For the past couple of years, digital marketers have been shouting ‘content is king’ from the rooftops. But, as the digital ecosystem is evolving, some believe that content doesn’t hold as much weight as it did when businesses first started injecting SEO principles in their sites to draw more visitors and drive sales. So, what is the truth?
Technical SEO is often favored over content SEO by marketers. While technical SEO is essential in your SEO game plan, pushing content down the priority list erases massive opportunity for capturing searchers online, establishing credibility and building a community around your brand or business. On-page SEO and high-quality content remain vital for your SEO strategy in 2021. For content to continue its reign, it needs to be SEO-friendly, well-researched, error-free and accurately targeted towards the ideal audience, and a strong SEO content strategy needs to be well-integrated with the business’s broader marketing objectives.
Here is why you need SEO copywriting for your website to continue growing your business online!
SEO content writing vs copywriting
To understand why you need SEO content for your website, you need to know what it is and what makes it so valuable. SEO writing aims to increase organic traffic through search engines while the function of sales copy and copywriting is to convert traffic into leads and sales. Combining the two approaches results in powerful content that captures attention, engages readers, converts traffic and drives sales.
SEO-friendly blog posts, web pages and guest posts, conversion pages, PPC landing pages — these are all projects on the SEO team’s to-do list to create optimized content for their clients’ websites. To create high-quality SEO content for your website, you need someone who understands the principles of search engine optimization and knows how to naturally work keywords into the text while maintaining the distinct tone of your brand. Saturating a site with keywords and hoping it will reel in the customers won’t work. You can’t outsmart Google, and you shouldn’t underestimate your customers. Besides, keyword stuffing is ineffective and can even get your site blacklisted on Google!
High-quality content proves credibility
Furnishing your website with quality content will make your business stand out among competitors. By establishing yourself as an industry leader, you are building trust and credibility. The content on your site is a reflection of your business, and people want to know they can trust a retailer or service provider before making a purchase. Content writing presents an opportunity to prove to your audience that you know what you’re talking about, and to showcase the extent of your knowledge and expertise.
‘Empty content’ on a website takes up space without saying much. There is no point in spending valuable time and resources to build content that doesn’t serve your business. That is why you need A-grade SEO copywriting that is functional, reliable and credible. There is no room for rushed work when it comes to content creation and SEO copywriting. Putting in the work now will always pay off in the long run!
SEO copywriting targets motivated searchers
Keywords play an important role in connecting your offering to the people who are searching for it. To do this well, you need an experienced SEO team who can do an in-depth SEO audit of your website, conduct keyword research, and create content that specifically targets your ideal customer funnel. Unlike a magazine or social media interface where people often scroll mindlessly for hours with zero search intent, SEO content targets motivated searchers. The people who reach your site through a search engine are actively looking for something — a product, service or piece of information that you can offer them. Searchers who come across your website organically are likely to make a purchase, so your content needs to do the marketing and sales motivation on your behalf.
Technical search engine optimisation is certainly important in the overall SEO strategy, but to reach the top of search engine results, there should still be a major focus on the content itself. According to Hubspot, 60% of marketers say that inbound marketing such as blog content, ebooks and web content optimisation is their highest quality source of leads!
When you search for something online, how often do you click the second, third and fourth pages of the search results? If you rarely do this, you’re not alone. On Google, less than 1% of searchers click on results from the second page and onward. A well-functioning SEO strategy will drive organic traffic, which takes longer to secure but holds long-term benefits for your business. Successful SEO content increases your chances of ranking higher on Google and consequently targeting more traffic on search engines. Businesses that make it to the first page of search results receive more than 90% of the traffic. The top-ranking search result locks in one-third of the traffic, instantly putting it ahead of the race.
Engaging and informative content builds community
By sharing content on your website, you can build a close-knit community of people who share the same interests and values. SEO-friendly content like blog articles and thought leadership pieces will attract people who might not make an immediate purchase but will develop a trust and liking in your brand, increasing the chances that they will share links to your site with their friends and return in the future. A short-term mentality focused on sales and instant conversions won’t lead to steady, secure business growth. Adopting a future-focused strategy that gradually drives growth is evergreen, and has a better shot at increasing sales and visibility over a longer period.
To summarise: is content still king? SEO content is certainly one of the crowned heads of digital marketing. But there are some flaws in the way content has been approached in the past. To use content to draw new customers and increase your online reach, you need to think like the people you’re aiming your content toward. Be accessible, authentic and transparent. Don’t aim for a short-term spike in new customers — rather focus on long-term results and organic growth.
Engine Room Global is a performance marketing agency that builds brands, drives leads and helps turn visitors into customers. Contact us for a free consultation today!
