High quality content powers Google.
It’s true; you’ve probably read umpteen blogs that tell you that.
So does that mean you can cut back your spending on SEO and social media?
No.
Eh?
In these uncertain times you’re going to be looking hard at your budgets to see where you can save a few pounds, but cutting your spending on content, or SEO or social media is very short sighted.
Here’s why.
They are all linked.
SEO needs high quality content and visa versa; content needs promotion through social media. They must all work together if you want to drive your rankings and online visibility.
What does Google say?
I am now about to (apparently) contradict myself because Google states that the shares and likes of social media has no part in its algorithm, which means they do not have any direct effect on your rankings.
But, they do have an indirect impact.
When your content’s URL is shared on social media, it’s reach and visibility increases. As more people see it the number of shares increase and so the cycle continues with visibility and click-throughs increasing exponentially.
The result of this increased visibility is more traffic, giving more potential for sharing and linking which does have a direct impact on your rankings.
So what about content?
I’m glad you asked.
High quality content is a must. Without it you won’t have decent rankings or social sharing.
But your content not only has to be of high quality, it must also be optimised in order to attract inbound links.
That doesn’t mean cramming it to the rafters with keywords. No. High quality content is written naturally, is relevant to your audience so they will be encouraged to share it, is optimised to make sure Google indexes it and targets the right keywords so people can find it.
There you go.
Content, SEO and social media are all needed if your rankings are to be maintained, traffic to continue, and leads to be generated. There are no short cuts.