Why SEO and Content Marketing Go Hand in Hand...

The Stats

• 27 million pieces of content are shared each day.
• 92% of marketers say that content creation is "very effective" or "somewhat effective" for SEO
• Compared to 2015, 77% of B2B marketers said that they will produce more content in 2016. Only 2% said they will produce less;
• 76% of marketers who have strategic SEO campaigns in place invest in content creation.

So it is clear that both of these marketing tools are considered key to engage consumers and drive traffic, but the key is which is best for your business?  

The answer is both...

There is currently a lot of confusion on what exactly SEO is and with the recent growth of content marketing, the line between the two has become slightly blurred, disguising the brilliance of how great both tools can work in conjunction with each other. We have created simplified definitions to understand the idea:

SEO: Activities carried out in order to increase organic search engine traffic. 

Content Marketing: Creating content to increase traffic. 

Essentially, SEO demands content. Content marketing is content. 

Advantages of Content Marketing & SEO

• Reduces the cost & man power to produce high volumes of content;
• Increases organic rankings on relevant topics for your business;
• Builds your brand and attracts more qualified leads through driving higher clickthrough rates and conversions
• Reduces overall marketing costs when done correctly
• Content marketing and SEO can be updated to suit the current marketing and consumer.
• Fresh updated content gets rapidly indexed and registers higher in the SERPs.
• Increases engagement with target audience.   

The key differences between SEO and Content Marketing

SEO is more technical

Search Engine Optimisation sets your site up for search engine success. As you begin optimising various components you are positioning the site to not get penalised by search engines.

However, you can't attract more traffic by technical SEO. Activities such as redirecting URL's (301's) do not magically attract more visitors to your website, without being paired with some killer content to make people stop and read. 

Content marketing is generally broader and isn't confined to rules

A writer will produce the content first based on what the consumer will want to read to gain targeted traffic and achieve brand exposure. Although content is a hot topic at the minute and everybody is doing it - everybody is doing it differently. This is what makes content marketing brilliant and SEO provides the key to making content marketing better.

Two separate tools, working together

Although there are differences, both tools overlap. SEO needs content marketing to thrive and vice versa. Whilst content marketing can work on its own, without the help of a solid content marketing strategy paired together with SEO, it will fail to do this successfully. 

Similarly, SEO needs content marketing to perform. SEO needs to feed content with optimised relevant keywords and backlinks in order to drive traffic and perform well in search engines like Google.

To conclude, SEO is all about content marketing and content marketing is all about SEO. Both SEO and content marketing are highly effective ways to drive traffic, conversions and increase profit for your business. With both tools working in conjunction with each other, your business and brand will reap the benefits. 

Working with iCandy Design...

At iCandy Design we offer a range of marketing activities, guaranteed to deliver results for your business. We offer SEO and content marketing services, specifically tailored to meet your requirements. 

If you are interested in our services and want to know more, please contact iCandy Design today on 01256 895805 or email us on info@icandydesign.com