SEO and Content Marketing: How Differences Make It Happen
The modern world of online marketing nowadays is all about SEO and content marketing. Let’s identify core differences between these two concepts and illustrate how their smart combination can lead you to sustainable success.
Content Marketing as It Is
When asked to define content marketing, I usually depict it as the creation of valuable content for the target audience. Generally, content marketing definition can vary depending on the sphere of application and peculiarities of the audience, but its ultimate mission is being oriented on the customers and providing practical, informative, entertaining or useful content specifically for the target audience. The key to success here is to naturally attract people since the artificial nature of the content is a major threat in content marketing. This is a core difference between marketing and advertising, with the only exception that advertising is perceived for what it is, whereas strategic marketing should be naturalistic, sincere and devoid of any destructive controversies. In terms of advertising vs marketing, it becomes evident that blatant promotion is not a smart choice anymore. As a rule, product marketing benefits from making a soft pitch rather than a bold and distinct call to action. An effective marketing specialist invites the customers, not pressures them.
SEO Essentials
SEO implies search engine optimization. In plain words, it is a bunch of tactics targeted to improve rankings of the website in search engines. There are two core criteria according to which websites are ranked: authority and relevance. Enhancement of the authority rate implies the creation of better content and safer environment for the customers, whereas improvement of relevance rate requires customization of the content, i.e., narrowing the segment of the target audience and addressing it properly. Now you know how to rank higher on Google and upgrade your business due to it. Hence, the ultimate task of SEO marketing is the provision of incremental visibility rate in search engines.
One succeeds in Effective SEO once the traffic for one’s site is got due to free, organic, or in other words, natural search results. SEO in marketing helps not only appear among search results before your rivals and, in such a way, introducing your merits to the target audience first, but it also contributes to the building of solid reputation and significant awareness of your company with the course of time, especially in terms of international marketing. Both aspects are essential, and so SEO is.
Linking SEO and Content Marketing
Some marketing articles claim that SEO and content marketing are separate, independent, and not particularly interrelated phenomena in the marketing environment. This is a myth since SEO and marketing content are two obligatory elements of success in the acclaimed niche.
A constructive and potentially effective online marketing strategy comprises both SEO and content marketing functioning in conjunction with one another. They are indeed different, but not alien concepts: all a marketer needs to do is to find a proper working balance between their functions and contributions, covering both ends of the marketing spectrum.
First of all, it is crucial to comprehend that SEO aligns with content marketing provided they are properly done and appear in accordance with the overall strategy. There is a belief that content marketing and SEO are two personalities of the same person. It does not mean that those personalities have no differences — on the contrary, they most certainly do — but those differences are here to define them, but not to interfere with their potential cooperation. In such a way, marketing receives two drivers capable to work in the same direction and for the same goal.
It is relevant to explain the relationship between these two concepts in more details. The first dimension of the acclaimed connection is as follows: proper content is an effective medium for keyword optimization. To be more precise, content on the website is the pool where keywords should be located, but their location is the major challenge here. Be careful with excessively frequent or inappropriately embedded keywords since even if they serve properly for attracting new visitors, poor quality and disconcerting contents of the article will provoke the decrease in conversion and consequent loss of credible reputation in your target audience. Remember: getting a website on search engines is only a beginning as far as success requires being consistent in terms of content quality, not only winning in google search filters.
SEO content should be smartly modified, properly structured and authentically worded. Good content increases your authority, and this is the next dimension where content marketing and SEO potentials overlap. Itemized and authentic content leads to increased number of inbound links, and at the same time, it impacts user experience factors, which contributes to the long-lasting effect of quality text on potential customers. Definition of good content varies, but generally, such content is sufficiently detailed, clear or with necessary clarifications, authentic, and comprehensive. In case your services or products are complicated or rare, take your time to explain this to the target audience, and if you have quite an ordinary product, make it look special, but never lie. SEO writing is what you need to outrun the competitors and present to your potential customer. And content marketing is what keeps each one on your page or motivates to come back later.
Finally, the third dimension covers the addition of new pages that can be ranked. More pages mean more keywords naturally interwoven into new texts. The latter means more useful and high-quality content to keep the target audience interested and position you professionally.
Finding the Balance
To crown it all, effective marketing strategy starts with wise and constructive SEO and ends with continuous quality, relevance, and usefulness of the text. Basically, the preliminary work that should be performed before launching any content officially online is in-depth research of the needs, priorities, and preferences of the target audience. This refers primarily to the scope of content marketing and permits to create a customer-oriented, i.e., unique and potentially effective content. On the other hand, marketing strategies resemble a dialogue between SEO and content marketing, with SEO setting the demands, and content marketing fulfilling them. From that point of view, prior monitor of the target audience, as well as the competitors’ pool will contribute to polishing the demands of SEO and, hence, providing maximally relevant and unique content.
It is crucial to also understand that cooperation between SEO and content marketing does not imply 50/50 share of impact in any type of promotion. Each marketing strategy has a particular focus on one of them depending on its targets, peculiarities, and tasks. To be more precise, if the focus of the whole marketing campaign is to attract more visitors to the website, SEO becomes an ultimate priority. Its major concern is building of a sustainable and continuous reputation or accumulative conversion of the visitors into customers. It is the area of impact of content marketing.
The process of combining SEO and content marketing in marketing strategies is a challenge that requires expertise, time, and consistency. Once you manage it successfully, the results will be incredibly ripe and incremental. Good luck!
