One thing we’ve learned in our 12-plus years of practicing SEO is that there isn’t a universal agreement as to what the most important piece of the formula is for search engine success.
Our philosophy at SteerPoint, along with any other firm worth their salt, is that many factors go into effective SEO. We encourage our clients to engage in paid search, social media, email marketing, and more. Is one greater than the other? Well, based on the perpetual uncertainty of Google’s ever-evolving algorithm, no outside of the company can honestly speak to the definition of ‘best.’ But one prevailing school of thought that has recently emerged is the belief of content marketing being the best technique of the bunch.
Ascend2, a team of marketing professionals who provide research-based demand generation for tech, data, and digital marketing companies, recently published their 2017 SEO Strategy Survey Summary Report. In October of last year, Ascend2 surveyed 256 marketing influencers on what an effective SEO strategy will look like in 2017. 57% of respondents said that relevant content creation was among the most effective SEO tactics to achieve important goals, more than any other tactic. The second most beneficial technique was keyword research, followed by social media integration.
By the same token, creating relevant content also ranked as the most difficult tactic to execute (followed by external/internal links and keyword research).
So to summarize, creating good content is paramount to effective SEO, yet is the most challenging tactic to implement. Ascend2’s study proves marketing professionals have a great reverence for content creation, yet also find it among their biggest obstacles.
So how does a business breakthrough? It might seem tough to fit into your busy day, but the simple answer is to write. Write about what you know. You are the subject matter expert in your field, so don’t let anyone tell you different. And if you can’t make time or are indifferent, spruce up your marketing efforts this year by outsourcing your content marketing to a professional. Following these guidelines have helped countless companies of all sizes achieve great results on search engines. So trust us when we say content will pay dividends!
SteerPoint is a full-service digital marketing agency with an in-house marketing copywriter to help you maximize your content marketing efforts. Contact us today to see how we can assist you in 2017!