Content and SEO have been entangled for a while, but the relationship wasn’t always so collaborative. Years ago, search engine optimizers sometimes used shady tactics in an attempt to get to the top of the search engine results pages on Google and other search engines. Keywords stuffing, posting duplicate content on multiple pages of your website and including too many links in your content are all no-no’s that are much less common today than they were in earlier times.
Above all else, SEOs require content in order to do their job effectively. Content needs to be top quality and meet a need of some sort, whether it’s informative, entertaining or otherwise useful.
Writers are needed for content creation and SEOs are needed for data, as they can help determine which content is performing the best in terms of its contributions to increasing online visibility. Content teams and SEOs work together to ensure all content is optimized fully without detracting from quality.
SEO manager for Etsy, Stephanie Chang, was quoted by several online sites: “SEOs need content because it’s the one thing that is valuable to search engines on your site that is totally unique. At the same time, almost every site now has a content team. In order for your content to really stand out, you need data and support from SEOs to make sure that content is getting as much visibility as you can.”
Changes in Google’s algorithm over the past few years have helped great sites take the top spaces of the search engine results pages, rather than sites who simply included keywords over or over or used other shady practices that had less to do with helpful, usable content and lent itself more to getting to the top spot at all costs.
Now, when Google spots those unethical practices it’s highly unlikely Google will take notice, or pay any attention at all.
Quality content is the best advantage a company has against its competitors when it comes to the online space. However, experienced SEOs are required to help grow online visibility and optimize to the highest ability without taking the shady route to a higher spot on the search engine results pages.
