Content marketing is catching fire as of late and beginning to dethrone SEO marketing as the premier tool to own Google SERPs. Thanks to certain algorithm updates by the Internet giant, content has successfully taken the driver’s seat to steer you toward search rankings. Not that other web elements have lost their value, such as links and web design, but the substance of the pieces found on your site or other cyber places linked to your main online real estate practically dictates most, if not all, metrics affecting your search standings.

In a Nutshell

In essence, content marketing is a strategy of producing high-quality pieces with long-tail keywords to establish brand awareness, credibility, social media exposure, and authority on the Internet. “High-quality” means the content must be well-researched, expertly-written, informative, and, most importantly, unique.

Based on the current Google algorithm, putting your efforts on creating high-quality content would actually build a significant number of organic links and generate thousands of social shares on its own. This lessens the need to make links manually and pay for social signals, thus saving you energy and money.

Traffic-Driving Content Has Many Forms

Blogging is the initial step of SEO and content marketing, but you’re not limited to a blog post to attract visitors and boost your traffic. Neil Patel of Quick Sprout says there are 15 types of content you could produce to effectively achieve your online goals, ranging from visual content to informative pieces. While you don’t have to try them all, the key is to use the type of content that best suits your idea.

SEO is Not Dead and Never Will Be

No matter how many experts say content marketing killed SEO, there’s no way this could happen. SEO is an ever-changing landscape and always will be. Content marketing may be your ace in today’s fierce search ranking battle, but as long as Google uses algorithms to determine which site goes first in the SERPs, then optimizing the program will always make sense. In fact, relevant on-page SEO elements should serve as the foundation of our content marketing strategy, helping us continue to employ the best SEO practices.

Content marketing presents unique challenges, but it opens a world of opportunities for you and your brand to make an imprint online. Harness its power, and it will pay dividends later on.