SEO + Content How to boost traffic, engagement and conversions

Search engine optimization (SEO) and content marketing go together like peanut butter and jelly. Unless you have a peanut allergy, then it’s like milk and cookies. While SEO and content marketing are different, they are related and complementary. SEO helps users find your content. Content keeps visitors on your site. Taking a holistic approach where SEO and content work together helps drive more traffic, more engagement and more conversions.

Before we go any further, let’s level set with a few definitions for SEO and content marketing:

• SEO is the process of making changes to your website so it ranks higher on search engine results pages.
• Content marketing is a strategy that involves creating and sharing relevant content to attract, engage and retain an audience.

Better together
According to recent data, 53% of trackable website visits originate with an organic search. With so much on the line, it can be tempting to spend more time on SEO than content since it makes you more visible to your audience. However, it’s equally important to have quality, relevant content that engages visitors and provides them with information about your products and services. If not, they will bounce quickly and you lose an opportunity to convert a visitor into a customer.

Without both SEO and quality content, all your efforts go to waste.

 Get more from your content. Repurpose it! Get 10 tips for repurposing content

Incorporating both into your marketing strategy boosts your efforts and achieves better results than when using them alone. Here’s how.

• SEO drives relevant traffic and boosts visibility: You don’t create content for the sake of creating something. You want it to be found. That means you have to get your content in front of the right audience. How? Keywords play an integral role. Optimizing your content with keywords improves where you show up in search rankings and makes it easier for the audience to find you. For those newer to search management, optimizing just means incorporating keywords and phrases into the content on your site to enhance search results.
• Optimized, high-quality content helps search rankings: While many factors contribute to how well your website ranks, quality content is one the most important factors for success. The content on your site helps both people and search engines determine if your content is relevant to their search and provides value. It can also dictate whether they stay on your site to learn more or leave without exploring further.
  

Working together
To ensure your SEO and content marketing strategies are working together, like peanut butter and jelly, take these steps.

• Understand your audience: Knowing your audience is essential. If you’re targeting the wrong audience or offering the wrong content, not only will it be harder to rank, you will see fewer conversions from the traffic that does come to your site. If you understand your audience, you will also understand the intent behind the search as well as their pain points and challenges. Armed with that information, you can create content that answers their questions, solves their challenges and offers a clear, compelling message.
• Find the right keywords: Keyword research helps you find which keywords are the best to target and provides valuable insight into the search terms your audience uses. Your audience’s search terms should be your keywords. In addition, keyword research can help determine if there is a search demand for a topic or keyword. Naturally, incorporate those keywords into your content.
• Develop content: It shouldn’t be a surprise to anyone that quality content is key. It should meet the needs of your customer and offer original and relevant information. Keep in mind that it’s highly likely that a visit to your site started with a search inquiry looking for an answer to a question or a solution to a problem. Make sure to offer actionable insights that help address the original inquiry. And don’t forget: create content for humans, not search engines. Both people and search engines can detect tactics like keyword stuffing right away and will penalize you for it.

The bottom line is that it's not about choosing content marketing or SEO. Instead of treating these as separate disciplines, pull them together into a cohesive strategy for better results – like peanut butter and jelly or milk and cookies.

Speaking of content, get more out of yours by repurposing what you have already created. Get tips and ideas on our blog, 10 Ways to Repurpose Content.

Need help with your SEO or content strategy? Let us know!