Let’s establish two things before we dive in:
First, on the internet, content is king. We’ll explain what this means later.
Second, Search Engine Optimization (SEO) refers to a lot of things you can do to rank higher in search results, but one component is using “keywords” that will likely be typed in by your potential customers. Therefore, using keywords properly is an important part of a successful search engine optimization strategy.
With more and more companies using content marketing as a way to gain more customers, maintaining a high ranking in search results has become more important than ever. Therefore, publishing meaningful content that uses these keywords will help you rank higher than your competitors (content = king).
Okay, easy enough, right? Yes and no.
What makes content so interesting is that it is both easy to produce (I’m doing it as I write/you read…) so virtually any business can do it but what makes it tough is… doing it. It takes a lot of time and energy to produce content on a regular basis and it takes even more thoughtfulness to include those keywords we just talked about.
If you need further convincing that content helps improve SEO before you begin investing in producing it, here’s a quick guide on how it helps:
1 - Users Love Good Content
SEO experts will tell you that the best way to rank highly in search results is to create and publish content that users love. Each of your articles should be tailored to meet the needs of your target market or niche. These articles should be informative and well-written.
When users come to your website to read your content, they should love what they see. When they do, they are more likely to share your content with others, trust you (which leads to sales) and see you as a leader in your industry.
Fortunately, along with all of those benefits, content also helps with search engine optimization because it uses those keywords we talked about which creates more opportunities for you to be seen by your audience searching the internet for help.
2 - Content Helps You Rank Highly In Search Results
The more content you have on your website, the more likely users will find it via search engines. Think of it like advertising on billboards. If you have one billboard, that’s better than none, but your traffic is reduced to only the people who drive by it. Wouldn’t it be better to have as many billboards as possible? Now, what is on those billboards? If they don’t have anything on them that your audience cares about, you’re spending a lot of marketing dollars for no reason.
Having more content means that you have more articles to promote and when users click on your links, they will visit your website and see more of your content and potentially convert.
3 - Relevant Keyword Use is the Key
We’ve talked about keywords, but what are they exactly?
Think about your business and think about what people might search when looking for your products or services. For example, here at Torch, we build websites. See what I did just then? I put a keyword in this blog post. It’s that simple. If I want to capture people searching for companies that build websites I probably want to make sure Google knows that that’s what we do.
The right keyword use can help you rank higher, meaning that you have a better chance of showing up in your potential customer’s search results. The best way to wield keywords is to think about what your target market or niche is looking for and provide those details to them. This will help you gain their attention, which leads to more visitors.
4 - Content Builds Your Brand And Your Community
Content is not just about keywords, that’s an easy trap to fall for. You still need to make content that is useful and meaningful to your customers. This means you should not disregard how important it is to use your content to show how much of an industry leader you are. Take all of that knowledge and start sharing it. Potential customers will gravitate towards businesses that go beyond the product they sell and actually focus on helping people.
When you publish good content and then promote it, you will increase your brand's exposure, your community's engagement, and likely grow that email list.
Conclusion
As you can see, SEO and content marketing are closely linked because again, content is king on the internet. SEO helps users find your content, which makes them want to read it. Once they read your content, they will tell their friends about it. This is how content helps you create more content and improve your ranking in search results.
Should you be in need of digital strategies for SEO and digital marketing, come to Torch Digital Labs! We offer SEO services to get your website seen by new customers and marketing to further establish your brand.
