# Content Marketing vs. SEO: How to Combine Them Together
Content marketing and seo are not the same, but they are two sides of the same coin. SEO drives traffic to your site, and content marketing keeps them there and gets them to act.
And if you’re not combining them, your strategy is incomplete. It cannot bring you the required results.
[According to Ahref](https://ahrefs.com/blog/content-marketing-statistics/) **82%** of marketers are actively investing in content marketing. But **91.54%** of traffic comes from [Google](google.com). Content marketing alone is unlikely to bring significant traffic to a website.
That’s why in this article, I’ll clear your concepts about SEO and content marketing. More importantly, I’ll tell you how to use them together and build a strategy that ranks high and converts better.
## What is search engine optimization (SEO)?
Search engine optimization (SEO) is the process of improving your website so that it ranks higher in search engine result pages (SERPs), mainly Google. The goal is simple: when people search for something related to your business, your website should show up.
This is done with several key practices:
* **Keyword research** → finding the words that the audience uses to search for
* **On-page optimization** → placing those keywords smartly in your content, headings, meta tags, and URLs
* **Technical SEO** → improving page speed, mobile-friendliness, and crawlability
* **Backlink building** → getting [backlinks from trusted websites](https://reputepost.com/) to increase authority
* **Content quality** → making sure your content answers the user’s question better than anyone else
In short, SEO helps people discover your content.
## What is content marketing?
Content marketing is creating and sharing valuable content to attract, engage, and convert your target audience.
Once SEO brings people to your website, content marketing takes over. It’s your quality content that turns visitors into leads, and leads into loyal customers.
Instead of directly selling, content marketing educates people, entertains them, or solves a problem. It includes all kinds of content, like blog posts, videos, guides, case studies, social media posts, and email newsletters.
Key differences between content marketing and SEO
SEO and content marketing often work together while serving different purposes. The following differences will help you understand how.
* SEO is for search engines only, while content marketing is multi-channel. It covers all kinds of content created for any platform, such as blogs, YouTube videos, Instagram posts, podcasts, newsletters, case studies, webinars, and more.
* SEO helps you make your content more discoverable in search results. But once people get on your page, content marketing takes over. It educates, entertains, and persuades the reader to stay, explore, and eventually convert.
* SEO is technical. It involves data, structure, algorithms, and optimization techniques. Content marketing, on the other hand, is about creativity. Like writing, storytelling, and emotionally connecting with your audience.
When used together, they complement each other.
## 5 Ways to Combine Content Marketing and SEO for Maximum Impact
When you combine the technical power of SEO with the value-driven approach of [content marketing](https://hackmd.io/@insightz/Strategies-For-Digital-Marketing-Success), you create a system. It not only attracts traffic but also keeps users engaged and drives real business results.
### 1. Create content for both search engines and readers
You do not have to write content separately. Just when you are writing content, make it appealing for both search engines and real people. People first, Google prefers that.
Start with proper **keyword research** to find the phrases your audience uses when searching for your products, services, or solutions. Then use exactly that in your content, especially in headlines.
Get help from AI tools, like a free [paragraph generator](https://paragraphgenerator.org/), that creates natural-sounding content using advanced AI. It will help you place keywords in a way that feels authentic, because simply stuffing keywords doesn’t improve your SEO anymore.


Also, keep in mind that search engines read your content just like users do. So use clear formatting, like headings, bullet points, and short paragraphs. It will make it easier for search engines to crawl, understand, and rank.
### 2. Maximize content outreach by securing backlinks
Great content does not get you referred traffic, but [SEO strategies](https://hackmd.io/@insightz/HkePrb52a) does. With off-page SEO, you reach out to competitors or similar websites in your niche and ask them to link to your content.
You can use an [AI-powered email generator](https://sentencerewriter.net/ai-email-generator) to speed up the outreach process and personalize your messages with its different modes. This tool at sentencerewriter.net polishes your message and provides a proper format.

If your content genuinely adds value, many websites will be open to give you backlinks or guest posts.
Referred traffic through backlinks is very low, but it’s highly relevant. Because these users are already interested in your topic, that means more qualified visitors, more engagement, and more conversions.
Plus, Google sees you as a more authoritative website when a group of websites refers to you.
### 3. Focus on evergreen content that ranks and converts
When SEO and content marketing combine, they create content that stays relevant and continues to bring traffic long after it's published. Just have to update it regularly, and it will continue to work.
Think of how-to guides, product comparisons, or industry tips. These pieces not only rank well on Google over time but also convert visitors into customers consistently.
For this, you need to think of long-term search value content while writing. Means you need to find keywords that people will keep searching for, and make your content so easy to read and understand that it stays relevant for months or even years.
To help with this, I often use the online [word changer](https://wordchanger.net/). It helps me rewrite sections to sound natural and informative in many languages. With wordchanger.net, my sentences become easier to follow for a larger audience. Plus, I can choose any tone from it, like professional, academic, fluent, formal, casual, etc.

You can create evergreen content faster and smarter with tools like this, without compromising quality.
### 4. Repurpose high-performing content across channels
A great piece of content shouldn’t live in just one place. SEO-friendly blog posts can be repurposed and distributed across multiple platforms to [expand your reach and visibility](https://hackmd.io/@williiameverhart/Boost-Your-Authority-The-Impact-of-Guest-Posting-on-Websites?utm_source=preview-mode&utm_medium=rec).
For example, take a detailed blog that’s ranking well and turn it into bite-sized posts for Quora, LinkedIn, Instagram, or even email newsletters. You already did the hard work. Now let that content work for you on every possible channel.
I use quillza.com to speed up the process. Its [text summarizer](https://quillza.com/summarizer) helps me extract key points from long-form content, and its AI writer turns those points into emails, captions, or even video scripts.

Multi-channel content marketing with repurposed content not only saves time but also multiplies your traffic sources without creating new content from scratch.
### 5. Track both SEO and content KPIs
To get real results from combining content marketing with SEO, you need to track key performance indicators (KPIs) for both strategies. So you can improve them.
For SEO, focus on metrics like organic traffic, SERP rankings, bounce rate, and backlinks. These will show you how well your content is performing in search engines.
For your content marketing strategy, track engagement metrics like time on page, conversion rate, and even social shares. These tell you if your audience actually finds your content helpful or persuasive.
You can use tools like [Google Analytics](https://developers.google.com/analytics), [Google Search Console](https://search.google.com/search-console/amp), or even AI-powered dashboards that bring all your KPIs together in one place.
## Conclusion
As you plan your next campaign, don’t treat SEO and content marketing as separate departments. Let them overlap, complement each other, and grow together.
Combining content marketing and SEO isn’t just a good idea, it’s a necessary step for any brand that wants to compete in today’s digital space. Because the brands that do this right don’t just get found, they get remembered.
Start integrating the strategies from this guide and see the difference for yourself.