It seems like it isn’t particularly easy to find people willing to talk about the virtues of good, solid search engine optimisation; the core technical proficiencies that make the web work.

Instead, people want to talk about content, creative, social engagement and all manner of audience metrics. Whilst that is, and always was, undoubtedly part of any sound digital marketing strategy, there’s a sense that perhaps, just perhaps, some marketers have jumped on the content bandwagon a little incautiously.

What we have seen, in a very short period of time, is a rise in the number of agencies banging the content drum above all else. Traditional SEO agencies have largely followed that same beat, and it has changed the mind-set of the brands that they are talking to.

There are lots of good reasons for this. Google algorithm changes are obviously a key driver behind the shift. Content was important before, and it is certainly important now, but has the industry allowed itself lurch to the other end of the spectrum, where big-bang creative and the pursuit of ‘engagement’ have overtaken consideration for just, you know, doing the basics and doing them really, really well?

Another factor for this is that content is, arguably, a much easier sell than some of the more technical aspects of SEO, and some of the factors that, whilst still vital for SEO performance, may have diminished in influence due to various ranking changes. The idea that content may be an ‘easier sell’ may cause some raised eyebrows for any content marketer that has had to wrestle with the idea of proving the ROI to the board, but at the very least, content is visible, it’s fashionable and, ultimately, it’s what puts people and brands in the spotlight.

But content cannot be a strategy around which every other element of digital and search engine optimisation is built, it has to be a tactic that is part of a wider and much more balanced strategy.

Digital is all about balance

People love to talk about content. It’s creative, it’s exciting, it’s interesting and it allows both marketers and brands to express themselves in ways that few other tactics do.

But when speaking to various marketers during the production of one of our recent whitepapers, Redefining SEO: What your agency should be telling you in 2016, there was a notion that perhaps the love affair with content has arguably come at the expense of other core elements of search marketing. That isn’t to say that marketers aren’t doing the other fundamental elements of digital, but the question is over the extent to which these elements are integrated together – if they are integrated at all.

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Now, I realise that little of this is a particularly new debate, but whilst the virtues of integrating content marketing with SEO have been discussed at length, the issues still persist. Indeed, in the light of Google’s Penguin and Panda updates, it’s arguable that the disconnect has become even greater and in an environment where search engines are decreasing the reliance on links and focusing on content, it is only natural that minds will focus in a particular direction.

But whilst content related factors are undeniably an important part of a digital strategy, so two are some of the more traditional and technical elements of digital. Stickyeyes’ own Roadmap tool highlights that although ‘links and authority’ may have declined, it is still a massively important ranking factor with a strong correlation to ranking positions.

What we therefore have is two marketing tactics that are dependent on each other.

SEO needs content, but it doesn’t have to be glamorous

Search engine optimisation has relied on content. Even during the pre-Penguin period where everyone was rushing for links, links and more links, content was still crucial.

But does this content have to always be the glamorous, big-bang creative ideas that get noticed in order to be effective? Well, not really. And ask yourself, is your brand or agency really resourced to deliver that in the timeframe that you need it? After all, quality creative can be very resource intensive.

For sure, it has to be good content, it has to be something that delivers some value to the reader, but it has to ultimately fulfil its purpose; it has to function.

Functional content is very much the staple of your entire web presence, and can cover anything from your company information and your store finder pages, through to the copy on your product and sales pages. It may be overlooked in the pursuit of shares and engagement, but functional content plays a vital role in any digital strategy. It establishes what your page is ultimately about, and it guides your customer through their journey.

Content relies on SEO to move

Content marketing doesn’t work unless it moves – another one that we’ve all heard before, and there are plenty of ways in which we can make our content move. Influencer engagement, social media, paid content distribution, email marketing, PR – the list is almost endless

But search also remains a huge channel for content discovery. Content is still actively searched for and, for all of the click-bait headlines and optimised descriptive titles, content still needs a solid foundation upon which it can be discovered. These foundations are fundamentally built through technical SEO.

The collaboration to bring these skills together

SEO and content marketing are two very distinct skillsets, and this is often the root cause of this disconnect between content and SEO.

But these skillsets, departments and stakeholders need to collaborate in order to deliver a complete digital strategy. SEO needs content marketing, content marketing needs SEO, and both of these functions need the support of the wider business in general.

Break down these barriers, integrate these two key marketing tactics with the rest of your organisation, and engage your audiences.