Anyone with experience in digital marketing knows how valuable content marketing and SEO are for the success of any marketing campaign. A branded content writer can be a valuable part of any SEO team. But do you know the difference between content marketing and SEO? While these two digital marketing strategies do overlap, there are also key distinctions that any digital marketer should be aware of.
For a business just beginning a digital marketing campaign, they may ask themselves: should I focus on content marketing or SEO? Well, the answer is both. Effective SEO relies on content marketing just as much as content marketing relies on SEO. We’ll untangle this relationship in more detail below.
At Peaks Digital Marketing, we’re dedicated to helping your business succeed online. Our Denver SEO firm can help you boost your ranking on search engine results pages (SERPs) by adapting to Google’s algorithms. Additionally, we specialize in a variety of SEO practices and tools, including web design, content marketing, keywords, and on-page optimization and off-page optimization.
In this blog, we take a closer look at the relationship between content marketing and SEO to understand how both these digital marketing strategies can improve your SERP ranking and drive more organic traffic to your page.
WHAT IS SEO?
SEO, or search engine optimization, is a vein of digital marketing aimed at improving how your website ranks on Google and other search engines. While the wealth of information available online has truly transformed our world, it’s a bit of a double-edged sword for business owners and website creators. With so many options out there, how can you possibly get viewers to land on your webpage? How do you rise above the competition?
It all comes down to SEO. Search engine optimization is a set of strategies and tools that helps your site rank higher on Google by aligning the site’s design, functioning, and content with the search engine algorithm. Since Google is constantly trying to match users with the best available content, you need to create that “best” content that Google is looking for.
SEO is complex because it isn’t simply one thing. There’s no silver bullet to rise to the top of Google’s results page. Rather, a full SEO campaign incorporates many different strategies, such as content, backlinks, keyword research, image and video optimization, and even the overall design of your webpage.
WHAT IS CONTENT MARKETING?
Content marketing is one branch of digital marketing, and in the world of online searches, may be the most effective. The core belief behind content marketing is that through the production, development, and publication of consistent and high-quality content, consumers and sales will flock to your website. By producing quality, relevant, and timely content, you’ll improve your site, your company, and even your ranking on Google.
HOW IS SEO DIFFERENT FROM CONTENT MARKETING?
It’s helpful to think of SEO as the larger umbrella term that includes content marketing. SEO can refer to many different approaches to improving a website, including content marketing and development. However, SEO also refers to more technical tools and strategies, such as image optimization, backlink building, keyword research, and web design.
HOW DOES CONTENT MARKETING AFFECT SEO?
Effective content marketing has the power to boost your ranking on Google and other SERPs. This translates to landing your page on the most valuable real estate in the digital marketplace. Since over 25 percent of web users click on the first page of Google, this could potentially drive a lot of traffic (and sales) to your site.
SEO is a set of practices and tools designed to improve the visibility of your site and increase your search engine ranking. SEO does this by aligning with Google’s algorithm that assesses the highest-quality web content. Google is looking for specific things in a site to help its users find the most relevant information online.
While this algorithm is always changing (which really makes SEO a full-time job), there are a few pillars that Google has always valued. Content is one of these, and as they say in the SEO game, content is king.
This is why content marketing will always be an essential part of SEO. While page speed, images and videos, and site design are all important features of a quality website, the true bread and butter of any site is its content. This, according to Google, is where you most demonstrate value to web users and potential customers.
HOW TO OPTIMIZE YOUR CONTENT FOR SEO
Throughout this blog, we’ve constantly been referencing “high-quality” content as the core of content marketing and one of the most effective SEO strategies for improving your site. But what does this mean? How (and by who) is “quality” defined? Here, we take a closer look at how you can optimize your site and create high-quality content that Google is sure to love.
1. Keywords.
An essential building block of web content is utilizing the right keywords. Most Google searches aren’t complete sentences as users only need a few specific words to find what they’re looking for. Being able to mirror these keywords in your own content is a direct way to improve the SEO ranking of your content.
2. Content length.
There are many different types of web content at varying lengths. Blogs, articles, social media posts, and even tweets are all designed to reach certain lengths to meet what user expectations. Imagine, for example, reading a page-long tweet--this just wouldn’t work. Primarily, Google, is looking for longer content, now around 2,000 words, to show that your content is comprehensive enough to answer the user’s query.
3. Content organization.
In addition to length, Google is also looking for content that is effectively organized. Nobody wants to read a full page of text, which is why you should break your content into smaller, more easily digestible paragraphs. You should also use headers (using keywords) and bulleted or numbered lists to present your content effectively to readers who don’t have much time.
4. Links.
Links are an important way to connect your content with the rest of the digital world. Building backlinks is a tried and true strategy for SEO success, but including links in your content also boosts your overall ranking. Try to link out to trusted and authoritative sites so that your content benefits from their established reputation. You can also interlink to other pages on your site to introduce users to more of your content.
CONCLUSION – HOW DOES CONTENT MARKETING AFFECT SEO?
While SEO and content marketing are distinct aspects of digital marketing, they truly can’t succeed without the other. Effective content marketing is a core piece of any successful SEO campaign and content is most effective when written with SEO principles in mind.
Peaks Digital Marketing is a leading Denver SEO agency that specializes in full-service SEO packages. Our team of SEO experts can work with your company on content marketing, Google AdWords campaigns, and even web design. We also specialize in several niche SEO markets, such as enterprise SEO and medical SEO.
Whatever your SEO or digital marketing needs, know that we’re here to help. If you want to learn more about what an experienced SEO agency can do for you, contact us to learn more. Here at Peaks Digital Marketing, we’re looking forward to seeing you at the top.
