Debunking 3 SEO Myths for Content Marketing

Am I wrong to assume that by now everyone in a marketing role knows what SEO (Search Engine Optimization) is and how it works? Well, I’ve been wrong before. What I’ve been surprised to learn is that while the term is bandied about in conversations, the realities of what SEO is and how it is accomplished remain a mystery to some people in marketing and website roles—including those in leadership.

Not only is the term ambiguous to some, the tactics it takes to actually achieve website pages that rank well in the SERPs (Search Engine Results Pages) and contribute to overall domain authority are highly misunderstood.

Here are 3 common myths of the role of SEO in content marketing:

1. New content is optimized for SEO after it’s published
2. Not every page needs to follow SEO best practices
3. Content should always talk about the company and our products

Myth #1: SEO is something that happens after content creation

This belief falls under the magical thinking category. Surprisingly, some websites and content are still published without any consideration for critically important SEO tactics and strategies. Not surprisingly, the domain authority of these websites falls somewhere between the first floor and the basement, and the only way to find any information is to search for the company by name. Afterall, it’s hard to rank on search engine results when you’ve built a website without any meta descriptions, hundreds of duplicate pages, no canonical tags, many pages that lead to a 404, no schema markup, no alt descriptions for images, no H1, H2, H3 designations, and no keywords. The magical thinking comes in when it’s assumed that someone can come in and “fix” all that is wrong with the website without actually changing anything on the front end.

This cautionary tale illustrates an important point: for SEO and content marketing to work together effectively, every stage of website design, development, and content should be guided by 3 important considerations:

1. What do our target audiences care about?
2. How can we improve “findability?”
3. How can we engage the people who land on our website?

If we begin with these 3 questions in mind, we can start to see how front-end SEO can help us tell our story in a way that pleases our audiences and makes content valuable—something Google is always on the lookout for. Once content is optimized on the front-end (content structures, keywords, etc…), the back-end coding (meta descriptions, alt descriptions, schema markup, etc…) can make sure it gets all the search engine love it deserves.

Knowing what our target audiences care about means that we know the words they are using, the questions they are asking, and the challenges they face. In short, we have keywords. Like seeds planted in a garden, those keywords, challenges, and questions begin to grow into content that informs, engages, and even entertains our audiences.

Content based on those three elements becomes more findable when we put it in structures that make it easy to read and easy for Google bots to understand, including:

• H1, H2, H3 headers
• Images with alt descriptions and captions
• Embedded videos
• Bullet lists
• Pull quotes?

These content structures make our message scannable and easy to digest and must be implemented before content is published.

In addition, internal linking strategies, CTAs, and logical navigation items keep visitors on the website, consuming content, and willing to share their information to get longer form content–such as webinars or whitepapers.

Myth #2: SEO is not always necessary

The idea that not every page on the website is important enough to be scrutinized for both front-end and back-end SEO is akin to brushing only your front teeth. Sure, no one will see those in the back, but they decay and will lead to overall mouth problems just the same.?

If someone in your organization wants to post a page that is “good enough” without taking the time to plan, organize, and optimize the content on the page, it’s time to rethink your purpose and goals. “Good enough” pages are not neutral additions to your website, they are potentially damaging to your overall findability. Improving domain authority and building an audience isn’t a magic wand you wave over your website and content assets—it’s a painstakingly detailed process.

With every blog post, webpage, and content asset you plan to publish on your website, be sure to begin with the “why.” Why are you creating this page? Why do you want it on the website? Who is this page created for? If the answer falls into any of the following categories, I suggest rethinking publishing it at all.

Some misguided reasons for publishing content without optimizing for SEO include:

• Our senior leader wants it posted now.
• Our department has a quota for the number of pages we contribute this month/quarter/year.
• It’s just a blog.
• We knew this deadline was approaching, but we didn’t plan far enough in advance.
• We can add in some SEO stuff in the backend later.
• We don’t need this page to be found in SERPs.
• Our engineers aren’t writers. We can’t expect that much from their content.

While these responses may seem absurd, content marketers get them all too frequently. Solve for these content missteps by having an editorial calendar in place and a publishing process that can’t get pushed around by strong egos in the organization.

Myth #3: Content should always talk about the company and our products

This is not just a myth—it’s inaccurate. In fact, the opposite is true. In general, your content should be addressing challenges, reporting trends, and providing quality guidance for your audiences. In the mix, you will have product pages, data sheets, sales decks, and other sales enablement tools. But—trust me when I say this—your audiences don’t want to read a white paper that repeats your company name, product benefits, differentiators, and features in every paragraph. If your content is well-written and addresses the topic thoroughly, prospects will seek you out when it’s time to buy.

E-E-A-T (Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness) are the guidelines by which Google measures the quality of the content it surfaces in search results. E-E-A-T should also function as your guiding principle for every piece of content—web page, webinar, blog, and whitepaper, etc.—that you create. Nowhere in that acronym is P (product), C (company), or SSS (sell, sell, sell). Be kind to your audiences and give them the type of content you would be interested in reading—I’m pretty sure you wouldn’t choose a sales pitch.

Expert Tip: Every piece of content does not need to tell the whole story or “boil the ocean.” You can tell your story in chapters, focusing on one topic at a time and still get your whole message out—just remember to tell a story that your audiences want to hear.

SEO is not a magic spell that can be cast over poorly designed and executed content. It’s a lot of hard work, attention to detail, and consistent good practices for every stage of content creation—from conception to publication. Just like brushing your teeth, being consistent and thorough and getting check-ups will contribute to good overall website hygiene, better findability, and content that builds devoted audiences over time.