Talk-Back Fridays: SEO or Content - Can There Be Only One?
We have two more weeks in our “Talk Back Fridays” experiment - so far, the only potential candidate was another 451 Press blogger who’s graciously bowed out of the competition and Ashley from Blogger’s Choice Awards, who was responding to our questions about the Awards. So - Ashley - congrats! The blog post editing’s yours if you want it.
Rules for participation in TBF are simple: I post, you think, you post a comment, I pick one that’s exceptionally insightful and/or otherwise outstanding, and that person wins my services helping him or her edit and polish one blog post. I’ve previously committed to keep doing this through the end of April, at which time the prizes may go away and we’ll just call it “Fridays.”
Today’s Topic: SEO or Content - Can There Be Only One?
There’s been a lot of buzz in the blogosphere of late regarding SEO vs. content - which drives traffic more? Certainly all SEO isn’t black hat (the SEO you wouldn’t bring home to mama) but there are, apparently, deep shades of grey. Take a look at this awesome post from Tropical SEO called “The Lazy SEO Manifesto.” Now, if you agree it’s awesome, tell me why - awesome because it’s spot-on satire? Or awesome because it’s what you aspire to, one day?
I fall squarely in the “content is king but SEO is its Prime Minister” camp. That being said, I think good content drives SEO - your “flagship” content (and if you haven’t read the e-book of similar title at Chris Garrett’s site, then go add him to your feed and look for the link therein) creates the fulcrum about which the rest of the lever turns.
So, talk to me about content vs. SEO - can there be only one? Or is this a marriage of equals? Talk back in the comments.
April 23rd, 2007 at 7:54 am
I like the manifesto
I think it’s pointless writing great content without some SEO - you have to help people find it.
I read somewhere recently
“If you build it, they will come? Good luck with that”
which sums it up for me.
I don’t go much beyond the SEO Wordpress offers, but just a little thing like choosing a post title carefully can pay dividends.
April 25th, 2007 at 7:28 am
[...] The Battle for Traffic - SEO vs Content April 25th, 2007 by Deceth I read an interesting article the other day titled “SEO or Content - Can There be Only One?” over at blognewswatch.com. I particularly enjoyed The Lazy SEO Manifesto which is both discouraging and encouraging depending on your point of view. SEO can be a great “get rich quick” tool, but without content, it’s like throwing magnets at a wall instead of a fridge, none of the traffic will stick. [...]