Google Speaks on Content Quality VS Quantity Debate

Content quantity is about how much content you put out there, and quality is about how good the content is. There are a few factors that contribute to good quality content, for example, years of experience, word count and grammar. I think you can have the best of both worlds, create a balance. You can produce good quality content frequently. I am sure you are asking yourself how this can be done? 

John Mu, Google Spokesperson, said in his Twitter thread that a more quantity of content does not definitely mean more traffic.

How can you produce good quality content in high volume?

Well, it is easy. I will use social media as an example. People are always looking for new things on the market, and brands are always trying to catch up. 

? First, check what is currently trending and know your target audience or market. Have a deadline or target a week. If the content is good enough, it will reach many people. I mean, who doesn’t check out a picture that is eye-catchy on Instagram. You can’t scroll past that. If people like what they see, they even save it for future use, and if you produce good quality content, you get good recommendations. 

? Consistency is important because even if you produce good quality content, but you aren’t consistent, people forget about you, you may lose the audience. 

Quality and quantity hence go hand in hand because even if you are consistently producing content, only to find out that it’s not good quality, it will not be received well by the audience. If you post one and the same thing over and over again, your numbers will not increase. In fact, they might even decrease, or the growth will be very slow. 

• Engage with your target audience to find out what they want to see. People like to be heard and be paid attention to. Be flexible, be open to change. Brands use content creators or influencers to ”market” their products. The type of content creator chosen for the job also contributes to the outcome of the content, whether it will be of good quality or bad. 
•  Find people that are in the same line of work and can relate to what you want to put out. While we are still on creating balance, bring new faces. Keep your audience entertained. People like seeing new faces on the market. If you are consistently bringing new faces of creators that align with the image of your brand, you will get more engagement from your audience. 

If the creators you get for your brand do not align with the image of your brand, the brand can be negatively presented, which can cause a huge loss on the brand itself and negatively affect the numbers. For example, you cannot ask someone that does not drink to review your new cider on the market. People will have no idea how to review it or can be dishonest about it. The content you put out there has to be realistic. People should not feel ambushed when they receive your product. 

Another factor that people do not really pay attention to is the manner of approach. If you produce high volume content with the same approach, it will be seen as boring and not grab attention because the audience will be used to your style. Like I said above, be flexible, be open to change and approach tasks differently. 

? Stay in line with current trends. If you are well informed on old and new trends, you can even combine the two and produce good quality content in high volume and expand your target audience. Do research in your line of work so that you can also be well informed. 

Does the language you use in the content matter?

The issue of language used is very sensitive because the language used carries so much weight; why? 

• People can find the language used offensive or be triggered by it. 
•  The language used can miscommunicate the message you were trying to put out. 

How to stay on trend with language without offending people?

•  Avoid hate speech because if the use of hate speech can cause huge havoc, people will apply ”cancel culture” to your brand. This applies even to hashtags that you use. The language used contributes to the quality or quantity of content. 

You want your audience to understand the message you are trying to convey, so use language that people understand, and you also want them to engage with your content. English is always the go-to language to use. 

Use F.I.N.E.R Criteria to evaluate the quality of your content

FINER stands for Feasible, Interesting, Novel, Ethical and Relevant. This criterion is mostly used in research studies, but I think it can also be used to evaluate the content we put out there. Does your content fit the FINER criteria? If it doesn’t fit, then it’s good to go? Look at FINER criteria below: 

• Feasible- Do you have enough resources and funds to produce the quality of content you want? Because if you have great plan and ideas but no resources, it will affect the type of content you put out. 
•  Interesting – What is unique about your content? Does it have that interesting personal touch? The content you put out must be attractive to your audience. Or if there is nothing unique about it people will easily skip it because they feel like they have seen it before and it’s not interesting to them anymore. 
•  Novel- (new faces and new ideas) It’s important to do research in your line of work so that you know what people want and come up with solutions. Above I said it’s important to bring new faces because they come with new ideas. 
•  Ethical – The language used if it is not offending anyone? If people find the content you produced offensive, it will bring legal implications for your brand. 
•  Relevant- Your content, is it updated on current trends? Is it what your audience wants to see? Times are changing, it’s okay to evolve and follow trends, don’t be left behind.

Will the debate between content quality and quantity ever end?

 Absolutely NO, people have different opinions on the issue. Some believe in posting constantly to find the traction of the audience and search engine rankings. They may miss paying attention to the quality of the content they put out. Some, on the other hand, may believe in posting good quality content, not in high volume. The fact is if your audience feels neglected, they will move to other brands or people that are grabbing their attention. 

• Content quantity and quality have their own advantages, but if you combine the two, the advantages outweigh the disadvantages. 
• Effort and time matter: If you spend less time making sure that the content you want to put out is good, the quality will not be good. Take the initiative and make an effort to ensure the quality of your content. 

In conclusion, I think it’s important to listen to what your clients want and be open to evolving as well. Don’t have a stagnated approach. One must strive to strike a balance between the aspects of content quality and content quantity when publishing and producing content for a website. There is no sure-shot way of defining what will and will not work with SEO. The basic idea of optimising your web content for search engines is to write for your readers. As long as you are doing that, you do not need to worry about the content quality vs quantity debate. Focus on providing value to your readers to find the pulse of your audience and improve your chances of getting higher rankings on Google.