The rise of content marketing has resulted the misconception that it can and should replace SEO. While it is true that many content marketers have made an improved emphasis on content, SEO has not faded into obsolescence. Ideally, the 2 concepts need to work together if any brand or product is going to achieve its goals. Let us delve into how we can integrate them:
What is the difference?
While there is an overlap between the 2 concepts, there are also marked differences between them. SEO has more technical aspects, for instance, use of title and ALT tags, correct URLs, and sitemaps. On the other hand, content marketing is broader and it is not necessarily confined to SEO goals.How to integrate them
There is a belief that SEO entails creation of good content with a goal to have it indexed by search engines. However, there is more than meets the eye. The on-site SEO groundwork needs to be done. For example, if Google has a problem indexing pages or if your site has a penalty, you need to consult a SEO expert despite having valuable content. The bottom line is that the 2 concepts need to be integrated. Here is how to go about this:1. Quality
A few years ago, creating poor quality content with well-placed keywords may have resulted in a higher ranking on search engine result pages. However, this will not yield any results in today’s competitive online marketing world. Poor quality content just to show that your site is active is also not beneficial.From the perspective of SEO, original, engaging content should put you ahead of the competition. This is because in this case, the search engines will be indexing something that you cannot find anywhere else. On the other hand, it helps you reach your goals, as it will attract the specific audience that you are aiming at. Your content should inspire people to stay longer than a minute on your platform, whether it is on your website, blog, social media page or even YouTube channel. It also needs to provide value.
2. Longevity
You should aim at creating evergreen content. It not only improves search rankings, it also makes your site more relevant. News does well in terms of increasing traffic. Nonetheless, its effects stops being felt after a short time. An evergreen piece of content which provides value to your audience will result in engagement and attract links that will help Google to index your site, social media platform, or YouTube channel. Better still, it will rank high in search engine results for a longer period of time. A higher rank translates into more traffic to your site, leading to more links and ranking that is even higher. An evergreen piece of content stays relevant for a very long time.3. Keywords
For the concepts of SEO and content marketing to work well, keyword research is indispensable. You must produce high quality content. However, it will only serve its purpose if it gets exposure. Exposure entails matching the search terms that people are keying in in their search queries to your content. Avoid using very many technical terms in your content as it will not match to what users are keying in search queries. Keyword research is necessary to find the terms that are likely to rank high in search engine results. One of the tools that you can use for keyword research is Soovle.4. Monitoring
A crucial aspect of content marketing is monitoring your keyword goals so as to see whether you are actually achieving them. Some of the things to consider are:- Whether the content produced hits the mark
- Whether it affects search positions
5. Links
Good content will certainly attract backlinks. You need to distribute it widely and effectively so as to reach a large and influential audience. Another facet of links would be internal links. It is a way to use content so as to achieve SEO goals and improve user experience. It will help in indexing your site improving page rank, and it will lead users to more content that is relevant to what they are viewing or reading.6. Evaluation
To determine whether SEO and content marketing are working well when they are combined, you need to do some evaluation. This needs to be in line with your goals. There are good tools that you can use for evaluation. Analytics will also help you to determine the change in search traffic volume over a period of time, and even the pages or content that result in higher search volumes. Content metrics like time on site, bounce rates and visitors who view multiple pages are also important in evaluation.7. Headlines
Headlines require to be very descriptive. They need to be beneficial and deliver on the promise. They also need to be written for the web. This means that you must include relevant keywords in your headlines. It is beneficial to consider factors like how your audience searches for content and what you intend to rank for. Keep headlines short. Here is why:- They will be truncated in search results - it is important for the entire headline to be visible for the viewers to be more inclined to click on it
- Sharing - keeping the headline short will enable people to share it on social media without editing it
- Email - if the content is being distributed via email, the headline needs to be visible on the email’s subject line
Conclusion
Content marketing should not replace SEO. Instead, the 2 concepts need to be integrated in a way that is beneficial for content marketers, their audience and search engine indexing. You need to strike a balance between the 2 concepts, rather than emphasis one at the expense of the other.
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