Why Is So Much Content Necessary For SEO?

SEO and content marketing may be incredibly different, but they work together when it comes to getting your website ranked in search engines. SEO relies on content marketing for success, and vice versa. Well, maybe they aren’t exactly incredibly different, but they are different sizes of the same coin. On the surface, they work differently; however, they are actually inseparable, although they are both necessary to boost the traffic to your site.

In the past, getting traffic to your website simply took adding some keywords, changing link structures or experimenting with metas. Once all of this was in place, you could begin building additional link son your website, sit back and watch the visitors start rolling in.

Today, however, the process has grown a bit more complex. While it has been said many times before, Google likes – or expects – quality content more than anything else. You’ve heard the phrase “Content is king,” Right? Well, this rings true in this case. Without good, informative content, your website is not going to rank well in the search engines. It is as simple as that.

Of course, at the same time, your high-quality content can’t be found by searchers unless you have a solid SEO strategy behind it. This is how SEO and content marketing go hand-in-hand. So, in other words, you can have the greatest words in the world written on your page – even words by Stephen King or J.K. Rowling, but it won’t mean a thing if Google doesn’t see your website as one that follows best practices or offers value.

How SEO and Content Marketing Are Different

As mentioned previously, content marketing and SEO are different. The primary different between the two is that SEO is technical and somewhat narrow, while content marketing is holistic and very broad. This is a bit of a stark contrast, but it creates a union that works seamlessly and effectively.

How SEO and Content Marketing Are the Same

There are multiple areas where the two processes are the same. The areas where they overlap is the best way for you to get more traffic to your site. Here are three areas where content marketing and SEO are the same:

• New Pages Can Be Ranked with Both SEO and Content – When it comes to SEO, it is all about ranking as high as you can on search indexes. However, you can’t do this if you don’t have high-quality, brand-new content. So, as you are creating new content pages, you are creating new opportunities for new rankings and additional reach. In turn, this is leading to additional keywords that can be ranked for. Just remember that quality is always more important than quality. You will always get higher rankings with better content.
• Keywords Can Be Optimized with Content – You can reach more diverse audiences by utilizing your keywords within your content, and this includes niche audiences. The key here is to use your keywords naturally in the content.
• Authority Can Be Obtained with Quality Content – There are a number of factors that must be considered when it comes to ranking high in the search engines, and this includes the quality of your written and published content. So, as you utilize content to deliver your chosen keywords and reach your target audiences, you will begin to rank higher in the searches and increase your authority with your website visitors.

Why It Even Matters

It is not at all uncommon for owners of websites to focus on just a single site of the content marketing/SEO coin and completely overlook the other. However, both of these processes have vital elements when it comes to online marketing, and they are both necessary to truly grow your business. In order to see the big picture and realize the best results, you need to have all of the puzzle pieces, which includes both SEO and content marketing.

If a business were to begin focus on blogging and fall back on their SEO, there is a good chance that their overall rankings would slip. If that very same business were to completely focus on link building and ensure that 18 new, authoritative links were seen each day, then there likely would not be sufficient fresh content to support that amount of link building.

The reason that SEO requires so much from you is because it wants and needs to grow. Google does not want a website that isn’t going to grow. Google wants to see websites that going to become useful with relevant content that can provide users with quality results in searches.

Of course, it’s possible to utilize SEO on pages over and over again, it is far more effective when new content is being pulled, used and pushed through the search engine rankings.

Creating a Balance

As you have learned here, SEO and content marketing need to be used together. It is true that SEO requires an abundant amount of content. However, this does not mean that you should put all of your eggs in that one basket. You need to work different angles.

While blogs work for some people, long-form and evergreen content may work better for you. Before you jump into link building, you may need to update your user interface. Ultimately, there are numerous moving parts. This is why it is important that there is a balance between SEO and content marketing.

Luckily, it is easier than you may think. First, determine what your site’s purpose is. Do you want to attract users? If so, then your focus should be on SEO techniques that will boost traffic to your website. Do you want to improve conversion rates? If so, then you need to focus more on content marketing.

Ideally, your main goal should be to get visitors to your site and then convert them once they are there. Once a balance is created, you will hopefully see an increase in both visitors and conversion rates.

If you need help getting started with SEO and content marketing or have questions, reach out to our team at WebDetail.