If there has been a company that changed the Web more than any other, I’d have to argue that that company would be Google. Not because of anything that they specifically have done – which is plenty – but because of the deeper, longer-lasting effects that search (primarily through Google) has had on Web content.
Commonly known as SEO (search engine optimization), the Web has been changed by this emphasis on being found via Google or (insert other search engine here).
How Content Should Work
When I visit a website I am visiting because I have a desire to find information, whether it’s a certain fact that I need to incorporate into an article or the opinion of one of my favorite bloggers on the latest technological trends. Search engine optimization makes sense for the first case, as I would be lying if I said that ‘research’ didn’t generally mean ‘search with Google and click on the top link’.
For the second type of content, however, I want the writer to focus on conveying their information in the best way possible. If you’re writing a story about Apple, go ahead and write about them, but don’t include a heavy repetition of words for search engines’ sake. Writing of this type is meant to convey the voice of the writer, not get clicks to display ads – in an ideal world, anyway.
How Content Really Works
Nowadays, every little thing on the internet has to be tagged, categorized, and optimized in every way possible. No longer is it acceptable to have a headline like ‘My Thoughts on the iPad’; now it needs to be something along the lines of ‘My Thoughts on Apple’s Latest Announcement on their Leading Tablet that Spells the end for Samsung and HTC and Technology and Google’. While the first isn’t the best option to begin with (it’s a bit vague) the second is clearly worse.
Writers wouldn’t force this sort of repetition in, say, a physical newspaper. It’s unnecessary. It’s not like someone can search all of the articles from all of the newspapers for something that they like. Instead, it’s assumed that you’re going to buy that newspaper, whether it’s because you appreciate that entire newspaper or one particular writer’s work. This was wonderful in the age of physical media, as it insured brand loyalty and meant that the writer (and editor) was in control of the content, not some outside force.
If I had a nickel…
Now this is gone. Search engines are the jumping-points of the Web, so it’s important to end up on the top of the search results. If you don’t, and you’re trying to get as many clicks as possible (for whatever reason), you’re already at a huge disadvantage. Search changed the system.
But Wait; Search is Broken Too!
People use search engines to get the most relevant results as quickly as possible. That’s why Google organizes its results the way that it does; they have their own secret-sauce (algorithim for those of you that want to hate on my metaphors) that is supposed to make sure users can find what they want. Before everything became artificially optimized, this was an excellent system.
Well? Do ya?
Now we have issues with websites that create tags and pages without any actual content. I’ve been there before, searching for a review or an opinion and going through to websites that showed up in the search results that didn’t have what I searched for. People have gotten so good at SEO that they can make a result appear for something that doesn’t even exist.
This has taken search from naturally powerful and thorough to a complete crapshoot. Now you’re going to have to click through several results that seem perfect before you can find an item that actually has what you’re looking for. When this happens once it’s a pain – when it happens a dozen times, it’s a flaw with the system.
How Do We Fix This?
The answer to this is simple, obvious, and never going to be implemented. It’s a quick fix here: stop artificially gaming your content and allow your website to be found organically. If you want to be found quickly, create something relevant that is written (shot, drawn, whatever) well instead of relying on some half-baked notion of optimization.
We, as content creators, need to stop faking it and create using the tried and true method of making excellent things, talking about excellent things, and repeating each step until someone recognizes our name. Then, perhaps, we can just rely more on our community of followers to share our content instead of relying on random people finding what we’ve written through Google.
And could Google fix itself? Well, that’s a topic for another day. Oh wait.