Neil Patel of QuickSprout writes that online marketing SEO is not what it was. He points out that whereas before so long as you made the effort of building a website, populating it with content, and actively built links quality did not matter all that much. Nowadays that “good enough” mentality is, well, not good enough. Patel goes on to say that quality content that naturally elicits sharing across social networks and that other websites want to link to is the new face of marketing for SEO. Content marketing SEO, as he calls it, appears to be the future of marketing and SEO. Here’s why.
1. Google Panda
Demian Farnworth of copyblogger points out that in the early days of Google’s PageRank algorithm it made sense for businesses to generate low quality content in high numbers. So long as that content was linked to a ton of websites it could trick Google into thinking it deserved high ranking. In April 2012, Google changed the game entirely with its release of Panda. This update to the PageRank algorithm, named after Google co founder Larry Page, placed much higher focus on weeding out low quality traffic farmers. The result? Sites which once had high ranking due to their gaming of the system, e.g. Associated Content, had the floor drop out from under them. Quality content, as it always should have been, is now king under Panda’s rule.
2. Social Media
Content marketing SEO, according to the Content Marketing Institute, is the way of creating valuable, relevant content to attract an audience. In other words, this marketing technique is the perfect way for brands to spread themselves across social media platforms like Facebook. People want to share quality content that makes them laugh, cry, and educates them. If your content is simply a play for keyword recognition you will elicit none of those reactions. In short, no one will want to spread your brand.
3. Retention Equals Customers
Imforza reports that 93 percent of online experiences begin with a search engine. After finding your way to your website the potential customer has to be drawn in if ever they are to turn from potential to actual. The best ways to do this? Well, Oli Gardner of Unbounce submits that an effective landing page that is both attractive and useful is one way to go about it. Getting creative seems to be the key to retaining visitors. Mark McGuinness of 99u notes that designing a blog that offers value, insight, and is direct is the number one way to get return visits. Most web users will not become customers immediately for a business they found in a search engine. It takes retention to create customers.
Content marketing SEO techniques are clearly the new face of internet marketing SEO. Changing from a quantitative approach to a qualitative approach will not only make your site more visible but will actually save it from the wrath of improved ranking police like Panda and increasingly savvy social media users.