Having a great website in today’s digital age is essential for every small business owner or individual who is looking to get noticed. Whether you’re promoting a product, your blog, or are trying to create a buzz around a latest update — your website is essentially the face of your company and will be the driving force of its success.
But having a website isn't just about pretty pictures or knowing which tabs to incorporate — it's mostly about content marketing and Google's best friend, SEO (Search Engine Optimization). And when the two work together, it's enough to make some magic happen.
If you really want to take your site to the next level, folks, then understanding the ins and outs of content marketing and SEO is highly essential. In fact, it's so important and can make all the difference in the success and branding of your product or service — especially if you're a one-man (or woman) team.
So, what is Content Marketing? According to AdAge, "...content marketing is a pull, rather than a push, strategy," and is produced with an aim of attracting consumers to a certain objective.
Ever click on a particular web page and started reading a sentence, and then another—until you catch yourself clicking on "Buy Now" or "Read More?" That, my friends, is the result of exceptional content.
It's the kind that builds trust, creates awareness, and ultimately converts leads into sales.
Think about it: what you write, and how you write, play a huge role on whether or not your client will want to purchase a specific product or service, or even come back for more.
Then what's the catch? Is writing content enough to generate leads and promote awareness, or are there other factors to consider?
SEO Enters the Picture
Aside from playing to the interests of consumers, generated content has another motive to fulfill. Just like there's a recipe for making a delicious fruit shake combo consisting of mango, strawberries, and bananas [yum] — there's more to producing content than simply knowing how to write.
In the context of the world wide web, SEO content is content that is "created with the goal of search engine traffic," and involves a combination of keyword research, keyword optimization, content organization, and content promotion in order to be effective in the online sphere (Wordstream.com, 2015).
The Winning Recipe
Certain elements must be implemented effectively in order get your site from a point in which readers simply skim over the text, to one they actually spend their time on. If content marketing aims to pull in readers, and SEO is the underlying formula in which this strategy is done by, then it's fair to say that one cannot function without the other. In other words, a new form of content marketing has emerged and it is all inclusive of the factors mentioned above.
So, the next time you're hitting your head against the wall trying to figure out how to go about your content marketing strategy — just remember: if your goal is to promote brand recognition and ultimately, generate leads, then a little bit of keyword research and the right amount of content organization and promotion, can make for a great combination. (Kind of like that delicious fruit shake combo...)
Interested in discussing the matter further or have a project you need extra eyes on? Email me at ysasconsulting@gmail.com.