Content Marketing and SEO Like Bread and Butter

Content marketing and SEOs are paving the way for the future of digital marketing. Content marketing is a subset of inbound marketing. Through the process, a website visitor is moved through a sales funnel. These sales are offered in a helpful and exciting manner that involves persuasive content pieces. Search engine optimization (SEO), on the other hand, is a process in which a website is better optimized to rank higher in search engine results, and perform better as a website. 

At first, these two terms may seem worlds apart, but in fact, they are like bread and butter. The terms must function in harmony to reach the most optimal level of optimization for business. Without search engine optimization (SEO), your website would get bogged down and not reach the audience it needs. Let's say your website did reach its target audience and ranked high in search engine results page; it would need to have the correct content placement to pass Google's crawl bots and build the credibility you deserve. All of the facts stated above are just the tip of the iceberg, and to get a better understanding and see the whole picture, there is a need to break things down. So without wasting much time, let's get started. 

Benefits of Content Marketing to SEO

There is a need to understand why a good content marketing plan is crucial for the high ranking of your website. Often times the aspect of content in regards to SEOs are overlooked, leading to a failing marketing strategy. Below points will be discussing the benefits content marketing will have to an SEO strategy.

Opportunities for more keywords

Humans look at websites differently than say a search engine. You may look at an eCommerce website selling skies for your next winter trip and understand the role of the website. But Google does not function the same way. Google will be looking at the words and text written on the site to understand what the page is actually about. This is where content marketing comes in. It allows the user to go far past the little paragraphs written on a homepage, and under pictures where you might not have enough room to establish your business. Using blog posts, guides, glossaries, articles, and other written content, you as the business owner can use more keywords relevant to your business. Using this tactic, you can make a clear statement about the nature of your business. Alongside building a statement, you will be more relevant when it comes to the search results. 

Using the example of an eCommerce website selling skies, you could be trying to rank high in regards to a keyword that is related to skies. Instead of trying to pile up all words that are related to skies on a small page, you could use the opportunity to write an article explaining the types of skies that are recommended on certain occasions. You could even write decent size blog posts about the new styles of skies that come through your store. Along with being very interesting and helpful to your clients, the creation of such content will allow your business to use the essential keywords and rank higher. 

The more, the merrier

By now, it is already clear that the web pages with the highest ranks in Google's search engine results page (SERP) are the ones that have the most content. It is recommended that each page should have around 2400 words each to reach a higher rank. This, however, does not necessarily mean that you should always have content that is long. If the content on your web pages keeps blabbering on about the same things without making a point and providing needed information, your visitors will get bored and leave your website. This can, in return, backfire, and hurt your ranking. But if you provide long articles and blog posts with detailed, informative, and substantial information, you will be creating the perfect formula that will boost your website to the top of search ranks. 

At times it is often crucial to put yourself in the shoes of your potential client. Think of the times when you actually Googled an answer or tutorial online. It is highly likely that it did not take you long to find a satisfying answer. You probably noticed the answer in the first three webpage results, and were on your way. Over the years, SEO has evolved. This evolution favors the users, changing the rules of just having a keyword density that is high to great content that is also relative. Hence, you are better off creating content that users love reading and appreciate than trying to have the most keyword usage to become “relevant.”

Keep em hooked

Every internet user has done this during his or her time on a Google search, even you have! No, you are not being accused of a crime; the topic is leaving a website that does not have the information you are looking for. Often times it does, but due to bad search engine optimization, users have a hard time finding it. Take, for example, a potential client who visits your website from a search he or she has made on Google. If they cannot find what they are looking for, they will be leaving right away, usually without visiting any other pages. In SEO terms, this is called a bounce rate. The more the users exit your website in a few seconds before discovering other pages, the higher your bounce rate becomes. Every percent of users that leave your site quickly, will be factored into this rate. 

Problem

Google is not too soft on such matters. It factors metrics like a bounce rate and adds them to the websites general SEO profile. If your webpage has a great bounce rate, then this becomes an alarm for Google that there is something wrong. Google will not continue to rank your website higher if the visitors keep leaving and going back to the search results page. This is where relevant content comes to your aid. A right content marketing strategy can help you combat bounce rates and keep you right where you want to be, on top. 

Solution

There are numerous ways of resolving the bounce rate crisis. But before an answer can come, you need to be able to pinpoint the exact reason. Let's say the reason for the high bounce rate is best explained by the "mess" on your website. Users do not know how to navigate, or simply are not clear on where certain information is. Some business owners go for content management systems (CMS) to make things easier. But you could start by adding content regarding your company explaining your company goals and what you have to offer. The best tactic is also to suggest clients where to get started and add links in your content to other pages within your website. It is through this process you can keep visitors on your page for longer, send them to other pages on your website, and lower the amount of confusion. You will hit three birds with one stone!

So to sum it all up, any content that does not help your visitors, bores them, and does not make any sense, simply pushes them away and damages both your business and ranking. Remember not to have content that sends your viewers away quickly, and this can also increase your bounce rate. Although length is significant, try not to waste the reader's time.

Knowledge is limited, Imagination is Infinite

Although Albert Einstein was a genius, he did not know much about SEOs and content marketing. One thing he did know for sure was that, there is a need to be creative. This need for creativity does trickle down well into digital marketing. SEO and content marketing should focus on things that have not been tried before. It is through this creativity; webpages are sure to rank higher in SERPs. Google’s crawlers will also enjoy crawling your webpage for the exciting content everyone has been going for.

For example, let's say you are selling exotic flowers and plants. You are most likely to post content regarding the beauty of plants, how they make excellent gifts, and their origins. This is fine for the most part, because it is relevant to your business. But let's be honest, these have been done before, and most flower and plant lovers know most of this information. 

Now, this does not mean you should delete all of your content regarding this topic. It is necessary to have such topics, because not everyone's knowledge is the same. But this is where the "imagination is infinite" idea starts to take its shape. By going online yourself, and doing a bit of research, you can see that some people are looking for help benefits of some plants. Mixing this with the plants and flowers you have in stock, you can create some exceptional articles and blogs that would benefit readers on that matter. Along with this, you will be reaching out to people who were not looking to buy any plants, but since they have read your article, they could be your potential customers. The more readers you have from both sides of the spectrum, the higher your ranking becomes, creating a win-win situation for both sides!

Sum up

The example stated above is a perfect example of a content marketing strategy done right. The reason being that, since the articles and information are written is in your sphere, you will be able to write it confidently with all the resources and tools you need. Because you sell plants and flowers, following the end of your blog post or article, you can add a calm advertisement type link to the end saying, "click to see a selection of our plants that will keep your home clean and you healthy."

By mixing research keywords, and content marketing, you will be able to focus on not just publishing creative content, but also creating a marketing strategy for your SEO that will do wonders for your business. You can create unique content that has not been seen anywhere else, and with it, you will have an opportunity to reach users that are looking for that long-tail keyword when doing a Google search. This relevance and richness of topics will surely keep you on top of search results. 

If you keep things clean and relevant to your business, the unique content pieces you write will help you claim more places in search engine results pages. Making you rank for more keywords, and help you grow your audience. 

Use Content Marketing and Save Money!

Outbound marketing tactics are more expensive than content marketing. This should be an essential factor for you, especially if you are starting a new business. The money you save on marketing can be driven into other factors you can use to improve your business. Besides being a cheaper alternative money-wise, content marketing is also easier to get started with. This method also seems to be more popular with users. 

The reason for this is, users are growing tired of the traditional and pop up display ads that are often ignored. Besides being cost-effective, content marketing helps users walk into your virtual business with their own will, through online search results. Experts note that having a content marketing strategy can save you 62 percent more money than going with an outbound marketing strategy. The best part is, it can generate more than three times the leads than the traditional ound method.

Your Content Matters

Another significant benefit of content marketing to your SEO is that this tactic allows you to communicate with potential clients before a sale happens. According to some reports, almost half of the consumers usually check out three to five pieces of content before actually proceeding to make a purchase, and talk with a sales representative. This should give you peace of mind knowing that the content you publish matters. Customers will be having a positive impression of your business and contact you regarding your products. 

With this, you should keep in mind that, first impressions do matter. Your first impression will be your quality content. This content will help your customers better understand their problems, and fully know how your products can provide the solutions. Boosting not only sales, but also creating a confident brand identity and a safe space your customers are looking for. 

Helping out and creating a good image

One aspect of content marketing that is often overlooked is the benefits you give readers for free. You can provide value to your customers and leads without asking for anything in return. In most cases, a business will be willing to help customers who are regular clients. At first, this may seem like a fair business model that benefits the company, but this is not true. This tactic can actually negatively impact a company's ability to gain more customers and create a bond between the leads. 

Through content marketing, you can actually give value to your customers by educating them on matters regarding your products and services. Users value such methods more, because you do this by asking nothing in return. So through a good SEO, you can become the solution someone has long been looking for. Engage with visitors, and turn them into potential clients who will be willing to make a purchase. 

Sharing is caring

A great way to boost your SEO with the help of content marketing is to share your content consistently. Sharing articles, blogs, and other materials can increase your visibility as a business. Your brand advocates, leads, and customers can help you with this matter also. Since content is sharable, if your content actually helps a customer, or just interests them, they will be sure to pass it on and share with others. 

A customer can forward one of your email marketing messages to others, or even share your blogs or articles to social media outlets. Facebook, Twitter, etc. can all be useful locations to help you reach an already set audience and broaden your visibility. The digital marketing practice of social media marketing (SMM) has been a long practised one, but this tactic specifically helps you reach more unsuspecting viewers. SEO is also affected positively through practice. When you provide a link to the original post on social media, it creates backlinks. This backlink shows search engines that your content is useful and is shared on many different locations. You could even opt for the tactic of backlink building. It would help you gain viewers from relative websites. 

Conclusion

Just as breakfast is useless without a nice serving of bread and butter, seeing an SEO tactic without a content marketing strategy just does not cut it. Having the right tools at hand, and using content marketing to its fullest, you can reach the optimal level of search engine optimization you need to succeed. Content marketing benefits SEO greatly, as long as you use it right, and to its full potential!