Read time: ~14 minutes (yikes!)

SEO and content marketing go hand in hand — one helps people find you and one helps them stay engaged once they do. 

The two are often talked about as two separate entities, which they are, but always as an ‘or’. Content marketing or SEO. But instead of being two separate products warring for your money, they’re more like complementary products that work best together. 

Let’s talk about how the two work together and how together, they can help your business grow. 

Let’s get to it! 

What Is Content Marketing? 

To quote Content Marketing Institute, “Content marketing is a strategic marketing approach focused on creating and distributing valuable, relevant, and consistent content to attract and retain a clearly defined audience — and, ultimately, to drive profitable customer action.”

AKA it’s providing useful and valuable information and resources without selling, pitching, or interrupting your client. 

Here’s an example. 

Let’s say your mom (or someone) gave you an Aloe plant. This may or may not be based on a true story. She rattled off the instructions on how to take care of it, but were you listening? 

Kind of. 

Was it a lot to remember? 

Yes. 

You could call her OR you could take to the internet like a big kid and figure it out yourself. So you google “how often does an Aloe plant need to be watered?”. You get a million options but you find a blog from a local plant shop. Not only does it have the answer to the one question you asked…

  • It has pictures
  • It shows you an Aloe plant in poor health
  • It shows a thriving Aloe plant
  • It shows you how to place it in the sun and for how long
  • It even shows what type of soil to keep it in. 

Great! So in a few weeks when your plant starts to look like the one in poor health you go back to that website and see what else you can find. 

  • Did you miss something important in that blog? 
  • Is there another blog on what to do if you’re slowly unaliving your Aloe? 
  • Maybe they have an option to bring in your plant and they’ll tell you how to fix it. \

So of course you go in. And while you’re there you pick up some soil, maybe a new pot. And when your Aloe plant starts thriving, where are you going to continue to go back to? 

That plant shop helped you save your Aloe plant and gained a customer without one single ad, pop-up, or without making you talk to someone on the phone or sit through a sales call. 

How Content Marketing Supports SEO & Sustainable Growth

Of course in examples everything is beautiful and everything works perfectly. But realistically, WHY does content marketing work? HOW does it work?

1. It Establishes Expertise Which Helps Build Your SEO Topical Authority

When you’re putting out good, quality content, people notice. And you become a trusted name. 

This is particularly important in the days of generative AI. When everyone is pumping out blogs written by ChatGPT, it can feel like you’re falling behind.

But prioritizing quality over quantity and taking your time to create quality content can actually put you ahead. Because when people find content that is helpful, they:

  • Actually consume what you’re putting out there & come back for more
  • You get backlinks
  • You rank higher
  • You build customer trust 
  • You build brand loyalty 

But on top of that it helps you establish expertise in your industry. This gets you featured in other peoples’ blogs which grows your backlinks which grows your domain authority. I do believe the great Kendrick Lamar wrote “bing-bop-boom-bop-bing-bop-bam” for referring to this SEO effect.

Builds Brand Awareness —> Increases SERP Clicks —> Boosts Your Ranking

Brand awareness might seem elusive, like a concept that agencies trick you into believing. While I’m sure some do, brand awareness is extremely important. You might be thinking ‘I’m just a small business, I don’t need to be a household name’, and you’re right! 

But when people start recognizing your brand name in the search results and you’ve been putting out good content, they’ll be more likely to click on your name. As you continue to grow brand awareness you’re more likely to get included in roundup posts which work as backlinks further boosting your authority. 

But you need to be a name in a few households. 

Brand awareness: 

  • Creates trust 
  • Makes you the first choice
  • Gives you repeat customers
  • Repeat customers give you referrals and reviews 
  • It builds customer loyalty / keeps you top of mind
  • Creates positive associations

3. Helps Generate More (And Better) Leads Which Filters Out Unqualified Traffic

I’ve said it once — okay fine, I’ve said it a thousand times, and I’ll say it a thousand more — traffic to your website doesn’t matter if it’s not doing anything.

  • Would you rather have 10,000 visitors with 2 conversions or 5,000 visitors with 500 conversions?
  • Would you rather have your calendar booked to the max but only 1 conversion per month or your calendar is half-booked but you know you’ll close 50% of inquiries.

Seems like an easy choice. SEO identifies the key words and phrases your industry and ideal clients are using. Content marketing turns that into a brand voice that speaks to them, draws them in, and politely removes the unqualified one. 

You see, the average person does their research before making a purchase. Whether that’s reading blogs, case studies, reviews, or anything else. 

  • In fact, Global Newswire says, “95% of consumers read online reviews before they shop and 58% say they would pay more for the products of a brand with good reviews.” 
  • The same goes for B2B content. 55-70% of B2B buyers do thorough research before contacting a sales team with “nine out of ten B2B buyers saying online content has a moderate to major effect on purchasing decisions.”

Just imagine the difference talking to a lead who has read reviews or done 3-5 pages of research compared to someone who hasn’t. If you’re not putting out the information for them to easily research, you’re not doing yourself any favors.  a lead who has read reviews or done 3-5 pages of research compared to someone who hasn’t. If you’re not putting out the information for them to easily research, you’re not doing yourself any favors. 

4. Good Content Marketing Provides Value Which Google Likes & Will Serve To Searchers

Your content needs to provide value. There are millions of blog posts living on the internet, it’s easy to get lost in them all. 

  • How do you make sure yours stands out? Provide value. 
  • How do you make sure Google ranks it high? Provide value + SEO. 

There’s a big difference between a 500 word blog and a 5,500 word blog — and I’m not just talking about word count. It’s easy to think no one is going to read a 5,500 word blog and sure, a lot of people won’t. 

But you don’t want ‘a lot of people’ you want ‘the right people’. The word count is irrelevant, what is relevant is the value. Are you answering their questions? Are you providing value? Is that something your target audience would like?

When providing value, you need to know who you’re creating content for and what they consider valuable. 

Creating A Content Marketing Strategy

ICreating an SEO-Optimized Content Plan That Works for Your Business

If you’re a content marketing believer (which you should be at this point) and you’re ready to go all in, there’s just one more thing you need to do. Create a content marketing strategy! 

I cannot tell you how many times I’ve seen companies ‘wing it’ or ‘create a strategy’ that never gets written down. There is no quicker way for your content marketing to fail than to not create a step by step strategy the whole team can follow. 

Trust me, do not wing it. Even if you’re a small brand. If you want to grow, invest in not only creating a content strategy but putting the right people behind it. Start slowly with what your budget can handle and work your way up. 

Especially when you’re smaller and looking to grow, or you’re a pretty big name but you’ve reached a plateau — this is where SEO helps.

With an SEO strategy top of mind, you’re not creating just to create and hope it works. It’s not 2012 it’s likely not going to work. The point is to make inroads. To grow everything — your domain authority, your features, your keywords, your organic traffic, your email list. All of it will grow with your SEO strategy. 

This is the power behind choosing the right keywords. 

Create A Content Marketing Strategy

  1. Identify Your Team & Their Responsibilities
  2. Identify Your Goal
    1. Boost Your SEO Presence
    2. Build Brand Awareness
    3. Increase Sales
  3. Identify Your Audience
    1. You may already have one but if not you’re going to need to come up with a buyer persona.
      1. What does the average person/people look like who buy from you? 
      2. What are their concerns? 
      3. What are their worries? 
      4. What problems are they trying to solve? 
      5. What does their buyer journey look like?

It’s important to cater your content to this buyer persona. MailChimp put it best, “When it’s done right, this content conveys expertise and makes it clear that a company values the people to whom it sells.”

  1. What Type Of Content Will You Be Making? 
    1. There’s a lot of different kinds of content available within a content marketing plan. It includes:
      1. Blogs
      2. Newsletters
      3. Emails
      4. Ebooks
      5. White papers
      6. Social media
      7. Videos and more. 

Play up what you’re best at but remember different content performs better at different stages of the buying process (we’ll get into that).

  1. Write/Edit/Post The Content
    1. This seems obvious but you’ll want to have a clear understanding of:
      1. Who’s drafting
      2. Who’s writing
      3. Who’s editing
      4. Who’s posting
      5. Who’s creating 

If it’s being outsourced to a content writer like myself and/or a graphic designer, make sure everyone knows. It’s the small things that can cause you to fall behind and derail your timeline. 

  1. Schedule It
    1. You’ll want to create a content plan 3-6-12 months ahead of time. Things can of course be adjusted, but it’s helpful to have a long-term plan the team can work off of (and maybe even get ahead on). *gasp* Create a master copy everyone can refer to that includes what type of content is being posted when, on what platform, and under what topic. 
  2. Post/Promote
    1. Post it, send it out wherever it needs to go and absolutely make sure you tell your audience it’s there! Toot your own horn — you are your greatest advocate. 

How Do You Know What Kind Of Content To Create For Your Audience? 

Ahh, this topic could have its own entire blog — maybe I’ll consider making one. Because this is always the question isn’t it? Sure, I can write, but what should I write? 

  1. Step one: Map out your buyer’s journey which consists of 3 main stages. 
  2. Step two: Research what questions people are asking and looking for at each stage and find relevant keywords you can rank for to create content around. 

The Buyer’s Journey

1. Awareness —> Informational Content

  • What’s Going On: People are looking for high-level information. They have a problem but they don’t know what it is. 
  • Your Purpose: You want to show up in people’s searches when they’re asking questions. This helps you to establish authority and earn their trust for when they’re ready to buy later down the road.
  • Relevant Content:  Ebooks, Social Media, Whitepapers, SEO Blogs, Master Guides, FAQs.
  • Example: Using a composting company as an example, the questions people are most likely asking at this stage include: 
    • How Bad Is Food Waste? 
    • How Can I Minimize Food Waste?
    • Does *My City* Compost? 
    • Can I Compost In *My City*
    • How Does Composting Help Reduce Food Waste? 

2. Consideration —> Comparison Content

  • What’s Going On: The problem has been clearly defined. They’re researching available solutions but not ready to buy.
  • Your Purpose: Separate Yourself From Indirect Competitors, Educate The Audience.
  • Relevant Content: Blogs, Case Studies, How-Tos, Checklists, Best X for Y, & in-depth blog posts
  • Example: Keeping with the composting company, questions at this stage likely include:
    • Vermicomposting VS Composting
    • Top 5 Industrial Composting Companies in X OR Top 5 Brands Making Industrial Compostable Products
    • Composting VS Recycling
    • How A Composting Company Helped Divert X Tons of Food Waste From A Neighborhood/Business 
    • How To Compost In A City/What Can Be Composted

3. Decision —> Conversion-Focused Content

  • What’s Going On: People have decided on their solution (composting) and are now comparing vendors.
  • Your Purpose: Make sure they know, like, and trust your content. 
  • Relevant Content: Case Studies, Testimonials, Guides/How-Tos, Sales Pages, Testimonials, Product Pages
  • Example: Questions at this stage likely include:
    • Testimonials from current users
    • Social Media Posts Showing How Easy It Is To Use This Service
    • Videos/Blogs/Social Posts Explaining How To Compost With X Company — Including Posts/Demonstrations From Current Customers
    • Content Showing Where The Composting Is Done & What Happens With New Compost

4. Customers

The options at this stage are endless but a lot of times businesses are so focused on getting the customer, once they have them they ignore them. 

If you worked hard to attract the person of your dreams and you start dating them, do you stop paying attention to them once you have them? (some people certainly do but I hope your answer is no). 

There is so much valuable information you can learn from your current clients and so much info you can share to make their life easier. We all know retaining a customer is cheaper than finding a new one, but the key to retaining them is to build trust. 

This is where an SEO retainer comes in handy! Through monthly content briefs I strategize to create a structured content plan based on what your audience is actually searching for. 

Pros and Cons of Using Content Marketing For SEO Growth 

A good content marketing strategy can increase conversions and boost revenue in the long-term, but a bad content marketing strategy may even lose you money. 

According to Brafton, “76% of respondents told Smart Insights that their organizations take a strategic approach to content marketing management, only 59% had a documented content strategy.”

Pros to Content Marketing

  • Everything Mentioned Above

I think this whole blog is a tribute to content marketing and if you’re not convinced I’m not doing a very good job — let me know what’s missing to convince you.

  • Inbound Leads

I’ve worked as an outbound salesperson and an inbound sales person and I gotta say, I’ll take inbound anyday. High-quality, focused, and strategized content creates an avenue that lets qualified, interested leads come to you. 

‘No thanks, I’ll continue to work harder for my leads’ — said no one ever.  

  • Higher Quality Leads

Like I said earlier, it’s not just about getting more leads it’s about getting more and better ones. Keyword research ensures we’re looking at the right words your audience is searching for, content marketing ensures we’ve nailed the tone & the process. 

With content marketing you’re putting the customer in control and letting them choose how they want to navigate their own research. When every piece of content they encounter from you is off-the-charts amazing you’ll obviously be their choice. But it’s a choice they feel good about because they made it. 

  • More Conversions = Higher Sales

Having proper documentation and content also makes the salespeople’s job easier. It allows them to answer questions more thoroughly then follow up with a relevant piece of content. 

They can take the conversation further, and be more in control of it, because they know they can back it up. Imagine this conversation. 

  • “Hey lead, it was great talking to you the other day. I know your biggest concern is ROI for this product, check out these 3 case studies of companies we’ve helped.” 

OR

  • “Hey lead, it was wonderful speaking with you the other day. I hope you enjoyed the conversation as much as I did! I know you were interested in the sustainability behind this product. Check out these blogs that dive deeper into the topic for the products we were discussing.” 

Hello! Talk about expert-level customer service!

  • Authority 

With authority comes power. Every website has something called a domain authority. This is how ‘legit’ the internet sees your website on a score of 1-100. 

If two websites write the exact same piece of content word for word (BTW don’t do that) the one with a higher domain authority will (almost) always be featured higher in the search results. 

This is one of the hardest metrics to grow and it’s also worth the most. Every single one of the benefits I’ve talked about in this blog all help grow your domain authority. Which grows your brand authority, which leads to more sales. 

Cons To Content Marketing 

  • Time & Money

Yes, content marketing takes time — but that’s why SEO is a long-term game. And that’s why you have a trustworthy person on retainer. To ensure they have your best interest in mind, they’re creating a custom strategy for you, and that they’re monitoring, tweaking, and explaining the results as you go. Instead of throwing money into ads, you’re building organic traffic that compounds over time.

You also get what you pay for when it comes to content marketing. Sure you can go to FIVR or UpWork or ChatGPT but if someone is charging $5 per blog, you’re going to get a blog that feels like $5.

  • It’s Not Going To Give You A Dopamine Boost

SEO & content marketing don’t work overnight, but brands that invest in them see sustained traffic growth. (Unlike ads, which stop the second you stop paying.) Any good SEO will avoid quick wins and hacks because while it might get you some immediate traffic, it’s likely going to end up worse than it was before. 

  • Planning & Strategy

Throwing up random blog posts won’t help. That’s why a structured SEO content plan is key — so every piece of content is working toward your long-term growth.

You could nail every step of content marketing — strategy, SEO, planning — but if you’re not creating the right content, none of it matters. Coming up with content ideas that resonate with your audience, align with your brand, and actually rank? That’s the hard part.

It’s time-consuming, strategic, and crucial to your success. You need to make sure you’re targeting what your audience actually cares about, creating content that solves real problems, and optimizing it so search engines can find it.

Need help making that happen? Let’s build an SEO-driven content strategy that works.

p.s. you might also like…

Content Marketing AND SEO: The Key to Long-Term Growth