You’ve read the articles, clicked on the links about Top 10 this or that lists detailing why you need to invest NOW in SEO. You may have already read the big, flashy articles screaming about how content marketing is the wave of the future. Or how social media strategies are currently the most (or least) important.
I’ve got great news: instead of pitting SEO vs Content Marketing, you’ll be pleased to know that SEO, content marketing and social media utilization all go hand-in-hand. They go together like peanut butter and jelly. Cheese and pepperoni. These pieces of the pie are in fact the trifecta of informing and influencing customers with media!
How, you say? Let me break it down.
Like Peas & Carrots: How Content Connects
It should never be looked at as SEO vs Content Marketing: SEO and content marketing work together to drive better results. As we’ve said before, SEO is not a magic bullet to ranking for important keywords. While SEO is an important piece of the puzzle, it shouldn’t necessarily dictate the messages you want to get across.
When creating any content for your site, blog or social media account, you should consider your audience. What do they need to know about your product, service or brand? By keeping all content focused on your main product messages, you ideally encounter important keywords naturally. Good SEO, then, can amplify these keywords as well as provide feedback for how your keywords rank or how they could be better positioned and used throughout your content strategy for higher ranking. In other words, SEO can provide a road map or gauge for positioning great content.
Social media works to further promote your great content. It also establishes your business or brand among your audience or potential customers. Social media helps establish relationships—yes, relationships. Which means, there needs to be a give and take, not just a one-way communication (or take take take). Think of everything you post through social media as “content.” Even if it’s not necessarily your content (and you’ve given the right attributes), it represents your brand, company and presence.
Also, through social media you can expand your online authorship with search engine giant Google. The more quality content you author and promote, the more likely you’ll rank for keywords embedded within that great content.
Each piece, then, fuels the other pieces—and the bigger picture—of your strategy. Keep the diverse, quality content flowing, promote it and connect through social media—then let SEO guide and analyze your efforts along the way.