Content & SEO

Content is the new SEO.

You’ve just launched a new website. It looks great. It works great. So, now what? How do you get people there? Well, we need to market the website.

There is a lot more to this than SEO (search engine optimization). While that’s important, there are many other ways people can find your site: paid digital ads, social media, email campaigns, etc.

It’s best to take a sky view of all the possibilities and work up a digital marketing plan. We will do this with you — either so you can then execute the plan in-house, or, if you prefer, have us execute it for you.

So, do we actually ‘do SEO’?

Well, sure. Sort of. Frankly, we don’t like the term “SEO.”

We completely agree with this post by Sean Jackson, in which he notes that the whole activity has “a very ‘spammy’ connotation,” and this one by Ryan Steward which explains how SEO these days is probably not what you think: it’s more about “content optimization” than “search engine optimization.”

So we always start off by telling clients that the road to a good search ranking, and general success with the site as a whole, is paved with good content.

Most website marketing plans will include some focus on your performance in organic search (SEO). There are usually myriad pieces and parts to this, some technical, some not. It works best with a good plan and some diligence in following it over time. We will help you navigate all this.

But working on just SEO, probably is not the best approach anymore. You want to consider the role of email, social media and a variety of other things. Everyone’s website marketing plan will be different. It depends on what you are trying to do, who you are trying to reach, and what we think those people might be doing when they would be receptive to your message.

Yet, there is a common denominator to it all: It’s called “content.”

What is ‘content’?

Content is copywriting, photography, video, a portfolio of your products or your work. It could be anything from a news story about the City Council to a photograph of earrings you have for sale to a three or four words and a photo in an online advertisement.

We can’t say enough about the value of well-written, well-edited copy, of professional photography, of compelling video.

Good content begins with planning and organizing. We will help you with that step, and write or edit the initial content for your site. We then move to a plan for ongoing content for emails, blog posts and perhaps social media.

Time is your friend

Doing well in search and marketing your site in general is not a switch to flip. It’s an ongoing effort. In fact, think of it as a long game. Have a plan, devote some time to it every week or two, keep going, don’t try to game the system.

It’s also important to track the results of whatever you are doing. One great thing about the web is that there are many fairly easy ways to measure the results of your ads and SEO efforts. If you have us create a plan, we’ll gather some baseline metrics and then deliver regular updates so we can see how things are going and make adjustments as necessary.

What about regular, old-fashioned copywriting?

Well, good copywriting is good copywriting. Writing for the web has some specific concerns, but we also have years of experience with more traditional copywriting and editing, outside the realm of the web – from brochures, to tag lines, to print ads. Give us a call and let us know what you need help with.

Posted by Bob Passaro

Bob specializes in web development and content. Before joining Figoli Quinn in 2015, he was a freelance web developer, a copywriter, and -- back in the distant past -- a newspaper journalist. On weekends, you might find Bob on his mountain bike or trying to finish a never-ending DIY kitchen remodel. He serves on the board of Better Eugene-Springfield Transportation (aka BEST).