It’s somewhat of a strange comparison to look at content marketing and SEO since they have similarities.

But a new article on Search Engine Watch has some interesting insight into the Content Marketing vs. Link Building debate:

Content marketing and link building both have their merits in the realm of search marketing. However, the tale of the tape reveals that content marketing has a distinct advantage over link building for marketers.

Check out the entire post. There are seven great reasons presented by Kevin Gibbons about why content marketing is the future and link building is the past.

There are a couple points in the article I would like to expand on to further the discussion about content and its place in the future of business.

Content Marketing: The Future of Business

Content Marketing is certainly not the only future of business. There is however a future for current businesses and new businesses to use content as a way to grow an audience and profit by sellilng to that audience. The model is built around trust with an audience of people and then solving their problems with products and services. The strategy is already paying off for some businesses and should pay off for those willing to invest in content in the future.

Good Content Writers Are Not Cheap

I don’t want to take Kevin’s words out of context here. He just mentions the fact that quality link builders are hard to find and expensive. On the other hand copywriters and bloggers are cheap and easy to find.

I’ll have to disagree with this point. There are a lot of copywriters out there, but as with anything you get what you pay for. I really like the point Kevin makes later in the post where he mentions that authoritative writing is the future. The folks with the most authority will have large audiences of followers. This audience is where the money is for businesses and individuals. Content Marketing goes beyond search. It’s about building that list of followers, marketing to that list and having that list refer you to other people.

The takeaway here is to focus on building authority on your subject. Build your audience. Learn what they need in life and sell it to them. They’ll be happy to help you grow your audience as they refer their friends, family and peers to your site for quality content, products, and services.

It’s not a new business model. It’s simply taking place online and it starts with content.

And that’s certainly not something that comes cheap. It takes time, effort, and knowledge. Those are things you have to pay for to get quality.

Content is Fun and Natural

Two of Kevin’s points are about content marketing being fun and natural. I agree totally.

Personally, blogging and creating content is something I enjoy. It is fun to research a topic and provide some thoughts to a group of readers. It’s exciting to see people sharing content and seeing the traffic come in to view the piece. It’s even more fun to see that content play a part in driving a sale of a product or service.

As Kevin also says, this process is entirely natural. It’s hard to fake quality blogging and content creation. It’s possible to game the system in the short-term, but for the most part people want to connect with other people. Consumers have sources of information they trust. When they consume content they are connecting with the people involved. This goes back to the idea of authoritative writers. These folks will be important.

A list of people subscribing to your content is not something anyone can really take away with an algorithm change. The same is true for trust. If people trust you and your brand it can’t really be taken away with something like Google’s Penguin or Panda update.

Focus on building an audience of subscribers. It’s fun and it’s natural and it can’t be taken away.