Alan Eggleston, Author at Content Trends

Content Creator’s Guide to Building Authority

March 24, 2014 by Alan Eggleston

It’s worth pondering: Do you work best alone or in concert with others? It may “take a village” to raise authority for even worthy content.

Authors and publishers – writers and bloggers – often have a symbiotic relationship that allows them to build authority and increase traffic for both. Building authority also means building trust, both with search engines and, just as important, with readers.

But both authors and publishers have to work at it. Fortunately, today more than ever there are good ways to do that.

It’s a team effort

How can blogs and authors work together to build authority? It’s really pretty simple.

First, each needs to establish its authority.

#1. Create a Google+ page

Authors can begin by linking from their content to their Google+ Profile.
Establish a Google+ personal page if you haven’t already.
Place the rel=”author” tag on your byline (see instructions).
Verify your connection using the structured data testing tool.
Publishers can begin by verifying site ownership with their Google+ Page.
Establish a Google+ Page for your business or organization if you haven’t already. Place the rel=”publisher” tag on your website and verify.

#2. Keep your work on-topic

Now publishers should build on that authority by creating content about a specific topic. They can write that content themselves or have other authors write it. The more authority the authors they use have, the more authority the blog will build. For search purposes, it helps to build nuance by varying keywords and keyword synonyms used to refer the topic. Publish both in depth (number of words) and in breadth (number of articles).

Authors should build on their authority, contributing articles in depth on their topic or topics of expertise and contributing to blogs or websites that have authority on that topic or those topics. They should work out with the blog or website to use the rel=”author” tag on bylines.

Now take it to your fans

#3. Build Social Signals

Next, both publishers and authors need to work on building social signals, coordinated and separately. That also helps build authority. Google+ seems to have the most impact on authority-based topics.

Increase trust on Google+

Number of +1s

Blogs should promote content on their Google+ Pages, with authors sharing and giving a +1 to alert others to read their articles.
Authors should promote content on their Google+ individual pages, with blogs sharing and giving a +1.
In my experience, Facebook is more friends but Google+ is more professionals and people of authority, so their sharing information adds weight.
Professionals and people of authority consult websites and authors for specialized content, again adding weight to +1s.

Number of Circles

Authors should increase the number of Google circles they follow.
In addition to personal topic circles (friends, family, coworkers), they should join circles related to their content topics.
Publishers should join circles related to their topic specialty. There may be more than one.
In addition, Publishers should start circles for their readers or for discussion groups, also called “Communities.”
Authors may want to start circles for other authors or Communities, too.

Engagement on Google+

Don’t think of Google+ as just a place to promote your articles. It’s also a place to explore content ideas and engage your readers. One science author asked for ideas about a speech he was giving at a conference. Readers offered him great ideas to talk about.
Many authors post shorter article-length updates on Google+ and the +1s they receive add to the writer’s authority.
Blogs can post headlines, graphic treatments or photos, surveys, and more for reader reaction. They can even host “Hangouts” to invite fans to live video chats.

Non-Google Networks

Google has the easiest time reading its own signals, but don’t discount reader feedback from Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Quora, Pinterest, and others.
Facebook “likes” and “shares” carry more weight than comments. Hashtags on Facebook facilitate searches and can be associated with a specific URL.
Twitter RTs and trending topics carry weight, too, so if you can associate a trending “hashtag” with your name or blog (in a good way), that’s a good thing.
Answering a lot of questions on a topic in Quora can add authority value, too. You can broadcast your answer to Twitter and Facebook, and if they are liked or shared, have value.
“Pins” and “Repins” on Pinterest have value. Add a “Pin it” icon to your blog or Web page, and promote it on social media.
Promote blog articles on LinkedIn updates and Group pages. They often result in more traffic.

#4. Connect with other authors

Greater authority results when you connect with other authors, which social media channels like Google+, Facebook, and Twitter can help you do. There you can meet up, help promote their work, interact regularly, and even connect with influencers who help build you as an influencer. With the right influencers, your content can even go viral.

An element of trust building plays in here, also. It includes endorsements, positive reviews, and linking to the works of others or from others.

#5. Try to increase interaction and engagement on your blog

Comments

Blog and website articles with a lot of engagement in the comments section show a sense of community and engagement with the site and author. Certainly a lot of traffic indicates popularity, which can mean authority. It isn’t a sure thing. Engagement with link sharing is telling, but no or little engagement is also telling.
Publishers should monitor and manage comment spam, which detracts from authority. Trace comment links multiple levels to ensure their efficacy.

#6. Guest Blog for authority sites in your niche

Even though it’s no longer a method for posting back links, guest blogging is still valuable for reaching other audiences and building authority. Especially if you write for an authority site.

#7. Try to build links with valuable content

Another area for building authority is links. Outbound links can be powerful for extending topic nuance, but inbound links can be powerful for showing how others favor your content.

Inbound Links

Inbound links are harder to arrange, but the more authority behind them the better.
Back and forth links are usually more powerful, but in terms of authority, links from news, research, educational, informational, and other authority sites are best.
Check all the links to your site (see Google Webmaster Tools Site Dashboard for lists). Disavow any spam or undesirable links.

#8. Review and Increase your Domain Authority

The more signals you provide on your site that your site is about what you say it is, the more authority you will derive for it. Among the factors you can control is the domain name. With more and more extensions available, it’s much easier to get something specific that once was already bought up.

Use a simple, topic-specific domain.
Use topic-specific URLs, not arbitrarily generated URLs
Use topic-specific file names, graphics names, image names, and navigation titles.
Your domain authority and the way search engines use DA to rank your site are effected by your domain age (the older the better) and inbound links (the more solid the better).

#9. Try to work on traditional search engine trust signals such as PageRank and MozRank

Page Rank has been desirable for many reasons. Among them is that the more times you earn a top ranking, the more authority it gives you for that topic. Among the things Google looks at to assign ranking are popularity (you met reader needs), links (readers think your content is good), and Web stats (of those who visited, how many stayed and for how long?)

Work on content that attracts lots of visitors.
Look for ways that keep visitors on your page and your site.
Engage on social media for sharing links and encouraging others to do the same.
Note that page rank is becoming less determinant – Google prefers that you to ignore it, but resistance has been heavy. Mozrank may be more meaningful.

#10. Build up your Author Rank

Author Rank is a developing signal – no one can seem to agree whether is up or down or just sitting around. Google itself says it’s certainly using it in assigning rank to authors of in-depth content, for populating content in Knowledge Graphs and Rich Snippets.

Keep your content deep and rich in detail. Google is now giving special credit to those authors who write in-depth articles, ranging from 1,200-2,500 words. They’ve initially started this effort for high authority sites. But the more you write on a particular topic, the better chances you have of establishing your authority.
Write about your special topic(s) across multiple blogs or sites to develop breadth.
Use schema.org markup to make data easy for access across platforms and formats.
Use schema.org “article” markup and follow Google webmaster guidelines to help search engines understand your content.
Use the rel=”author” to link to your Google+ profile as suggested earlier.
Even if Author Rank develops more fully later, doing these things now will make you readier for it when it is used.

Publishers working with a variety of authors who write on topic and a consistent group of authors who attract readers and work with those authors to promote their content online will build mutual authority for lots of future growth.

Your Turn

What are your thoughts? Have you already used these techniques and seen results? Do you have other tips to share? We’d love to hear from you. Please share your thoughts in the comments below. Thanks.

Your Essential Guide to Writing Content for Semantic Search

March 12, 2014 by Alan Eggleston

If you’re anything like me, when you first heard of “semantic search,” “semantic web,” and “entities,” you thought – not more monsters to tame! When did they think these up?

Actually, they are all part of the same “monster” and they’ve been around a while, lurking under the bed waiting to come out of their dark corners. But now that they’re out and functioning, they’re more like the characters in “Monsters Inc.” than the freak in “Frankenstein’s Monster.” Get to know them and you may actually like them.

True semantics

Here’s a simple way to think of them:

Entities are attributes like names, numbers, addresses, or other items of data that reside on the Web.
Semantic Web is where the entities reside and how they’re coded to make them accessible to anyone from anywhere.
Semantic search is the relation between all the entities that give wider meaning to our content and the searches for it.

Behind that simplicity is a more complex explanation and you can find it by Googling any of the terms.

What will be more useful to you as a content producer is how you use them to build better content and attract more traffic.

Hummingbird is semantic search in flight

Google Hummingbird is semantic search in practice. Bing has its version, too, although they haven’t given it a name. You can see it in use in the way Google and Bing display information to answer your queries with sidebars (Knowledge Graphs, Rich Snippets) or carousels of information you didn’t ask for but that help you learn if your search engine understood your query.

Do a search on a topic and a Knowledge Graph will display data on locations or people or organizations associated with, conferences or speeches about it, with links.

Website programmers use semantic coding (RFD, RSS, OWL sound familiar?) to highlight data in text documents not yet structure for accessibility and, thus, create structured data to populate the search results to provide immediate answers. They also use this semantic language to create structured data in other data formats using predetermined codes provided at schema.org that allow for standardized use across the Web. The creation of all this “semanticized” data and the engines to access and determine its relationships is the actual Semantic Web.

So how do you make use of semantics?

Nine ways to tame the semantic beast

#1. First, don’t be afraid of it

It isn’t really a monster, it’s more like a robot you program to make life better. Robots are good, right?

#2. Write with Hummingbird in mind

Remember what we said about writing for Hummingbird?

Google’s new search algorithm (September 2013) is all about building nuance for your keywords:

Move beyond the single keyword model and work with long-tail keyword strings, incorporate keyword synonyms, and add links to quality pages whose association also add meaning to your content.
With entities or data mined from trusted sources on the Web or social media, you can take it a step further, finding ways to link to data to build even more nuance.
Create content that answers the questions search users are asking when they do a search!

#3. Broaden your keyword reach

Plan out future content for building breadth and nuance.

Create a list of keyword variations to produce content about related topics. Searching those keywords, you may also find related authoritative content for linking.
Extend the list to include theme or concept related words or phrases. Example: If your topic is cars, a related theme might be mini-vans or SUVs; if your topic is lawn care, a related concept might be lawn sprinkling or pool care.
Look for keywords that anticipate your readers’ next questions or needs. This is a lot like cross-marketing, only the effect is extending meaning across pages as well as leading the reader to the next logical step in your website.

#4. Get your programmers involved

Your programmers should know more about the semantic Web and how to code for it.

Make available what data you can that both builds your authority and creates nuance for your brand.
You want entity extraction (pull data from existing unstructured Web documents) and enable new data with schema coding.

#5. Build site authority

Make your pages informative, feature unique information or your unique take on existing information, link to additional data, share via social media engagement, and become a source – first to report rather than being a second or third voice.
Be the best at presenting information. Make quality, depth, and authenticity your hallmark. (See “Authority – How to Build it into Your Site.”)

#6. Enhance site quality

Provide value.
Write well, ensure accuracy, never duplicate articles, and avoid spam at all costs.
Find ways to package data that others can access and use the semantic web to pass it along.

#7. Create volume

By this I mean create both depth (long material) and breadth (lots of articles). This creates plenty of opportunity for the search engines to understand the nuance of your site and your content.
The more you link between related content, the better.
The faster you do it, the more quickly you can benefit from the indexed relationships.

#8. Engage through social media

Build relevancy through shares, likes, RTs, and +’s on social media. More than ever, you need an active presence on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Google+.
This isn’t just about networking, this is about showing that your content has authority and quality and all this interaction establishes nuance for your content.

#9. Establish Authorship

Finally, although some have pooh-poohed Google authorship, there is some evidence that establishing authorship creates authority and builds nuance and veracity for the topics you cover.

It doesn’t take much to set up and I can’t think of a negative to doing it.
If you already have a Google account, why not?

No monsters here

Really, most of the work in semantic search you may already have been pursuing because of Google Hummingbird. The other half requires a little understanding but is best handled by programmers and then the usual link research. So making use of entities through the semantic Web to enhance traffic by way of performance in a semantic search isn’t as monstrous as you may have thought – right?

Bien écrire!

Your Turn

What are your thoughts? We’d love to hear from you. Please share your thoughts in the comments below. Thanks.

SEO Copywriting after Hummingbird

December 5, 2013 by Alan Eggleston

Some time ago, SEO copywriting for the Web was about maximizing for keywords. A whole industry solidified around writing for a certain percentage of a given keyword within the copy and managed the creativity or sell message around that. Then came Google Hummingbird. To be perfectly accurate, then came Google Panda, Penguin, and – finally – Hummingbird.

The Evolution of SEO Copywriting

The change in SEO copywriting habits has evolved.

First changes began in 2011 with Google’s introduction of Panda: Filtering content for quality, it penalized for poor quality such as duplicate content and content of little value.
In 2012 came Google Penguin: Filtering content for spam, it penalized for things like poor quality links and poor keyword strategies.
In 2013, Google totally rewrote its search algorithm folding elements of both Panda and Penguin into Hummingbird, upending much of the SEO copywriting practices of the past.

To recap from a copywriting perspective, here is where we are today.

Copywriting Rules After Panda and Penguin

Thanks to Google Panda (and continuing with Hummingbird):

No more duplicate copy; however, Google (and other search engines) can distinguish between same copy shared between global versions of a website. To be really sure, websites can mark one set with a canonical tag for indexing.
No more writing the same story for multiple sites and expect to rank for it.
No more slipshod articles written simply to rank for a keyword or keyword string and missing quality or value (such as content farms).

Thanks to Google Penguin (and continuing with Hummingbird):

No more spam activity, like writing copy by simply repeating a keyword or keyword string.
No more copy with links using the same keyword or keyword string for anchor text and links that do not lead to valuable content.

How Copywriting Is Different After Hummingbird

Google is now changing the whole search dynamic. How the user is expected to do a search:

Searching by asking questions
doing a search using mobile, while in motion
anticipating what you want before you finish the search string to speed up delivery of information

All will make how you write copy much different. Most important to you as a writer is helping establish nuance to your page.

Building Nuance in Your Copy

Before Hummingbird, you wrote around a keyword. Today, you still need to:

Begin with a keyword, the key concept behind your page.
Extend the keyword to keyword strings and work with synonyms for your keyword, letting the search engine know how much more your page is about than simply that one, solitary keyword.
Provide links that both verify your keyword and that build that extended meaning.

Add Authority to Impress Hummingbird

Hummingbird awards authority, so you need to build on page authority, by providing

information versus fluff
depth versus surface
backup versus bluff
the long read versus the short read (not necessary long sentences and long paragraphs, but lengthier information, more data or facts)
All of this together tells Google, Yahoo, and Bing, on complex searches, this is the many ways this page fits because this is the many things this page is about and it’s by someone of substance.

This is important for all types of copywriters:

sell copywriters
article writers
brand writers
white paper writers

It actually is important for anyone writing for the Web.

How to Work with Keywords Today

It is still important to begin with that basic kernel of the keyword or keyword string.

Google did away with its free keyword reporting tool, but it offers a free keyword planner in its Adwords program that doesn’t require actually planning an ad campaign to use.
Bing and Yahoo have a free keyword tool, too.
There are others with limited free use. Google “free keyword tools” for more.

You can still identify the most effective keyword strings as a beginning point for your page and build from there.
For some searchers, a simple keyword string search is still useful and for a while may suffice while users adapt to the new power opening to them through Google Hummingbird. So, don’t eliminate the keyword as a basic strategic tool!
But widen your word palate as you work with copy:

If you’re writing about Chevrolets, consider that they’re also known as Chevys, Malibus, Impalas, and Cavaliers.
They aren’t just automobiles, but also cars and vehicles and sedans.
A dealership isn’t just a sales floor but also a dealer showroom and service center and GM portal.
Find better ways to redefine your keyword in a meaningful way.

Link to a site’s Interior pages as well as to authoritative pages outside like

news sites
reference sites
universities and research pages
white papers
other links with authority

Link to pages that provide

definition
nuance
depth or breadth

Don’t link to pages simply of opportunity that lead the reader to nowhere.
One way to make use of question search strings is to write questions into your copy that search engines can pick up in a search. For instance:

Anticipate a search string as one of your first questions in an FAQ page and answer it, including a link to an appropriate page on the website.
Write a headline or subhead leading with “How” or “What” or “When” that builds into the keyword.

How to Copy Write for Hummingbird

Many of the old rules-of-thumb for SEO copywriting still apply.

Use keywords or keyword strings early on the page and in headlines and subheads.
Use keywords or keyword strings in meta tags.
Create unique page titles and meta descriptions for every page (no duplicates!).
Use keywords in anchor text for links in first use, vary verbiage in anchor text afterwards.
No more keyword stuffing! Write sensibly for your audience.

SEO copywriting has evolved, especially more recently. But its goal has always been the same: Reach the audience with dynamite copy. Today more than ever, that is done by writing quality content, in partnership with Google Hummingbird.

Technical SEO: What You Need to Know

September 9, 2013 by Alan Eggleston

There have been plenty of content-related changes in the SEO industry lately, but technical SEO is one area where changes have been slow to come and where the basics are still relevant. Here is a short primer for those who may not be familiar with the technology or may need a quick refresher check-list.

Whether you provide content as a full-time employee, a freelancer, or a site owner, whether you deal with content as a writer, or editor, publisher or blogger, you stand to benefit from knowing the technical basics of website optimization of SEO.

The two areas you need to wrestle in technology are meta tags and roadblocks. Neither one has traditionally been the purview of the writer, editor, or publisher, but they are often overlooked by programmers and designers and often SEO practitioners are more worried about keywords and links and adword buys, so they ignore these, too. Here’s what you need to know.

Meta Tags

Meta tags are found in the website source code and other than the title, aren’t visible on the website page itself. To view them, right click on the Chrome page and “view source.” (How to view source code on IE, Firefox, and Opera.)

Title tag

Every page needs one and it has to be unique. Treat it like a subject line, not like a movie or book title. Keywords should be at the front, company names, if used, should be at the end. The title tags should be a maximum length of 70 characters. If your site is a creative effort like a story or movie page, using the story title makes sense.

Description tag

Every page should have one and it has to be unique. If you don’t write one, the search engine will create one for you. If the search engine doesn’t like yours it will create one, often from the content on your page. Limit your description tag to 150 characters including spaces and punctuation.

Keywords list tag

There has been a lot of talk recently on the relevance of this tag. Google does not use this tag anymore for rankings and some argue that showing your keywords to competitors is not a great idea. However, Yahoo and Bing still look at your keywords.

Some say you need commas between keywords and you should list all uses of the keyword; I have found success not using commas and using keywords only once, keeping related words together. Probably not worth spending a lot of time on this tag. In most blogs, the keywords list is called “tags” and these are important to add.

Alt tags

Search engines cannot read and do not notice images or graphics, even with words. Thus, to get indexing value from them, you need to add alt tags that include your keywords. This is especially important when a photo or graphic appears at the top of the page or when a site or blog is image heavy.

Image tags

Be sure to name images and graphics with keywords, not strings of letters or numbers that don’t serve any purpose. “Image001.gif” is wasteful for SEO.

Media tags

Same thing for video and audio tags – name them with suitable keywords.

Technical Roadblocks that Prevent Search Engines from Indexing Your Site

Roadblocks are the things done on a website that get in the way of productive indexing. Sometimes they are inadvertent; sometimes they result from lazy coding or running out of time to fix them. Often, developers or designers are simply not aware – and that’s where you can save your employer or client some headaches, suggesting a fix.

Excessive coding up front

I see this one all the time. Programmers load JavaScript and CSS coding at the top of the page above any text. Search engine spiders give up! Or they get bogged down reading code and penalize the site for slowing down the site. It doesn’t have to be that way. Coding can be created in a separate file and a line added to the page telling the browser where to find it.

Content lower on the page

I see this often, too. Look in the source code to see where the actual headlines and body text begin. Place content as high on the page as possible so the search engine sees it right away. You want the first content they read to be your keywords, not the list of navigation, not the ads on the left, not the garbage lines at the top, not the quotes on the right.

Left click and scroll down on your web page to highlight everything. Right click on the highlighted page and click “copy” (or Control + C). Paste into Notepad. That will show you the indexable text and in what order.

Keywords priority

Be sure your keywords are as close to the front of your headlines and body text as possible to make the most of them. Don’t force it unnaturally, but definitely don’t hide them. Also, make sure you mention your keywords at the bottom of your text, because search engines index from the top and from the bottom.

Heavy on visuals

Unless your site is an art site, you can’t afford to go too heavy on images or graphics. Certainly, you want some visuals, including images, graphics, and videos. But search engines don’t index them. When you do use visuals, don’t top the page with them and tag them with meta tags (see above). A page with fewer than 250 words won’t index well, and a page with fewer than 500 words may not be providing its readers with much value. There is no magical formula for how many words to publish, but search engines do look for value.

Keywords in File names, domain names, etc.

Use keywords in your file names, domain names, and URLs, including in blogs. Avoid random number/letter combinations in URLs as you often find with content management systems.

Better platform

If you have the choice of where to host your blog, host it on the server with your website and use the website domain for the blog’s URL. For instance, I have a Word Press business blog hosted on my business website and its URL is http://e-messenger-consulting.com/blog/ which is better for SEO than e-messenger-consulting.wordpress.com. As an alternative, you can host on Word Press and redirect to a private domain URL.

Link efficacy

There is no use in having a link that doesn’t work or that stops working. Check your links periodically (there is software to help with this) and when you discover broken links, find the new URL for it, replace it with a new link, or eliminate the link altogether.

Duplicate content

Search engines abhor duplicate content, including disguised duplicate content. Google Panda was created to penalize sites for duplicate content (among other low-quality content issues). If you publish duplicate content, get rid of duplicate content and link (or 301 redirect) to one article if possible. If someone else is duplicating your content and refuses to delete it, use canonical tags in your URL to indicate originality. If product copy duplicates for differences in size, color, or other SKU variations, talk to your programmers about options to avoid duplication.

XML site map

An XML site map, especially for a complex website, helps the search engine figure out your content plan and aids indexing. Without one, it’s up to the search engine to figure it out. Search engines all subscribe to a single XML site-map convention and can help you create one that will work for all search engines.

Robot.txt files

Keep these to a minimum – one is best. Too many confuse the robots. These should just let the indexer know exclusions to indexing your site.

Depending on your role in the organization, many of these may not be within your control. But whatever your role, knowing about these and being able to offer strategic advice should put you in a good position to help build traffic to your content. Being able to provide well written tags when you hand over content is often a valued added service.

How Your Content Is Hurting You, and What You Can Do about It

August 16, 2013 by Alan Eggleston

You are most likely, SEO-savvy and using “white hat” SEO techniques and not losing rank because search engines are penalizing you for using “black hat” SEO techniques. And perhaps you know a little about optimization but not enough to write content that keeps you in the top rankings.

Here are 8 top reasons why your content is not making it to the top and easy remedies to fix these common mistakes.

#1. Lack of relevancy for your keyword

One of the most important factors for determining search ranking is relevancy. Is your content relevant to your keywords?
Every page must have a unique set of meta data and links that create that sense of relevancy. Many websites lack both.

Meta data relevancy – is your content relevant to the title tag and the description tag you placed on the page? The closer the tags relate to the words used by the searcher and the earlier you use them – in that same order – in the content on the page, the more relevancy your page has.
Link relevancy – are your links relevant to your content and keywords? The anchor text for links once were also key markers , but now a mix of keyword-rich anchor text and ever more general anchor text linking to still relevant content are more important.

Remedy: Improve content quality with better research, more data, using more links. No one is coming to your site to see you BS your way to a ranking. They want information. Make it your information, written in your voice, with your style and in your tone. Provide links to back up material.

#2. Low keyword use

This probably isn’t as big a problem as keyword stuffing. However, if you use the keyword only once or twice, say at the top of the page, and then ignore it thereafter, you’re probably committing this sin. Don’t over use keywords, but don’t under use them, either. They help make the page relevant.
Remedy: Make your topic clear. Mention your keyword a few times for clarity.

# 3. Irrelevant keyword use (keyword-stuffing)

This is usually a “black hat” SEO trick – stuffing the page with keywords. But sometimes it’s inadvertent. Sometimes it’s from an over abundance of caution. One writer on Technorati suggests we shouldn’t use a keyword more than three times, but search engines would suggest you use it only often enough to serve the reader well – not the search engines. And if you have a high word count, it may make more sense to use it more often than if you have a low word count. Use common sense.

Another sense of “irrelevant keyword use” also comes in the form of trying to fit in all the different varieties of a keyword, just in case someone uses them. Search engines usually differentiate various forms of a word to account for it in a search. Forcing words unnaturally into your content sets off alarms at search engines.
Remedy

Make better matches between keywords and meta data and meta data placement
better quality links
better variety of anchor text for links
Focus keyword use

#4. Low quality content

Search engines insist, “Write for the reader, not for the search engines.” What pleases the reader more than finding a treasure trove of information? Written in a format that makes it easy to pull out the data.

Poorly written, poorly spelled, poorly constructed content with little value is hard work for the reader and not at all pleasing search engines. Google Panda was also created to weed out low-quality content and that penalty will send your ranking south.
Remedy: Always, aim for high quality content, ie: content that provides value. Try to find topics that have not been indexed by search engines before and that will give you a competitive advantage in rankings. The key is to find a popular topic that has been covered extensively and give your own unique twist to it.

#5. Low word count

Low word count can be one sign of “thin content,” which could trigger the Google Panda penalty.
Longer content helps a search engine determine relevancy. If you provide fewer than 250 words, you may have a problem, although the quality of the text is far more important.
Some websites think shorter word counts are better: “People don’t want to read.” But that’s not true. Readers don’t want to wade through useless text to find value. Shorter sentences and shorter paragraphs aid reader scanning, while meatier content provides them more information – what they really want.
Remedy: A home page under 250 words doesn’t tell the reader much. A blog article of 300-400 words may not provide enough depth. 500-1000 words is a great goal, but write for quality and your audience.

#6. Scraped content (content lifted from other sources)

There is no value to reposting another’s material and you shouldn’t be rewarded for it. It’s lazy publishing, it’s plagiarism, and it’s unethical. You can certainly make “fair use” of short bits of other peoples’ work as a springboard to creating your own larger work, but literal picking up someone else’s work is wrong.
Remedy: Use only original content; use canonical tags in your own content to identify its originality.

#7. Duplicate content

Similarly, running your same material in multiple places on the Internet is wrong. There is a specific penalty for duplicating content. Even replacing a few words here and there doesn’t fool search engines.
Remedy: Don’t duplicate, rewrite! Cover news style with a capsule and link to the original story.

#8. Content you may not generate yourself but may affect your ranking

Auto-generated text (robotic fluff you sometimes see in comments): Seemingly random sets of words that don’t quite seem to make sense accompanied by strange looking URLs. It’s garbage meant to fool spam filters.
User-generated spam (comment or forum spam): This is often more sensible text and often written to appeal to your vanity, but sometimes contains spam keywords and certainly spam links. Occasionally, the links lead to OK pages but those pages then link to spam pages, which can negatively affect your ranking.

Remedy:

Monitor the comments and if something seems odd about a comment, don’t post it. More than likely it’s spam. Post guidelines about spam and police them. Spam and auto-generated text often make off-handed comments that have nothing to do with your topic – delete or send to the spam folder!
New: Google has just launched a new manual spam notification tool in Webmaster Tools to alert you when your site has been manually tagged for spam. Use it to reduce the effect of spam on your site.