“Quality content” is a moving target.
Every year, what we define as quality changes, sometimes in small, barely noticeable ways and sometimes in big, foundational ways.
Regardless of the trends, for me, quality can best be described by 3 specific criteria:
- Original ideas and insights
- Clear, clean writing
- Accurate reporting and research
These additional elements build on that foundation to create a truly impressive piece of content:
- It educates, entertains, and engages.
- It’s honest and transparent. (No fake news, thank you very much!)
- It’s delivered in a way that’s easy to read, easy to navigate, and easy to share.
- It’s visually attractive, with media and images.
- It adds value to readers, rewarding them for investing their time.
Each year, whenever I read an article that stands out in some way, I add it to a list of top content for that year. This list is personal. What stands out is usually content that educates, entertains, or adds value to me in my life or business.
But I’m pretty picky. To make this list, it needs to impress me or hit a bullseye of information that I need or want.
It usually makes me sit back and say Wow! or gets me thinking.
My criteria are this:
- I read the whole article.
- It impressed me in at least one aspect of content creation, writing, or presentation.
Who are the 2016 winners? Check them out…
SEO Tools: The Complete List (2016 Update)
By Brian Dean • Updated October 8, 2016
We talk a lot about quality and value in content creation. But it’s not often we see it done on this scale.
This article isn’t your average product review. It’s the end-all in product reviews for SEOs.
Brian and his team tested nearly 200 free and paid tools and compiled their results in this article. But since no one wants to scroll through 200 tools to find the one they’re interested in, Brian created handy links to help you filter results, making it super easy to find the information you need.
And since this post is updated regularly, it promises to be the go-to resource for SEOs now and in the future.
For its superb user experience and for over-delivering on every level, this article wins my award for the Top 2016 Blog Post. Congratulations Brian and Backlinko team. You set a new standard for “quality content.”
AB Testing Inspiration: Using Emotional Triggers
By Brian Massey • April 7, 2016
For use of media, this one wins 10 gold stars.
Brian leans on his artistic skills to create a hand-drawn infographic taken from a presentation by Talia Wolf. He then adds a video and a few screenshots, as well as instructive text.
What you get is an engaging, interactive post that’s well worth imitating.
And by the way, if you worry that you can’t be creative with a boring or technical topic, get over it. Brian’s content is upbeat, fun to read, and as you can see here, highly engaging, even when he’s presenting hard-core conversion strategies.
This post wins 2nd Place in my Top 2016 Blog Posts Review for its creativity and visual appeal. Way to go, Brian!
Why We Started Treating Blog Posts Like Campaigns (and You Can Too!)
By Amy Wood • September 28, 2016
We live in an era where fake news reads like reality. Ugh!
That’s why it’s important to back up every claim we make with credible proof. And it’s why case studies are so valuable. Their transparency sets us at ease, and the lessons learned can’t be denied.
Besides, we all want to improve a process or achieve a better outcome. It’s helpful to see how others in our industry are doing it.
This post stood out to me because it’s well organized and fun to read. It addresses a specific problem that I happen to deal with on a regular basis. And I got some valuable takeaways from it.
Reading time: well worth it!
And by the way, case studies are the perfect vehicle for content upgrades. I downloaded Unbounce’s.
For the value it gives readers, this post wins 3rd place in my Top 2016 Blog Posts Review. Congrats, Amy and the Unbounce team!
No way to treat an author: How Harper Lee lost control of her legacy
By Ron Charles • February 19
This post has a lot of things going for it. First, it’s a great example of newsjacking. Published in the days after Harper Lee’s death, it was relevant enough to get a click from me.
But it isn’t simply an ode to a great American author. It presents details and research that I hadn’t seen before. That kept my interest high.
And finally, it doesn’t just tell a story or present facts. After sharing his findings, Ron responds to them, analyzing the situation and offering a solution, even comparing it to a similar situation involving Emily Dickenson.
Publish the book or donate the papers: It’s not a discussion I would have been able to contribute to. But now I can. I feel smarter now, and that makes me feel I invested my reading time well.
20 Inviting Home Exterior Color Palettes
By Caren Baginski • September 2016
This one is only relevant because I live in a green house, and I’ve wondered how I might change or enhance the color scheme. The idea of seeing 20 HGTV-approved color palettes in one article was irresistible.
But that’s the point.
If you’re an industry leader, it’s your responsibility to guide your followers. This article is a good example of the format you might use: name the example, show it in an image, and talk about it. Here, they even tell you the paint colors so you aren’t guessing.
Another interesting point: Upon checking the page source, I see that the article was originally published in August 2015 and updated September 2016.
The takeaway for us is that quality content is kept fresh and updated. Rather than continually trying to come up with new, original ideas, we can (and should) maintain our existing content.
In case you’re interested, the screenshot above shows the color combination I’m leaning towards.
14 of the Most Brutal (But Fair) Saas Onboarding Teardowns from a UX Expert
By JS-Marketing • January 30, 2016 (NOTE: as of January 2018, the link to this site isn’t working.)
Creating quality content is challenging when you’re doing a review, curating information, or sharing your findings from a book or event.
How do you share someone else’s information and still be original?
Well, there’s a right way to do it and a lot of ways NOT to do it. This post gets it right.
The post starts with attribution.
Samuel Hulick runs a fantastic blog at Useronboard. With honesty he praises and dismisses online product onboarding sequences. And when I say honesty…I mean the ‘Coach Taylor’ honesty – firm, but fair.
It then moves into a series of sections summarizing and responding to Hulick’s ideas:
As we’re lovers of SAAS companies (we help them generate leads to scale fast), we compiled his most brutal assessments.
This post impresses me because of its visual hierarchy and easy-to-find takeaways. You can easily use it as a template for both list posts and curation posts.
5 PPC Secrets I’ve Discovered Through Millions of Ad Spend
by Johnathan Dane • July 7, 2016
This post is a simple list post, but it shares advanced information in a delightful way. Johnathan’s graphics illustrate complex ideas and get me fully engaged. (I love the Chuck Norris PPC Cycle!)
Not only did I learn a few things, I enjoyed every word. Brilliant.
One thing to note, Johnathan gives fun names to each of his concepts—that’s good for branding and for engagement. Give thought to “branding” your best strategies. Then feature them in a post like this one.
37 Proven Methods To Increase Blog Traffic And Boost Engagement
by Nadya Khoja • April 15, 2016
This is a terrific example of an epic post done right. It’s in-depth. It shares tips that haven’t been mined from 1,000 other articles—meaning, it’s original and incredibly valuable.
I also like that the post is a work in progress. This is a smart way to get that epic post written and published somewhat painlessly. Do it in installments, like Nadya does.
Add Nadya’s playful voice and entertaining visuals, and you have a winner. What could have been a boring, fact-filled post focused on length is, instead, something you’ll likely read all the way through, even if you ought to be doing something else.
13 Research-Backed Ways to Get More Social Shares
by Kevin Ho • September 13, 2016
To get eyeballs on your content, you need to address the exact problem or issue your audience wants to know more about. But you can’t just recycle the same ideas everyone else is recycling.
Boring!
Kevin’s intro hooked me by quickly describing the problem—something most of us content marketers struggle with—then promising that he’d found the solution. As proof, he includes two screenshots of his share numbers, a before and after.
I love that he proves his technique works before giving me the list. This approach calms any doubts I may have about “wasting” a few minutes on this post and builds my curiosity too. I’m ready to read because I believe he onto something here.
Note also that for every tip, he gives a resource or examples so you can try it out. I love how actionable and relevant this post is.
Is Duplicate Content on Medium and LinkedIn Bad for SEO?
By Maddy Osman • February 9, 2016
This post isn’t epic. There’s no shock value or curiosity. It’s a straight-forward piece that gives useful information clearly and concisely.
It helps that I was curious about this topic, but being on-topic and delivering value are two different things. This post answered my question so completely, I didn’t need to look any further. And it helped me decide on my own strategy with confidence. That’s value!
The biggest reasons I’m including this article are the research and analysis that went into it. Plus, it’s organized so well, it’s an easy (and helpful) read.
As writers and content creators, we tend to put a lot of emphasis on big ideas and stylistic writing. But the words we use aren’t as important as the ideas and the research we’re sharing. This article is a good example of that.
Answer your readers’ questions. And do it well. Sometimes, that’s enough to get you on a Top Articles list like this one.
Content+Growth: Susan Su on Two Frameworks for Content Marketing
By Tyler Tate • November 10, 2016
This article wins on multiple levels…
It’s a series. For us as writers, this is a huge time-saver—one idea can spawn multiple articles. But it’s just as valuable to readers because, if they like it, they have a collection of articles to explore.
It shares in-depth information usually reserved for conference attendees. People who went to the event but aren’t good note-takers will appreciate this. People who wanted to go but couldn’t will appreciate it. As will people who didn’t know about the event but follow the topic. Basically, everyone likes to learn the advanced stuff shared in conferences.
Finally, it’s a well-written, informative article that looks good too. It’s text plus video. I can skim the article, read it word-for-word, watch the video, or listen while I check my email. Talk about engaging!
Want to see more? Check these out.
As I Said, It’s a Personal List
I read a wide variety of posts, but like you, I tend to watch the content that’s in my sphere of interests: content marketing, business growth, and human interest to name a few.
As a result, my list of Top Content is relatively short. I know there are lots of other winning posts out there. Share your faves in the comments below.
And let’s use them to raise the bar for all of us, making quality content the new norm.
