Good, Bad, and Mixed Content

What constitutes "good" web content? The answer to that question may vary in the details, depending on who you ask, but it's clear that the approach to reaching a targeted internet demographic differs from that of reaching a more traditional print audience. The nature of the internet has the potential to foster interaction with users, both amongst themselves and with the creators of sites. The methods and ease of communication through the web lends itself to affecting the manner in which our own public discourses are mediated and evolve. Thus, it's a noteworthy endeavor to examine and understand "good" online writing. 


Good internet content appears to require more than just creating the actual good content for sites; optimization of the content for search engines, as well as links to and from other sites of substance, play a substantial role in how much of your desired internet demographic you will reach with your site. In "How to Create Compelling Content that Ranks Well in Search Engines," Brian Clark states that "the key [to ranking well in search engines is] creating compelling content that's worth linking to, and then finding a way to get the word out." Clark's breakdown for ranking high in Google search includes:

1. Good content, which should always be a given!
2. Use of relevant keywords or keyword phrases
3. A good and descriptive title tag and/or headline
4. Content landing page, to help organize and be a platform for various links and sections; boosts retention; links to and from various other pages; optimization, potentially leading to increased traffic
5. Related content

Social networking is an important means for establishing a network of followers, supporters, and "fans" for your content-rich, optimized page. Sites like Facebook and Twitter, when utilized appropriately, are useful for establishing some types of contact and painting a portrait of your public and personal image. In Deanna Zandt's "Claremont McKenna College: How You Will Change the World with Social Networking" talk, she referenced Clive Thompson's idea of "ambient awareness" of one another, where being exposed to even snippets of people's lives over time, through Twitter, for example, helps users gather a "huge portrait of a life shared," and at the same time, become "passively aware of one another's existence." This, in turn, helps users develop empathetic responses to each other, potentially humanizing and removing some sense of isolation. That type of empathy and/or connection can also been utilized by companies marketing their products to specific demographics.  

Here are some examples of "good" and "bad" content sites. A note: it seems possible to have a well-written piece of material for a site, and yet, be plagued with poor optimization of the site itself, leading to loss of potential traffic and conversions. 


An example of a website with good structure and content is Klout, a site that measures users' "influence" score on a scale of 1 to 100. The site was created based on the idea that our friendships and professional networks have now migrated online, making our "clout" in cyberspace a quantifiable measurement. While the opening / landing page is not inundated with text, the links to the blog, about section, and contact are all readily visible and accessible. The social media links are prominently displayed, inviting the user to connect and further interact.


Another instance of a site with good web content is Hacks/Hackers, an international grassroots journalism organization with a "network of journalists (“hacks”) and technologists (“hackers”) who rethink the future of news and information." The site is blog-style with a clean look, aesthetically. It's regularly updated with various related information, as well as events that are taking place. Social networking sites are visibly displayed and linked, inviting further interaction with the viewer.

"Dear Photograph," is another site with good web content that's regularly updated with user-submitted photos and content. The premise of the site is based on taking a photo, often from previous decades, and holding it up against the original location's background, to form a new piece of work that melds both past and present. It links to its Twitter page, inviting more discourse amongst the members of the community, creating more "ambient awareness."

For sites that have "bad" content, a few examples are as follows:

Xerox, a well-known brand that currently manufactures and offers a wide selection of office and production equipment, has been fostering a "Real Business" campaign, with "Ready for Real Business" as the tag line. Upon immediate entrance into the Real Business microsite, the viewer sees that the color palette is fairly clean and "corporate" enough, but soon after, is assaulted with various types of noise and distracting movement. The site is heavy on Flash, and this causes load times to be long. The interaction directives for the user are unclear -- while there is quite a bit of movement and figures appearing, they seem disjointed, even out of focus. The site feels overly "gimmicky," failing to provide the user easy access to essential information. Content that is not richly tailored to serving and meeting the needs of the viewer can often be considered "bad" content.


A second content-poor site is SH Marketing. It's another Flash-based site that lacks substantial data, failing to engage the user despite its attempt at "interactivity" via use of the (irritating) unlabeled and moving navigation circles. As the user and/or potential client tries to hover over these elusive circles in an effort to glean some information on the company's services or contact information, the user may be inclined to wonder what kind of "marketing" company is unable to market its own goods and services effectively. And goodness, asking the user to click each block of the company's (ironically-named) "System for Success" is probably one of the most egregious acts of pointlessness. Forget about conversions!


As an over-the-top, my retinas-are-detaching-in-dread example of poorly-written and/or barely-present web content (with horrible website design to boot), be sure to check out this little gem: Accept Jesus, Forever Forgiven (a.k.a. flashing rainbows and endless-loop-kitten galore). Hello, 1996 called and Geocities would like its epilepsy-inducing pages back, thanks!


While different folks may have differing ideas on what constitutes "good" or "bad" content writing, the results of good content can lead to a larger network of connected people, often driving up web traffic and leading to increased conversions, if that's what's desired. As more and more of our information becomes digitized, it becomes increasingly important to understand the methods and implications of creating web content, good or bad.