Can Content Marketing Help Your Search Engine Rankings?

September 25, 2020

Search engines love content, almost as much as users do. And there’s no better way to keep users and Google’s crawlers happy—so they keep coming back to your site—than with relevant content that’s high quality, consistent, and ongoing.  

Content marketing helps you get your message across to more users. It allows them to find what they need, when they need it (and/or solve a problem they’re experiencing) (Search Engine Journal). It also builds your brand persona, differentiating you from competitors, so you connect with more customers on a more personal level. 

Types of Content Marketing

  • Blogging
  • Videos
  • Social Media
  • Landing pages
  • Pillar Articles 
  • Website Content
  • Email Marketing
  • Infographics
  • E-books
  • And Much More!

The goal of content marketing is to use these different channels and marketing collateral to engage target audiences and provide better value to their search queries. 

Think about the snippets you see when you Google “how to change my car’s oil” or “how long do I need to boil chicken?” Google’s crawlers will search high and low for the best quality content on the internet to answer this question. A snippet of the most relevant answer will appear at the top of your search results page with the exact information you’re looking for. This snippet will also feature a link to the source of the info (your site). And guess where the majority of answers to search queries come from? Your business’ blog page.

Do I Really Need a Blog? 

We get this question a lot. And our answer is always the same: absolutely! Blogging is a simple way to keep your website updated with fresh content that can be easily crawled and indexed, so more people are able to find you and get what they need. It also provides an effective platform to incorporate targeted keywords or long-tail keywords naturally, which can improve search rankings

There are other benefits of blogging for your business, including:

  • It helps you build a unique brand voice.
  • It connects customers to your brand messaging.
  • It provides valuable insights about your brand/industry.
  • It positions you as a thought leader.
  • It generates new leads.
  • It makes you the “go-to” for questions related to your industry. 

How Google Updates Affect Blogging

The May 2020 Google Algorithm Update revealed how pages that featured thin content and heavily relied on backlinks for site rankings experienced a decline in rankings. Thin content is considered useless copy with a minimal word count, poor readability, and no original insight to the topic in question (Content Marketing Institute). 

And this doesn’t just impact blogging. It affects your webpages that feature thin content, too. So, what can we take away from this information? Though blogging can help improve search rankings, there’s a formula involved that you must follow to ensure its success. 

To Rank Better, Your Content Must:

  • Provide value to the reader
  • Be grammatically correct
  • Include headers and bullets to help break up the text
  • Feature helpful resources
  • Answer the question your customers are searching for 

If your website needs content strategy, connect with Brandography today! We’ll help you identify problem areas, provide a measurable content marketing strategy that aligns with your brand messaging and goals, and we’ll help you create engaging articles and blog posts that keep your customers engaged and on your page longer. 

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