speaks in German of the “Schwafelscore”.
Pictorial content
The situation is different with content such as photos, infographics or videos. Just as search engines have image searches, the content still cannot be read. The displayed pixels cannot be evaluated by the search engines. Nevertheless, the images are important for the ranking and the content of the page. On the one hand, you loosen up the text, illustrate statements made and ensure that the user deals more intensively with the content. Furthermore, pictures or illustrations are also often shared in social networks, as they can convey statements without words. This interaction in turn has a positive effect on the ranking of the website.
In particular, content such as videos and infographics ensure high interaction rates and longer stays. It is therefore advisable to include them whenever possible. It is important to ensure that alt tags, meaningful image titles and descriptions are assigned for all integrated graphic content, as these can be evaluated by Google. In addition, it is important to only place images, videos and graphics on the website in a size-optimized manner, as slow loading times are severely punished by the search engines. Ultimately, the search engine wants to deliver content that is as relevant as possible to the searcher as quickly as possible.
“Content is king, context is queen”
This saying describes the resulting orientation when designing and structuring content for websites. The most diverse, meaningful content must also be relevant to the topic of the page and the orientation of the content. There has to be a good balance between image, text and keywords, the usability and orientation on the page easy for the visitor. All of these things count in the content offer and thus also in the ranking of the website.
Social media content
Social media content is all content that can be shared via social channels. The spectrum ranges from texts to small videos. Depending on the channel, the social media content is aligned differently. The orientation of the social media content is primarily towards divisibility and interaction. This type of content is used for communication, interaction and connection with users or potential customers.
Unique content and duplicate content
When creating content for websites, attention must be paid to the uniqueness of the content. So-called “unique content”, that is, unique, good content with added value, is rated very positively by search engines, among other things through the Gibberish score. Website visitors also react positively to good content. Understandable, because texts or images that have not yet been seen arouse interest and tempt you to stay on the site for a longer period of time, interact or, in the best case, even make an online purchase.
The “ duplicate content ” – that is, duplicate, similar or even completely copied content – is in stark contrast to this. Since this brings no or too little new content for the searcher, pages that have “duplicate content” are penalized in the ranking, that is, they are placed further down in the search results.
Content marketing
Content marketing describes the dissemination of content with the purpose of conveying an advertising message. Content marketing includes both the creation of content for the website and the distribution of social media content in the corresponding channels.
