Why Quality vs Quantity Is a False Choice in Content Creation

Here’s an age-old question:

Should content marketers & SEOs focus on producing high volumes of content to saturate the market, or should they prioritize creating fewer, high-value pieces that hit the soul of their audience’s deepest frustrations? 

What if there was a solution, some way, some how that didn’t hold the two concepts at odds, but joyfully united them? 

Let’s see if we can do it.

What marketers forget about quality and quantity

The cornerstone of any successful content strategy is quality. But what does that even mean? 

Does your webinar have to win an Oscar? Is that the only way it counts? 

When you’re working on your content program, you need to level-set on a few of those standards so everyone at least has a starting point. Quality is in many ways subjective, but having some talking points around it is helpful. 

1. What’s the job and expectation of your content?

Think of it like this: A blockbuster film is judged differently than a viral TikTok video. Both can be impactful, but their success depends on their audience’s expectations. Content works the same way—your readers set the standard. Quality is often defined by the reader, user and/or audience and how it helps them. 

2. Quality is not only about output, but inputs

When teams establish objective high-quality standards—like tone, structure, and depth—they avoid subjective debates over what “good” looks like. It streamlines production and keeps the bar high.

If you only evaluate your decisions based on the output, you’re going to have some false associations and you may confuse quality with being lucky. 

I like what Alex Birkett from Omnisicient says about it in this post:

“When you look at the level of a single blog post, a great one can fail to rank and a seemingly poor one can rank. But program-wide, great blog posts will, on average, perform better. Therefore, quality standards can predict performance, but quality is an input and performance is the output.”

Over time, scale does beget a certain level of quality.

You’ve heard the parable about the ceramics teacher right? 

I don’t want to ruin it for you, so click on the link above, but author/artist Austin Kleon sums it up nicely: 

“The frequency of my work — showing up at regular intervals, without worrying about results — has actually lead to better results. Quantity leads to quality.”

The more reps you put in with high standards, the more likely your output will also be of high standard. 

That said…

Get good, then go fast

Success in content marketing is rarely immediate. High-quality posts, published consistently, create a lasting foundation that builds trust and drives growth over time. Just blasting out content is over, if there’s no strategy  

"Get good, then go fast,” that’s the advice from Camden Gaspar, the strategy lead for Growth Plays. 

“If you're in the early days of building a content engine, or if you've inherited one that's underperforming, you need to get to a certain level of quality before you figure out how to scale. What does it look like to come up with interesting topics, come up with differentiated angles, have a distinct lens on your buyer's world, weave in real SME input, tastefully tie things back to your offer, etc.? What do you actually want to be about? You have to get those right at a small scale and then figure out ways to do more and go faster.”

What makes a high-quality SEO blog post

Going back to #1, I’m going to be as specific as I can here. Know the job of your post, because then that impacts your distribution channel. 

A post for SEO is built differently than one for a newsletter or an investor letter or a press release. 

That said there will be some overlap between those types of posts. 

Yes, they will both have words and be on related topics. 

Both posts should include good research and satisfy user intent (or expectations). 

Other than that, even if your post is on a similar topic, the needs of SEO vs the needs of a “regular” blog post (or something shared in a different way) may be different. 

SEO demands that the structure will probably be different, that the keywofds and topics covered need to be “comprehensive” and the off-page factors of SEO will impact rankings too. 

Yes, there are off-page factors of a regular blog post (how big is your audience, what format is appearing in) but these are not the same as the SEO factors. 

If you are able to satisfy the needs of SEO i.e. make it rank high on Google for your target audience and keywords, then that should be considered “high-quality” no matter what 

Why quantity matters in SEO (but only with a plan)

Scaling content with SEO isn’t inherently bad. In fact, a higher output can:

• Increase Touchpoints: More content equals more opportunities to connect with your audience across different channels.
• Capture More Keywords: A broader content library helps you rank for a wider variety of search terms.
• Help people: This is often forgotten in this debate, but sometimes users just need a straightforward answer and helpful content (answer what they’re searching for) is rewarded. 
• Expand your topic authority: It’s important for Google to know the topics that you stand for and build up your site expertise. SEO pages can help you do that. 

But—and this is key—you can’t treat volume as the goal. Scale without systems leads to thin content, wasted resources, and audience fatigue. That’s where AI-powered workflows come in.

Re-think your content creation with AI workflows

The act of content creation is more than just words or images or videos on your screen. It takes a lot of back-end work to make that happen. 

With the right tools and workflows, scaling content while maintaining (or even improving) quality is possible.

Simplify the complex:

• In the past: Tasks like keyword research, identifying internal linking opportunities, and updating meta descriptions were manual and time-consuming. Teams often spent hours sifting through spreadsheets, tracking edits, and coordinating updates by email.
• Now: AI-powered workflows streamline these processes. Repetitive tasks are automated, freeing up time for strategic planning and creativity.

Create standards at scale:

• In the past: Maintaining consistent quality required time-intensive reviews, often leading to bottlenecks.
• Now: Modern tools allow teams to apply predefined quality benchmarks automatically across all content, ensuring every piece meets high standards without constant oversight.

Make good decisions:

• In the past: Relied on intuition and sporadic performance reviews. Analytics were often inaccessible or siloed, making it hard to identify what worked.
• Now: Faster experimentation with AI provides actionable insights, helping teams prioritize content that drives results while refining underperforming assets.

Centralize your assets:

• In the past: Managing content often meant navigating chaotic folder systems or outdated assets scattered across platforms.
• Now: Centralized systems make it easy to update, repurpose, and organize content, ensuring nothing goes to waste and everything stays relevant.

What AirOps can do for content creation

Scaling content today feels a lot like when publishing moved from print to digital. It’s uncomfortable, and not all players adapt. 

But just as those who embraced digital thrived, those who integrate AI into their workflows now will find themselves ahead of the curve.

By handling repetitive tasks—like analyzing SERPs or updating metadata—AI frees up time for the human stuff: strategy, storytelling, and connection. 

The result? More content that is relevant and high-quality because you’ve spent more time on the ideas and strategy, and less time on the manual work

See why the quality vs quantity debate is outdated? 

Today’s best content strategies find the sweet spot between the two—using systems, tools, and clear standards to scale thoughtfully.

AirOps is the content orchestration platform that empowers teams—from fast-growing brands to global enterprises—to scale content that is both accurate and authentic to their voice.

By combining AI models, brand expertise, and human input, we help companies bring their boldest growth strategies to life. Our platform pairs AI-powered automation with expert guidance to architect winning content strategies, build scalable workflows, and transform content operations into your most powerful growth driver.

Start now.