Search engine optimization (SEO) and content marketing go hand in hand. After all, the main goal of your content creation is to boost your SEO so your target audience can easily find you online. Once you’ve learned why it’s so important for SEO and content marketing to work together, you can maximize your SEO influence and track the results.
The importance of SEO and content marketing working together
Many consumers and businesses search for products and services online. Think about any keywords or phrases you’ve typed into the Google search bar. Although the top search results might’ve paid for a Google ad, most of the websites that are listed are the result of a strong SEO content marketing strategy.
In other words, when SEO and content marketing work together, more people find your website. And when your site includes great content, you have a better chance of earning leads and sales.
Due to the increase in e-commerce over the years, digital marketing has become a focal point for millions of companies across the globe. Because online presence is so important, a new breed of marketer has evolved: the SEO specialist. If you don’t have a specialist on your marketing team, you might want to consider partnering with a content writing service to ensure that your SEO and content marketing work together.
How do SEO and content marketing work together?
SEO and content marketing work together to drive traffic to your website and enhance the user experience when people are on your site. Basically, the stronger your content, the stronger your SEO. Content has two jobs:
- To include keywords so your target audience can find you easily in their Google search
- And to provide helpful information on your website to help your site visitors better understand your products and services
In other words, your content—the words and phrases you use on each landing page and blog post—boosts your SEO.
What is the difference between SEO and content marketing?
Content marketing is one of the most important components of SEO. The difference between the two is simple but important:
- SEO attracts visitors to your website.
- Content marketing provides information to your site visitors. Because it includes the keywords and phrases that your target audience is searching for, it’s a sort-of building block of SEO.
Simply put, you have to identify how to increase your search engine optimization and then create great content to boost your SEO.
Why is it so important for your SEO and content marketing strategies to work together?
You can’t have SEO without content. SEO requires elements like website copy and social media posts to exist. And those are examples of content! In order for your digital marketing strategy to be successful, it’s imperative that your SEO and content marketing work together.
People want to learn about your company and the products you offer. So drive them to your website with strong SEO, and then educate them with great content.
Tracking SEO impact in your content marketing campaign
You already know that SEO and content marketing need to work together in order for your digital marketing strategy to succeed. And because marketing is an investment in your business, you want to make sure you’re getting the best return on investment (ROI) .
First, you have to understand how SEO impacts your content marketing campaigns. Then you can track SEO metrics and measure content quality to ensure that you’re reaching your goals and earning an ROI.
How does SEO impact your content marketing campaigns?
One of the goals of every content marketing campaign is to boost your SEO so that your target audience can easily find you online.
Your SEO strategy should include keyword research to find out what words and phrases your customers are typing into their search bars. Once you have an idea of what they’re searching for, identify the most relevant keyword—as well as a handful of secondary keywords—and build your content around that.
The content that you create for every landing page, blog post, and social media post need to be centered around increasing your SEO. In addition to including important keywords and phrases to boost SEO, your content writer needs to create engaging and informative content to engage your audience. Don’t just stuff the most relevant keyword into your copy—write something that people will want to read. Once you have great SEO content, you can begin to track how well it’s working.
What are some methods to track SEO’s impact on your content marketing?
In order to track SEO’s impact on your content marketing, you first have to identify some key performance indicators (KPIs). These are measurable, tangible, and objective milestones that your marketing team can use to evaluate how your marketing strategy is doing. For example, you cannot measure your target audience’s emotional reaction to your website because emotions are intangible and subjective. However, you can measure how many people visit your website because it’s a hard number. Therefore, your quantity of website visits is a KPI.
Here are a few additional content marketing KPIs that you can evaluate:
- User behavior. It’s important to track what your visitors do on your website. This helps you identify your most popular landing page or blog post so you can tailor the content on your other pages to earn the same attention.
- Bounce rate. You want your audience to visit multiple pages on your website. Your bounce rate tells you the percentage of visitors who clicked on only one page before leaving your site.
- Audience engagement. How many people commented on your recent blog post? Did anyone share or comment on that new video that you posted on social media?
- Traffic type. The method that people use to find your website is another important. Maybe they found you organically through a web search or were guided to your page from a backlink on a different website. You have to know how your target audience was driven to your website so that you know what digital marketing efforts are working.
What conversations should you have regarding content marketing campaigns and SEO?
Marketing is a collaborative effort—and the collaboration doesn’t stop once you’ve designed your strategy. You should continue to have conversations with your marketing team throughout each campaign so that you’re aware of how well your SEO strategy is working.
Your marketing director should provide you with statistics and KPIs. And if you’re coming up short of your goals, they should propose ideas on how to alter your content marketing strategy to get the numbers where they should be. This might include hiring a content marketing service or looking into influencer marketing. Whatever is needed to right the ship!
How to maximize the SEO influence on your content marketing
Effective content marketing includes strong search engine optimization. If your content doesn’t integrate and maximize SEO influence, people just won’t find you online.
Keep in mind that you don’t necessarily have to start from scratch to maximize your SEO. For instance, if your website includes outdated information, you can boost SEO by repurposing blog content or simply updating your statistics. Just make sure that all of your content is SEO friendly.
What steps should you take to maximize your SEO influence on your content marketing?
Designing and executing an effective SEO strategy isn’t easy. The strategy has to drive your target audience to your website, increase your brand awareness, earn an ROI, and stay on budget! Here are a few steps you can take to maximize your SEO influence on your content marketing:
- Perform keyword research so that you know what your target audience is searching for.
- Abide by search engine optimization guidelines like Google EAT and YMYL.
- Determine whether any ranking factor is hurting your site. Remove any low-quality content, and make sure your page-loading speed is as fast as possible.
- Create a content calendar so that you post high-quality content on a schedule. This includes blogs and social media.
- Keep track of every KPI so that you know what’s working and what you need to adjust.
How do you integrate SEO into your content marketing?
You have to perform SEO research before you can begin creating content. If you don’t know how to boost SEO, you won’t be able to write effective content. Creating content without integrating SEO is like building a house without wood and nails!
One of the best ways to integrate SEO into your content marketing is to keep a close eye on your keyword selection. What is your target audience typing into their search bar? Use those keywords and phrases as the basis for your content. Keyword research is ongoing, so be sure to keep an eye on your SEO ranking. Your rank could change based on the way your audience’s searches change.
Another way to integrate SEO is to diversify your content. Don’t just rely on the copy in your blog and social media posts. Give your audience some videos and infographics. Variety doesn’t just keep your audience happy—their search engine will take notice too!
What role does social media play when maximizing SEO influence on your content marketing?
Search engines like Google evaluate your website based on ranking factors like the quality of your content, your keywords, and your content diversity. And they also take your social media presence into account!
Every established business should have profiles set up on social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and LinkedIn. The more places people can find you, the more legitimate your business. Search engines will notice whether your website links to your social media profiles—and each link boosts your ranking. Many social media platforms are free, so there’s really no downside to creating a profile. It’ll increase your brand awareness and boost your SEO!
Tips for combining SEO and content marketing effectively
So, how do you effectively combine SEO and content marketing? First, involve the right people. Then, track your success and bring in other resources if you’re falling short of your goals. And if content creation is a pain point for you, you can outsource content marketing to professional marketing experts and content creators.
Who should be involved in combining SEO and content marketing for your business?
All aspects of marketing communicate your company’s mission and culture to the public. So there are multiple parties beyond your marketing staff and content marketing agencies that you need to involve.
Make sure that your executives buy into your marketing plan so they will actively support your efforts. And if you’re going to need a budget for pay-per-click (PPC) advertisements—or a full PPC campaign—you’ll need your accounting department to approve your costs. Effectively combining SEO and content marketing is a team effort, so be sure to include the right people!
What are some examples of successfully combining SEO and content marketing?
Your KPIs will show you how well you’ve combined SEO and content marketing. Here are a few examples of successful integration:
- Your PPC ads brings in leads.
- Your website traffic and conversion rate have improved.
- Each blog post earns clicks and comments.
- Your target audience interacts with your social media.
Remember that SEO standards are fluid. The keywords that your target audience uses today might change in the next week or month. So track your KPIs often to make sure your digital marketing is working.
What tools and resources help combine SEO and content marketing effectively?
You already know that you need a strong content writer to create great content for your website and social media platforms. In addition, there are SEO tracking resources across the internet. Some of these are free, and others come with a cost. However, it’s important to know how well your digital marketing strategy is working, so don’t shy away from costs. Marketing is all about spending money to make money!
Elite Editing can help your SEO and content marketing work together.
Your company needs great content in order to boost your web presence. Don’t leave your online reputation in just anyone’s hands. Partner with the experts!
Elite Editing provides scalable and affordable content writing personalized to your needs and voice. Visit our website to learn how we can help grow your business with well-written, data-driven content. After all, great content is what we do!
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