Beware of Cheap Content for SEO

SEO content on the cheap

Nothing is more important for SEO than good content, and there are many options for getting content written cheaply. I use the word “cheap” for a reason, because it’s worse than inexpensive – this SEO content is downright cheap, or even free, and should be avoided.

One such option is the use of article spinning software, where you enter several keywords you’d like your article to have, and then a program produces an article, usually by scouring the web for content. Another one allows you to enter an original article and then rewrites it, using synonyms for words. In both cases, the result is pure garbage, and usually has grammatical errors and doesn’t read well.

Another option is to outsource content writing overseas, or to really inexpensive websites that offer to write a 500-word article for just $5. I have seen these articles in the past, and it is not an overstatement to say that a 10-year-old can write better content. These articles often lack focus, make little sense, and contain errors.

So, why do these service exist? Because people understand the need for content, and want to get lots of it on the cheap. You know the old saying though – you get what you pay for! Often SEO people will say that it’s ok to use garbage content on sites other than their main site, and that they are just looking for any content in order to get back links. To me, this makes little sense. Why is it ok to have garbage pointing to your site?  Is it not conceivable that Google can track this, and then penalize the main site?

SEO needs to be about quality – not just on the main site but everywhere that links to the main site. Would you rather have a quality link on a good site, with well-written content, that will last indefinitely? Or some nonsense blog post no one will ever see, that will likely get taken down? To me the choice it clear – you either decide not to have garbage associated with your site, or you’ll try the latest scheme and will keep spinning  your wheels to maintain it.