What’s content marketing got to do with SEO?
How joining your SEO and content strategy gets you more traffic to your website and better still, more enquiries and sales
Confused about the relationship between content marketing and SEO?
You know SEO is all about… well websites and search engine ranking. Therefore if you follow this logic, it makes sense that content marketing is all about… well, content.
- But where does SEO stop? And where does content marketing start?
- Is there an overlap?
- And more importantly, why should you even care?
For one thing, you know it takes time and effort to create content. By content, I mean the useful items you give away in exchange for your audience’s attention.
Content includes blogs, downloadable guides, case studies, white papers and so on.
But if you separate SEO from content efforts, your hard work might go unnoticed. Why? Because your content might not get found.
That’s right.
Think about it. If you focus SEO on just the core pages of your website, then you are missing a trick.
Let me show you how SEO and content marketing work together.
What is SEO?
According to Search Engine Land, SEO is:
“The process of getting traffic from the “free,” “organic,” “editorial” or “natural” search results on search engines.
What is Content Marketing?
Useful and relevant content answers questions. As a result, it nurtures interest.
Over time content can help establish trust and authority in whatever it is you do. Better still it can help you build relationships.
How do SEO and content marketing work together?
When your audience poses a question to a search engine, in an ideal world, your content answers it.
Let’s take a closer look at how this works.
1. Content marketing helps you address user intent
In last week’s post, I told you Google wants you to optimise your content for search engine users.
One area of SEO is keyword analysis. It helps you understand user’s intent behind their search queries. Use keyword analysis to find out:
- What is the problem your users are trying to solve?
- Where do you fit in?
- How can you help them?
2. Combine SEO and content marketing, and you’ll increase website traffic
Of course, each new piece of content you publish is another page Google can index.
So the more content you produce, the more likely it is for your answers to pop up in the search results.
3. Combine SEO and content marketing, and you’ll get more link juice
Useful and helpful content gives external sites and influencers a good reason to link to you.
Why does this matter? Well, Google analyses internal and external backlinks to determine how to rank pages in its search results.
To sum up.
“Think of SEO this way: If a customer-focused content marketing programme is the sandwich, then SEO is the mayonnaise. It touches nearly everything and enhances the overall flavour of the sandwich, but on its own, it’s not very appetising.”
Put SEO and content marketing together you’ll give your audience exactly the answers for which they came in search.
So what could be a better way of driving enquiries and sales?
And finally
If you would like help writing engaging and persuasive content, then do get in touch. You’ll be surprised at how straightforward writing can grab your audience’s attention.
About Claire Hawes
Claire Hawes is a marketing communications copywriter. She enjoys writing engaging copy that helps businesses to get noticed and attract enquiries. Claire’s experience mainly lies in the business to business sector. Her clients include both businesses and digital marketing agencies.
