And over quantity, of course. Two recent changes by Google reinforce the value of content written for higher purposes than keywords or filling white space.
One of those changes is secure search. All Google searches are now automatically encrypted, meaning no keyword data is collected and made available. As a Google spokesperson told Search Engine Watch, this change is all about user protection and privacy.
Thom Craver, the author of the Search Engine Watch article, goes into more detail on his personal blog about the new secure search and what it means for the SEO industry. He concludes:
Most SEOs I know have moved off the segment-by-keywords thought process long ago. Those who haven’t shouldn’t be miserable. It’s an opportunity to improve yourself in your field, instead of continuing to use stagnant, older practices.
The other change–Google in-depth articles–is no longer news, but worth revisiting in light of the close look Forbes recently took at in-depth article results.
In August, Google started serving up three “in-depth articles” results for some topical searches, such as “genetics,” “fact checking,” and “Orange is the New Black” (but not for “Internet security” or “keyword research,” surprisingly). Forbes teamed up with a Moz data scientist to explore these seemingly curated results and how often you might see them.
