Writing blog content is about more than just SEO and sharing posts on social media and hoping for the best. That was okay in the early 2000’s but not today. There is approximately 4 million blog posts being written every day. However, the vast majority of those blog posts are just rehashing other people’s content, aggregating other content, making lists, etc. They have nothing unique to offer and merely add more “noise” to the web rather than providing value. In addition to that, most of that blog content is poorly written and just targets keywords for SEO vs making something unique that adds value to readers.
I’ve been providing content for webpages, blogs, newsletters, press releases, landing pages and more for over 25 years. There have been a lot of changes when it comes to writing original content for the web over the years and I expect even more changes to come, especially now that we have true AI content being written. I hope this post will help you know how to differentiate between, unique blog content, original content and AI generated content.
What is Original Blog Content?
Original blog content simply means you didn’t copy anyone else’s content. It means your text is not as duplicate. The simple definition is; “made without directly drawing from another source”. You can accidently write content that isn’t original. Example; There’s not a lot of ways you can say “dry your poodle off after washing him”. You should always check your content through Copyscape.com to make sure it’s original. It only costs 3 cents to do a search by URL or by pasting the text into the search feature there. You can also check to make sure no one is plagiarizing your content and they provide all the information you need about copyrights and plagiarism.
What is Unique Blog Content?
“Unique” means “one of a kind”, or “nothing else like it exists”. In usage, unique can also means, “very different from what you normally would see or expect”. Applying that to how to write unique blog content is easier said than done. There is so much content being produced, even more now that AI content is being used, that you have to work at it if your want your blog content to be unique. Being completely unique isn’t likely to happen. However, your blog content will be in the top 1% for that topic if you make it as unique as possible.
Can’t AI Write Blog Content For Me?
Sure it can. For instance; you can ask ChatGPT to write blog content about any topic, except current events, and it will write a blog post for you. You can even tell it to use the keywords you want to target. However, it’s going to hurt you more than help you if you use it that way. Google and others have developed ways to detect content that is written by AI. They are going to get better at detecting it. There is repetition, patterns, and other signals that tell us that AI wrote your blog content vs being written by a human.
And with Google, you never know. First they said they would treat AI written content as spam, which affects your whole domain name, not just not indexing it. Now, with the new “helpful content” update, they seem to have lightened up a little as long as the content is helpful. We’re talking about Google here, though. Tomorrow they could change their mind. I wouldn’t take the chance. The time and money you invest in your content vs having it de-indexed or treated as spam at a later date makes having AI write your content a bad idea.
If you want to use AI to help you “plan” blog content, ask it for ideas, ask it for an outline, and ask it for cool titles, then it’s a great tool. You can use it to research a topic. But, check to make sure it gave you accurate information. It has been known to just make things up if it doesn’t have a better answer.
How Do I Create Unique Blog Content?
As I wrote above, you’re not likely to find a way to write completely unique blog content. You know by searching the web that any question you have has most likely been asked before. It’s the same with blog posts. Others have likely had the same idea before. All you can do is find a way to make your content stand out or include something that others haven’t added. You can put your blog post in different formats. You can add things in that other haven’t.
This post is an example. Many people have written blog content about original blog content and unique blog content. However, not many also covered how AI affects original and unique blog content. It isn’t that much of an addition to the conversation, but it makes this post more up-to-date, since AI content is fairly new. And it adds a new angle to the discussion. And when searching for the title of this post in Google, the results weren’t duplicate or even too similar.
Unique Content Writing Tips
Producing unique blog content is important if you want to stand out from the crowd and provide real value to your readers. Here are some tips on how to make your blog content unique:
- Identify your target audience: This applies to all content. Before writing, know who your target audience is and what they are interested in. You can also look for trending topics that your potential customers might be paying attention to. This will help you to create content that is relevant and useful to your audience.
- Conduct research: Research your topic to check your facts and to find out what has already been written about it. Having information that is accurate is extremely important for your credibility and reputation. This will also help you to identify gaps and areas that have not been covered, so you can create unique content that fills those gaps.
- Add your own perspective: Add your own unique perspective, experiences, and opinions to your content. Use “story Marketing” and “Conversational Marketing.” Talk to your readers. Tell them a story. This will help to differentiate your content from others and provide a personal touch that resonates with your audience. The example here is the short story I added in the second paragraph of this blog post. Having 25 years of experience shows my audience a different or unique perspective when it comes to content. What kind of stories can you add to your own blog content?
- Use different formats: Use different formats such as videos, infographics, podcasts, and webinars to present your content. This will help to create a diverse and engaging experience for your readers. We offer this as a service. It’s called repurposing your content. If you write a blog post, use that same information and create it in other formats to present it to your target audience. Someone that didn’t feel like reading your blog post may be interested in looking at the infographic or watching the video.
- Keep it fresh: Keep your content fresh by updating it regularly and covering new topics. Too many bloggers write content, share it on social media and forget it. Each piece of content has value, especially if it’s “timeless” or it gets updated. This helps keep your readers engaged and coming back for more. Updating old content is also economical.
By following these tips, you can make your blog content unique and engaging for your audience. It isn’t complete though. Put your mind to it and find your own “unique” ways to make your blog content unique. I hope you found this post informative and that you’ll share it with your peers and friends. Please share your comments and add anything I missed in the comments.
Written by Chris McElroy
