Why smart business owners invest in SEO content marketing

UPDATED APRIL 14, 2026

Smart business owners get it

Smart business owners understand the difference between expenses and investments.

Between scoring quick wins in the short-term and building value in the long-term.

And the difference between paying for advertising and investing in content.

Advertising is an expense

The goal of advertising is generating sales and enquiries. And while those sales and enquiries generate returns for your business, advertising is still generally regarded as an expense rather than an investment.

Advertising isn’t viewed as an asset, either, because it doesn’t accumulate in value. When you stop funding it, your ads stop running — and your income from them stops, too.

If you’re paying enough money, advertising can get you to the top of Google as a sponsored result. It’s great for selling and you’ll see results quickly, but it doesn’t create value for your business in the long term.

Content is an investment

Content writing is a more sustainable long-term strategy that works towards a number of different goals.

Its main goal is not to sell, but to help your prospects buy. And it does that with articles that answer their questions and give them the information they need to make the best purchasing decisions.

Your blog will accumulate in value the more content you add to it. It will improve your website’s SEO performance and it will have the potential to become a self-sustaining revenue stream.

When content isn’t the best strategy

Although content writing works brilliantly, it’s a slow-burning strategy that will take time to yield results. And if you want to do it properly, you’ll need to hire an expert SEO content writer, which will cost you money.

But not every business has time to wait or money to invest. For example, you might be a startup with a new website domain, limited funds, and a need for quick results. In which case, advertising would be the better option.

And you don’t have to choose one or the other. Many businesses use both, with advertising to generate reliable sales and content to drive more web traffic.

Why content is a smart choice

If advertising works so well and so quickly, why would you bother investing in content?

Well, there are a few good reasons, so let’s go through those now.

Organic results outperform paid ones

A Search Engine Results Page (SERP) typically shows sponsored results (paid ads), followed by the results that rank organically, without being paid for.

Using figures from a study by FirstPageSage, I created the chart below to show how the click-through rate (CTR) varies between paid ads and organic results.

^{Chart created by Jenny Lucas using information from FirstPageSage}

The CTR for the web pages listed on Google’s first page* are:

Paid Ad #1 ——> 2.1%
Paid Ad #2 ——> 1.4%
Organic #1 ——> 39.8%
Organic #2 ——> 18.7%
Organic #3 ——> 10.2%

*Results with no snippet or local pack.

You can see, the content that’s ranking organically appears underneath the paid ads, yet it outperforms the paid ads by a considerable margin.

Content connects you with more of your market

Advertising sells to the people who are ready to buy. These are the people who’ve already done their research and who know what they want.

But that’s just a fraction of your total market.

What about the people who are just realising they have a problem and still have questions? What about the people who need more information? What about the people who are a perfect fit for what you’re selling, but who don’t know you exist yet?

Content can connect you with all these people, too.

Content does more than sell

Content isn’t written to sell, but to help your prospects buy. And, yes, there is a difference.

You can create content for your prospects that:

Shows them how things work
Answers their frequently asked questions
Educates them on what they need to know
Compares and contrasts products/services
Gives them information, ideas and inspiration.

Through this kind of content, you’ll be engaging your audience, showing your expertise and building their trust. So when they are ready to buy, they may already know who they want to buy from.

Content helps you rank for more keywords

You’ve probably optimised your website with the best SEO keywords for your business. But there’ll be lots more keywords you could be ranking for that would help you reach more of your ideal customers.

Writing content gives you a way to target those additional keywords.

Content is a predictable outgoing

As effective as advertising can be, it’s a continuous, unpredictable and often escalating expense. This is why some businesses only choose to use it until their websites start gaining traction organically.

Content is a predictable outgoing. The amount you invest each month remains the same, which makes it easier to keep to a budget.

Content never stops working

As I mentioned previously, your advertising will only run while you’re paying for it. If you decide to stop paying, for any reason, you’ll have nothing to show for it.

Content is for keeps. It can stay on your website, drawing traffic, for as long as it’s current and relevant. If it dates, you can update it. And if it becomes irrelevant, you can often repurpose it.

Content introduces new people to your brand

Each time your content attracts a new visitor to your website, it gives you an opportunity to introduce that person to your brand. This can be particularly good if your brand isn’t already on their radar and they’re discovering you for the first time.

Content is impartial

Advertising sells to anyone who sees it — and it’s always biased in your favour.

Content is more about appealing to the right people. Because, let’s face it, not everyone is your ideal customer or the right fit for your product/service. And wrong-fit customers often don’t make happy customers.

If a prospect has a problem and is researching the best way to solve it, they’ll be looking for impartial advice rather than a sales pitch. With content, you can objectively show them what their options are, talk them through each one and recommend the best solution in each situation — whether that’s what you’re offering or not.

When you’re giving information and advice freely, impartially, and without a sales agenda, you’ll be giving your prospects a positive experience. They’ll remember you as a credible expert and a trusted source of information and they’ll feel confident to buy from you, either now or in the future.

Content converts visitors into subscribers

If you write the kind of content people like to read, they’ll often be happy to join your mailing list so they can receive more of it. Having those people on your mailing list means you’re no longer relying on them visiting your website and you can target them more directly.

Content generates better quality leads

Content can help you filter the leads you’re getting by appealing to the right-fit prospects and repelling the wrong ones. You can achieve this by writing attracting content for the people you want to work with and repelling content to deter the people who aren’t a good fit.