Originally published on JD Supra
I was recently a guest on Kristo Sween’s The BD Catalyst podcast, and like many conversations I’ve had this year, we got on the topic of AI.
Kristo asked: Where should MarComm professionals focus their time now, SEO or AIO?
My answer: Good content.
Here’s why.
Best practices for digital content are fundamentals of search (SEO) and AI (AIO) optimization.
Content existed long before the internet ever did. Search engines didn’t create SEO from scratch; they borrowed from all the good content before it.
Think about the origin of some of these best practices. Much of the way we write is based on printed mediums like newspapers, magazines, and journals. For example:
- We write short but descriptive titles that compel audiences to read more.
- We make sure we have the right (key) words in the text that signal to the reader: we know what we’re talking about.
- We ensure the most important information is in the first few paragraphs, a practice taken from reporting (inverted pyramid). Don’t bury the lede!
Optimization “rules” are also based on UI (user interface) and UX (user experience) principles:
- Using header tags (H1, H2, etc.) to signify content hierarchy to the reader and any machine that might scan it.
- Creating visual breaks in text that make it easier for readers to scan and find what they’re looking for: bulleted and ordered lists, visual media (images, video).
- Adding helpful internal and external links that direct users to additional information.
These practices are not new, but the ability to game the system is.
That’s the distinction: choosing quality over gamification. If you’re only focused on SEO or AIO, you’re missing the entire point of having a content strategy. You’ll be chasing trends rather than creating content your audience wants to read. And that might get you the incoming traffic numbers you want, but it doesn’t build trust with your readers–they won’t be coming back for more.
Think of content as ice cream, and optimization as hot fudge. Ice cream is good on its own and can be consumed without a topping, but you wouldn’t eat the hot fudge by itself (I mean, in reality, maybe). They are tastier together than they are individually, but the topping only works because there’s something worth eating underneath it.
Which means don’t ignore SEO and AIO and all the other optimization acronyms—you need to know the space in which you’re operating. They can help you refine or focus what you’ve already created with your content strategy. But without good content, your keywords are just that – words. Words without value and an audience.
So if you’re feeling like you’re behind because you don’t have a firmwide optimization strategy, just remember…
Optimization can help good content travel farther, but it can’t make bad content worth reading.