A staggering amount of content is produced on a daily basis and, sadly, much of its bulk is designed purely to score points with search engines.

Often labelled ‘backfill’ content, it would make more sense to  label this rotting and decaying rubbish as ‘landfill content’ instead.

Its polarity can be seen in high quality, living content that is shared dynamically across social networks. This type will continue to grow and develop, as it is updated and re-purposed regularly.

Avoiding the landfill abyss

Landfill content is created with search engines in mind. It will be based around primary search phrases and keywords with the sole purpose of ticking boxes and getting to a number one ranking. It’s all about quantity.

In the short term, this approach may be effective but beware! This strategy will erode your brand and alienate your customers. This form of low quality content will not engage your audience and may switch them off completely. As a Googlebot is unlikely to ever buy your products, opting for living content is a safer bet.

A breath of fresh content

On the other hand, living content is created to appeal directly to readers. It is well written, fresh and sharable. As a human race, we love to read about what is happening right now; successful content writers understand and embrace this.

Although there will always be room for evergreen topics, the popularity of new, original content should not be underestimated.

Old, uninspiring content will not be shared or retweeted. Google understands the demand for fresh content and rewards it with elevated search results.

Even evergreen topics, such as “How do I remove red wine stains?”, can be updated and repurposed. By adding video or additional tips, you can inject new life into a static page.

We all love fresh, living content. Move away from the landfill and breathe new life into your work.

Steven Morris