SEO and content marketing go together so well. They just work.
For the best results, don’t do content marketing without thinking about how SEO fits in with it.
Conversely, you should not do SEO without understanding how content provides content and connection to what ultimately matters: your audience.
When both content and SEO work together, you hit two roses:
To put it lightly, SEO and content marketing have an incredibly symbiotic relationship. Let’s see how they harmonize.
First, what is content marketing?
Contents
Content marketing is the creation, publishing and distribution of online content (from blogs and videos to ebooks and podcasts).
This content is not intended to sell or promote the brand, but rather to educate, entertain or empower potential customers. This fuels their interest, engagement and trust over time so that they eventually become customers.
What is SEO?
SEO, or search engine optimization, is the process of optimizing and improving your website (and your website content) so that it is visible in search results, where people are looking for information, answers, products and services.
It cannot be underestimated how important it is these days to appear in search engines, especially Google. Google Search, Images and Maps account for 92.96% of global traffic. If your website and pages rank high in the search engine, you’ll earn a fair share of it.
What are the major differences between SEO and content marketing?
SEO and content marketing are different but related.
In short, one supports the other.
But how exactly? In what specific ways do content marketing and SEO intertwine for the benefit of brands, search engines and the users who need them?
How does SEO complement content marketing? (and vice versa?)
SEO and content marketing are a yin and yang situation. One improves the other and vice versa.
With both in your strategy, the results will be much more impressive than using either alone.
1. SEO drives relevant traffic to nurture content
You don’t write content so that it gets sucked into the black hole of the internet. You write content with the hope that some weary readers will find it and get away with giant light bulb moments.
They will associate those moments with your brand and your expertise. That’s formidable.
Content that is not read is useless. If you want it to contribute to the success of your marketing, you need people to read it so it can do its job and generate leads.
One of the best ways to make sure the right eyes are on your content? Use SEO tactics to optimize it with keywords your targets are searching for.
68% of all website traffic comes from searches. That means that when someone in the world opens a browser, they usually start their online session with a search. SEO helps direct the group of people who need you to your nurturing content.
2. SEO and content boost visibility and brand awareness
Want more people to associate your name with key industry terms? Start showing up consistently in their searches for those terms with SEO.
In fact, start appearing with great content that answers their questions and alleviates their specific problems – the only ones you can solve with what you know and what you’re selling (or, if you’re a marketer or SEO specialist, what your client knows and sells).
The better you do this, the higher your site and content will appear in the results. Ultimately, achieving a top 5 position in organic (non-paid) results in Google promises the best chance of people not only seeing your listing, but clicking on it.
CTR, or click-through rate, is the percentage of people who visit a webpage and click on a specific link. The best CTRs on a search engine results page are among the top 5 positions.
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3. SEO and content work together to improve the user experience
SEO and content is not just about ranking in a search engine and generating traffic and leads.
Together, they also help you deliver a better user experience to your audience across your entire website.
SEO is loaded with rules and guidelines that apply to:
It also prohibits deceptive or manipulative behavior aimed at deceiving users or abusing the ranking system.
Following the guidelines for your site and content will not only help you rank better, it will also ensure that your audience will have a great experience once they find you.
And that contributes to everyone’s goals:
4. High-quality SEO content helps your pages rank better
It’s no secret that high-quality content will help your blogs, articles, and even your landing and sales pages improve search results.
In fact, content quality is one of the most important elements that will influence your SEO success – if not the most important.
As Search Engine Land’s What Is SEO guide puts it:
“Content should be your number one priority when you think about SEO.”
The content on your website:
These are essential signals to send to your prospects, and they all start and end with your content and its quality.
Don’t leave home without both SEO and content marketing working in tandem
Content marketing set up in a strategy by itself does not have the same power as when it is mashed together with SEO.
Content without smart SEO will get much less traffic, less reads, less engagement and fewer conversions.
SEO without quality content equals a thin, uninspired, useless website that attracts no one and earns nothing.
The secret sauce comes together when you mix the two.
SEO pulls in traffic and leads. SEO ensures that a brand is seen on a different level. SEO ensures that the user experience meets high standards and makes users happy.
Content attracts leads and keeps them on your site. Content fuels their interest, trust and loyalty. Content keeps them coming back for more.
Don’t leave the house without a healthy mix of both in your strategy.
The views expressed in this article are those of the guest author and not necessarily Search Engine Land. Staff authors are listed here.
Julia McCoy is the founder of Content Hacker, 7x author and a leading strategist on creating exceptional content and brand presence that stays online. At age 19, she used her last $75 to build a 7-figure writing desk that she sold ten years later. In the 2020s, she is committed to educating founders and marketers about the strategy, skills and systems they need to build a business through inbound content so they can create a lasting impact in the world .