<img src="https://itxdesign.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/SEO-Strategy.jpg" alt="SEO Strategy" width="271" height="180" class="alignleft size-full wp-image-9158" />Are you more focused on your link building or your content marketing? You should be focusing on content marketing as it trumps link building. SEO specialists and digital marketers have looked at both to determine what is really more important for a business owner. 

While many are split on the issue because on one hand, traditional SEO approach that uses keyword-marketing and link building has been proven, others feel that content marketing along with the many tasks involved is the way to go. It looks like it’s time to move forward with the trend of the future which is to create quality content, build an amazing online presence with your brand and make your name among the top influencers of your industry. Here is a look at why this route is the way to go. 

<h2>It’s more long-term</h2>

The traditional route of keywords and trying to get in Google’s search rankings this way are always changing with a picky algorithm. The new ways of content marketing are more long-term, sustainable and will guarantee results that you can actually measure. 

You don’t have to worry about how it will go in the future because it will be a more long-term solution. Traditional SEO methods of keywords and link building aren’t the best method alone. While some may argue in favor of link building, you should always do what’s best for your company while looking at the data on both. 

<h2>What is your goal?</h2>

<img src="https://itxdesign.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/link-building.jpg" alt="link building" width="291" height="173" class="alignright size-full wp-image-9157" />You need to look at your short-term and long-term goals as a company. Long-term goals and results will favor the content marketing with no question. Link building involves keyword targeting, finding list of link opportunities and getting links which is hard work but can lead to faster results in the short-term. 

Content marketing is quite tedious and complicated and usually requires you to hire an SEO specialist along with community managers, copywriters, writers, and web marketers. It’s hard to do as you focus on inbound strategies while hiring others to handle the content writing, social media and copywriting but on the positive side, the results will pay off in the long-term. 

You won’t see results overnight but the content will be Panda-proof compared to link building. If you are willing to embrace this method, the results show up for a long time. Most things in life that are worth having require time and effort.

<h2>Why else would I got the harder route?</h2>

You can still use link building for the short-term but you should have the long-term solution of content marketing with it. They achieve the same goals of driving traffic to your site, building your brand and giving you a way to build relationships with your audience but the effect of each will be completely different. 

People are constantly looking for fresh ideas so it’s vital that your website has helpful, informative and linkable content. It’s easy to track how many links and authentic search traffic was generated from posted content through social media shares and referral visits while it’s easy to see if your link building has created invaluable content. 

<img src="https://itxdesign.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/content-marketing.jpg" alt="content marketing" width="290" height="174" class="alignleft size-full wp-image-9156" />Google is getting smarter and smarter making it less robotic and more human. This means that the SEO world has to get more creative with getting on the top of the search rankings. You can’t use automated methods anymore because of Panda and Penguin updates so website owners need to start focusing on content marketing that can defend itself against the algorithm updates and focus on being more human with the way you write in addition to the way you leverage it on social media. 

Lastly, it’s more important to offer educational, quality content that can better your customers’ lives than it is to create content for the purpose of including keywords and link building. Take the opportunity to explore the ways of online marketing in order to learn what your customers are intrigued by and what makes them tick.

Building great content will make you seem like an expert in the industry and learning what your customers flock to, whether it be Facebook, Google+ or otherwise, will help you to target your audience and leverage your great content the best. 

There’s no one-size-fits-all way to handle your SEO practices but it appears to most strategists that content marketing is a safer approach than link building. 

