Horizontal the New Vertical for Content

Traditionally the golden rule of writing content for your site or your blog was to be niche – one narrow vertical. However, going horizontal could be the new vertical for some.

The value in keeping your content niche in order to let your expertise flourish remains as true today as it ever has but in doing so you could be missing out on opportunities to target traffic further afield.

Content that is niche and rich in quality will improve in-bound links, gain credibility and ultimately drive traffic to your site. However, it is possible to start thinking horizontally without compromising; just look at AOL. Since re-branding they have been focusing on content and more of it; and they have even produced algorithms to determine what kinds of content to produce to appeal to as broad a market as possible.

Cast Your Content Net Further Afield

However, not everyone has AOL’s budget but one pool of thought centres on the fishing analogy of casting out your net and seeing what you catch. It might be that this approach will help you refine your content in the areas that attract traffic.

The plus side of this is that, as long as the content is good enough, there is no harm venturing into new areas as it will only increase your exposure in search.

Don’t Confuse Quantity with Quality

One thing you shouldn’t do if adopting a horizontal approach is confuse quantity with quality as quality remains the golden rule of content writing. Search engines like quality because users like quality and search engines are becoming more adept at discovering it.

There are different ways to produce quality material about subjects which you are not as strong on, after all, we can’t be an expert at everything!

Hiring freelance writers, who are specialists in a particular field, is a popular approach if your budget allows for it and of course there is no substitute for in-depth research. By expanding the scope of your content you have the potential to enjoy the same quality in-bound links and traffic to your site, just more of it!

“Horizontal Sites are Doing Everything Off the Bat”

Lawrence Coburn, president of RateItAll, is an advocate of horizontal content as he alludes to the examples set by major players in the market like Google and Yahoo and suggests that there is no reason why smaller sites cannot follow suit.

Speaking to Web Pro News, Mr. Coburn said:

“Typically businesses have been told to start out with one vertical, do a good job and expand out from there. These horizontal sites are passing on this and doing everything off the bat. Traditionally it has been a shotgun approach.

“In the past 12 months we have seen a rise in big horizontal content sites, on a scale we haven’t seen before.”

This approach might not be for everyone, but if you have the resources and quality content isn’t sacrificed then there is a lot of potential in horizontal content.

To speak with a home james campaign manager to understand how we could help implement an effective Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) campaign for your company, please get in touch with us.