A thoughtful post on Search Engine Land discussed the issue of similar content in search engine results (different than the issue of duplicate content). The author asks: “How will your webpages provide users with materially different value than the other websites covering the same market space?” If brands don’t address this question when creating content, search engines don’t want to rank that content high in the results.
Though it’s hard to come up with new and different approaches at this point in retail, beyond creating and patenting technologies, it’s not impossible. For instance, InStyle just launched its first branded product, a line of button-down shirts sized by bust size. Brands have been moving into publishing at a steady rate, but a publisher moving into retail is far less common. InStyle’s move is a good example of bringing something new to the table: a newish connection of content and commerce, not to mention the novel idea of selling women’s clothing with personalized rather than arbitrary sizing.
