What is "quality content"?

[PunkJazz]

I see over and over references to the importance of "quality content" but what does that really mean as relates to googlebot? Obviously human beings can differentiate between junk and quality information and make a decision to come back or not based on that, but how does a script make those kinds of distinctions? If I put up 500 pages each with 500 copies of the same 50 images, each one named differenlty to match keywords on the pages and links that lead to them how can a script possibly look at that and consider it anything other than quality content? It's aboslute junk but only a human being can make that distinction.

[Beachboy]

What Google wants to see is other sites linking to yours. Googlebot, as you point out, can't distinguish (yet) between true quality and clever BS, BUT it sure can determine that other websites link to yours, and the context in which that linking occurs. Google considers such links as "votes" for quality.

So that's what it is. Produce original, substantial and valuable content, others will link to you in a natural manner. And Googlebot will find those "votes." And if you optimize well and all that stuff, your reward will be some pretty decent ranking. :)

[jdMorgan]

PunkJazz,

Welcome to WebmasterWorld [webmasterworld.com]!

Quality content: Writing and/or illustrations of sufficient quality to attract other webmasters in your subject area, and cause them to want to link to you, thus establishing your site as an authority in your subject area and boosting your link popularity and page rank. If you do this right, you will get incoming links from other good sites without having to ask for them. In terms of marketing as opposed to SE link pop and Page Rank, putting up useful information that will cause visitors to tell their friends about your site. Example: An e-commerce store selling digital cameras which also includes a basic digital photography primer will do better than a site which just has the same old product photo, description and the same price.

In a nutshell: Be worth bookmarking.

Jim

[chiyo]

I agree very much with the first two replies. That is the key - google does not need to analyse directly how good your content it is - they only need to count and estimate the importance of "citations".

I think that is 80% or more of theier way of working out quality content.

Having said that I am seeing pretty good evidence (and from other people's posts over the months here) that.

1. Google will detect duplicate content on your site or wnywhere else it exists on the public web.

2. It knows the difference between well formed paragraphs and taglines/lists of links etc

3. It MAY also take into account the number of bad (inoperative links) you have.

4. It knows who you link to. That does give some clues (admittedly limited) to the quality of your site, and its function, uncluding whether is affiliate based, hub or authority, commercial or informative or educational etc.

5. It knows how much you update <b>And by how much</b>. For many sites(bit not all) this is a good indicator of quality content.

[PunkJazz]

Lol ok that makes a little more sense - quality content for the purpose of attracting quality links.

[jdMorgan]

...And word-of-mouth visitors.

Jim