Last updated: November 1, 2026.
When it comes to SEO, the advice we probably hear most is this:
“Create quality content.”
Fine… But what exactly does quality content mean?
A 3,000-word post? Stuffing in lots of keywords? Using an H2 in every paragraph? Or something else entirely?
I think we first need to accept this.
There’s no such thing as content Google loves.
What Google tries to understand is content users love.
That’s really where the whole difference starts.
Is long content always better?
I don’t think so. Sometimes a 300-word post can be far more useful than a 3,000-word one.
For example, think of a user searching:
“How to take a screenshot on Windows?”
The user just wants the answer. If you first tell them the history of the computer, then the evolution of Windows, then display technologies, they’ll probably leave the page. Because that’s not the answer they’re looking for.
Google is trying to understand this too.
Did the user really find their answer?
This is the first question I ask myself when I’m preparing content.
What question is the user who lands on this page looking to answer?
Then I try to answer that question as directly as possible. I think good content starts exactly here.
Everyone writes about the same topic. So why should people read ours?
When we were preparing the “Who is…?” pages for actors on Filmler.com, a Turkish movie site, one of the first things we thought about was writing out the filmography again.
Then we realized something. All the films the actor appeared in were already on the site. Writing the same information a second time would bring no extra benefit to either the user or Google.
Instead, we decided to prepare these sections, which would really add value:
- Career
- Personal life
- Interesting facts
- Frequently asked questions
I think original content starts exactly here.
Offering the user something new instead of repeating what others already have.
The sales team is sometimes the best content editor
While this was being published as a series on X, a really good comment came in under one of the posts. In short, it said this:
Queries on Google show us what people are searching for. Pre-sales questions show us what people want to know before they buy.
I think that’s very true.
When preparing a content brief, I don’t just look at:
- Google’s suggestions
- Search Console
- SEO tools
If possible, I also ask the sales team this question.
What questions do customers ask you most?
Because sometimes the answers to those questions can lead to new content ideas you’d never have thought of on Google.
In some cases, the questions the sales team hears in a week can even give you more ideas than hours of keyword research.
Write content for people, not for Google
I’ve been saying this sentence in trainings for years. I still think the same. Because Google is also trying to understand the content people love.
That’s why, while preparing a post, I sometimes ask myself this question.
If Google didn’t exist, would I still write this post this way?
If my answer is “yes”, I usually think I’m on the right track.
What does original content mean?
Most people see originality as not copying from somewhere else. That’s a given anyway.
I think real originality is being able to bring a new perspective to the same topic. Being able to add your own experience, your own examples, your own observations.
Because anyone can explain the same information. But not everyone can have the same experience.
What do I pay attention to when preparing content?
Before preparing new content, I usually ask myself these questions:
- Does this post really say something new?
- Does it answer the user’s question?
- Is there unnecessary repetition?
- Is it easy to read?
- Would I read it to the end?
These are actually very simple questions. But I think they’re what make the difference between good content and ordinary content.
Does content length matter?
Yes. But not on its own.
If it takes 3,000 words to really cover a topic, then you write 3,000 words. If 300 words are enough, there’s no point in stretching it out.
I look less at the length of a post and more at how well it answers the user’s question.
For me, well-prepared content is valuable not because Google likes it but because it really solves the user’s problem.
And in the long run, that’s what Google is trying to understand too. I think this is the most important thing to keep in mind when creating content.
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This chapter was first published in Turkish on X (September 15, 2026).