Added Value

The term "added value" originates in business administration, and it refers to a company's excess operating profit or increase in value through management know-how. In online marketing, added value is an important aspect that forms the basis for successful websites or marketing campaigns. The added value in advertising measures is usually not a measurable quantity, but must be determined in another way, for example via the USP.

Background

In the early days of the Internet, search engines were not as advanced as they are today. The ranking of websites in the SERPs was mainly determined by the amount of incoming backlinks and keywords used in the meta data and in the content.

In the course of numerous updates, the algorithms of Google & Co. were trained to recognize high-quality content better. Added value naturally also plays an important role in this context. Google can now tell if a text is just a translation of an existing text. Similarly, duplicate content or thin content is subject to rankings losses, because this content does not offer any real added value to a user.

Added value has meanwhile become a quality feature of a website that can also be considered by search engines. Particularly when it comes to content, websites with added value are characterised by the fact that they deliver unique content that no competitor can provide.

Added value on websites

The content on websites provides most of the added value. It can consist of different media or text types, but in addition to images, graphics and videos, text plays a central role.

Texts: To create texts with added value, there are various rules you should observe. The central requirement for texts with added value is that they are unique. It is also a common recommendation to delete filler words and vague statements. In addition, texts with added value are geared to the target group. Thus, the corresponding tonality and target group-specific content are also part of the added value of text elements. Finally, the way the text is prepared also contributes to the added value. Meaningful paragraphs, precise headings and subheadings as well as individual highlights make content "snackable", i.e. easily consumable for web users.

Pictures: Picture material with added value supplements texts and ensures, for example in online shops, that visitors can literally get a perfect picture of the product on offer. Added value can also provide 360-degree images of a product as well as graphics for use and sample applications. To ensure that the added value is also noticeable for users, the image material should always be available in high quality. At best, a website provides images that no competitor can offer. This added value creates a unique selling point.

Videos: Moving images can also increase the added value of content. For example, explanatory videos are often used to explain even complex facts, products or services simply and vividly. Listicals: Lists created based on properties or benefits of products, services or facts can create added value for users on websites such as blogs. Advisor: A classic are advisor texts that provide customers with concrete recommendations for action on common problems or tasks. PDF documents: PDFs offered for download are useful content elements that create added value in many areas. PDF documents can be, for example, operating instructions for a product, a recipe or an application.

The benefits of added value for SEO

When web content and websites deliver value to users, the user experience improves. Added value is created when users find exactly what they are looking for with a search engine on a website. A high added value in SEO-KPI is then characterized by a longer retention time and lower bounce rates. These positive user signals can in turn provide better rankings. This makes Added Value an important component of sustainable search engine optimization.

Added value can be regarded as a central goal in online marketing: A website should meet the user's needs with its offer. In addition to unique content with added value, this also includes flawless technology, short loading times and trouble-free use of the site on all end devices.