SEO and online content marketing are two terms that may be new to you. And if you’re not that familiar with SEO, you may wonder what online content marketing is even about. Does it pertain to blogs or websites? Does it have something to do with social media platforms? Find out what SEO and online content marketing mean and how you can implement both into your own digital marketing strategy in this article.

What Is SEO?

Let’s start with SEO, which originally stands for “search engine optimization,” per Merriam-Webster. In other words, SEO is the process of improving a website’s ranking in search results for relevant keywords. When someone searches for a product or service on a search engine, such as Google, the website with the highest amount of relevant content showing up on the first page of results will rank higher than those who don’t use SEO techniques. This, in turn, can drive more traffic to and from your site.

As an SEO consultant, I work with many clients who want to improve the appearance of their website in search engine results, attracting potential customers to their online stores. Some of my clients are small businesses who want to take their knowledge and expertise online to gain even more business. Others simply want to create a personal blog where they can share their thoughts with the world. Regardless of your website’s niche, improving your website’s SEO is an excellent way to grow your business.

What Is Online Content Marketing?

If you’re not familiar, online content marketing is the practice of creating and distributing content (e.g., marketing material, such as advertising, blog posts, product descriptions, etc.) to attract, acquire, and retain customers across different platforms and communities. Essentially, your objective as an online content marketer is to attract, build, and retain a community of engaged followers who are interested in your subject matter. Once you achieve this, you can develop more in-depth relationships with your audience, gradually turning them into customers.

In comparison, SEO is all about getting your content in front of the right audience. When someone performs a search on Google or another search engine, they will see your content along with thousands of other results. Your goal as an SEO is to get your content in front of a potential audience who will be interested in your product or service. Once they’re on your site, you can utilize various marketing techniques to turn them into paying customers.

Why Should You Use Both SEO and Online Content Marketing?

There are a variety of reasons why you might want to implement both SEO and online content marketing into your digital marketing strategy. For one, SEO can be quite expensive. You can spend thousands of dollars each month on ads, pay-per-click campaigns, and other expensive SEO tools. However, a lot of these expenses can be recovered through the generation of organic traffic. That is, traffic that comes without paying for each individual click. Also, SEO is a constantly changing field. There are always new guidelines, new tactics, and new strategies that you need to learn about and become familiar with in order to rank well on the search engines.

In comparison, online content marketing is much more affordable. You can start a blog for free and use free tools to build your audience. From there, you can utilize various content marketing tactics, such as video production and infographics, to attract and retain your audience. Plus, as an online content marketer, you already have a built-in audience ready to engage with your content. You don’t necessarily have to worry about SEO costs or whether your content will rank because it matches certain keywords. Instead, you can focus on creating engaging, valuable content that will encourage your audience to return for more.

To put it simply, SEO and online content marketing are not necessarily replacements for each other. Instead, they can be used complementarily, working together to form a solid digital marketing strategy.

If you’re curious about SEO and online content marketing, or want to implement either one of them into your own strategy, this article has you covered. Just keep in mind that you don’t necessarily need to implement both into your strategy. It depends on your specific situation. If you have a small business and looking for ways to generate some immediate online revenue, then maybe SEO is the way to go. But if you’re looking for more long-term, passive income streams, then look into content marketing.

Regardless, neither option is bad. It’s all about your specific situation and exactly what you’re looking for. Once you have a clear idea of what you’re doing and why you’re doing it, it’s much easier to move forward. Good luck out there.