While the manner in which search engines measure relevance is constantly evolving, quality content is still king. When developing a marketing strategy, it is vital to keep the importance of quality content at the forefront of the content development or content curation process. When businesses understand the primary goal of the major search engines like Google and Bing, it will be easier to grasp why proper content curation is so important.

Google has users, and their goal is to provide the most relevant content in relationship to the user’s particular search. If a person searches for the solution to a specific problem, and the search results produce a group of links that lead to poorly researched, poorly written and poorly presented content, the customer will be disappointed and dissatisfied. If this continues, customers will stop using the search engine.

A desire to achieve a high customer satisfaction rating is why Google goes to such great lengths to ensure that site owners are not using ranking schemes to manipulate the rankings.

With such a high demand for quality content, it is essential to develop the capacity to produce the necessary volume of high quality relevant content. As the demand increases, it will be difficult to produce or develop it in house, which means that there will be a need to curate content. With all of the new ethical standards and laws that are not in place, it may be difficult to curate third-party content, but it can be done. There are also a number of creative ways to create high quality original content.

Following are 11 steps that will help with creative content curation.

1. Draw from a Variety of Sources – Make sure to draw from a large variety of sources when curating third-party content. This not only protects against the content becoming too familiar or boring, but it also guards against claims that the business is profiting off of the original creator’s work. The way to effectively combat both of these risks is to curate articles and other content from multiple sources at both ends of the spectrum — drawing from the heavy hitters and the up and comers.
2. Feature Other Bloggers – Featuring other bloggers on your company blog is a great way to present a varying perspective, while allowing some of the most talented writers to express themselves freely on your particular platform. Try contacting those writers who you would probably curate, and then ask them to be a guest blogger for your blog. Whether you work out an agreement for multiple appearances, or it turns out to be a one-time event, it will provide variety and relevance.
3. Curation Agreements with Content Creators – If you are creating original content on your own, contact others who consistently create content that would be relevant to your audience, and work out a content sharing agreement, that allows them to freely curate from your site, based on the terms of the agreement, and you will be able to do the same.
4. Find a Good Balance – It can be easy to become comfortable with certain sources, which can cause you to fall into a rut. Keep your eyes open for additional sources that you don’t use on a regular basis. Never get too comfortable with any one source.
5. Prominently Link to the Original Source – Not only does linking back to the original sources help with the ethical side of the curation process, but it also helps to build a good reputation for your site. As you become recognized as a site that links back to the original source and gives credit to the original content creator, content creators will begin to see your site as a great place for exposure.
6. Become a Social Media Troll – People on social media sites, like Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and more, are always sharing links to exciting new content. You can find individuals and companies who share common interests and “follow” them. By following them, their posts will show up on your timeline or news feed, allowing you to gain access to content that they are reviewing or promoting.
7. Focus on High Quality and Creative Content – You owe it to your readers to provide them with the best possible content, so don’t be quick to jump on the first content that you come across. You want your audience to have the most relevant and useful content possible. This increases the chance of the content being shared.
8. Retitle All Curated Posts – When you change the title, it reduces the chance of getting dinged by the search engines. Consider certain aspects that the original author may have left out, and then incorporate those elements into the new title.
9. Absolutely Avoid ‘No-follow’ Links – When you have no-follow thinks turned on, you are, in fact, depriving the source of the content of the credit they rightfully deserve. This is not only an issue with your audience, but the no-follow links also hide the source of the original content from the search engines, which robs the original source of a potential boost in rankings.
10. Understand What You are Curating – The excessive number of curation and aggregation tools that are available has triggered a trend of automated content curation. Not only does publishing content that you are not familiar with border on unethical, you could be sending mixed messages to your audience.
11. Curate in a Smart and Courteous Manner – When you visit a site and decide to curate the content, make sure to “Like” the page. You should also consider reformatting the content based on the specific nature of your audience. The last thing that you want to happen is have your audience visit your page and it looks identical to the site you curated it from, which they will likely see at some point.

Content curation does not have to be considered taboo when it is done correctly. In fact, all parties involved can benefit from content curation when it is done properly.