SEO and content marketing: The Jay Z and Beyonce of marketing

Keywords are the most important feature of SEO. Each brand will have associated and relevant keywords that they will want to rank for. Successful search engine marketing (SEM), SEO, and content marketing strategy are all dependent on keywords being utilised.

This approach can include using keywords relevant to your location as a strategy to boost content marketing for local SEO.

Strategic keywords are the number one priority for 71% of marketers when it comes to SEO. However, stuffing your content with keywords is the wrong idea.

‘Keyword stuffing’ will affect the overall quality of your content and could impact your ranking.

Here we have the heartbeat in the relationship between SEO and content marketing. Keywords need to keep the union healthy. Keyword stuffing will only generate poor readability and bad user experience (UX).

You may think a keyword density of around 10% is ok for the quality of the content and SEO. If this is the case, you should try reading it again. No doubt you’ll see it’s clunky, repetitive, and lacks flow.

Google is smart enough to recognise quality over keyword-heavy copy.

Ideally, you should be aiming for a keyword density of around 1-2%. This percentage will serve both your SEO and content marketing with a piece of content that is quality, not high keyword quantity.

What makes content high in quality? Simple.

Fresh, flowing, and unique ideas that offer value and solve problems create quality content.

For your content hit all the right notes, you must also bring creativity and vision into play. Solving a problem is one thing, but telling a story is another. According to Neil Patel, storytelling is what makes a truly great content marketer.

“It’s not the features and benefits of your product/service that sell—it’s the stories you tell.”

So, how do you integrate content marketing into SEO?

Quite simply, you need to produce consistent, engaging and valuable content. SEO algorithms can recognise the authority of content through many factors.

Naturally, the better you serve your consumer with quality, the more the content is read, shared and referred to. Being a valuable link to other websites also boosts your SEO credentials.

Cluster topics are another way to show your expertise in a field or subject and strengthen the relationship. So, think about your services or products and create various angles all discussing the same core subject.

For example, if you’re writing blogs, the subjects of these blogs can integrate and connect with one overall theme, enabling you to become in the eyes of Google and your audience, a master of the field.  

User experience (UX) is another key component in the integration of SEO and content marketing. Arguably, the most common thing in common for both SEO and content marketing is the user.

As we know, SEO is governed by search engines, with Google sitting on the throne as the almighty despot. Google’s main concern is serving the user as best it can. Likewise, with content marketing, supplying the best content to your consumer is what will drive more conversions and sales for your business. Therefore, the UX for SEO and content marketing is the key ingredient.

SEO doesn’t only consist of blogs and articles. Another important factor is to optimise metadata and enhance tags. This technical side to optimisation will make web pages more appealing to search engines. Keep your meta descriptions and the slug content as concise as possible.

Another aspect of SEO is how regularly you publish content. If you’re a brand that generates regular updates, enhance your SEO content marketing strategy by creating a publication schedule.

Each new piece will keep you current while adding new keyword dimensions and topic ideas to boost your content output and offer value to your audience. All in all, staying relevant maintains your authority, and there’s nothing Google likes more than authoritative content.

Linking to other sites and blogs helps your SEO but only if the link is of value. An untrustworthy or broken link can impact your SEO and UX. So, always double-check the links provided are valuable to your SEO and the quality of your content.