Can Digital Marketing Work Without SEO?

Digital marketing and Search Engine Optimization (SEO) are buzzwords in the modern business world that can still confuse many people. The two are distinct in both function and scope, and of the two, digital marketing is the bigger word. However, can it exist without SEO?

SEO is a portion or subcategory of digital marketing which focuses on making a term easily searchable via search engines. It is a vital component of marketing in today’s interconnected world and can contribute to the visibility of both commercial and non-commercial items on the internet.

As a short answer, yes, digital marketing can do without SEO – but with huge setbacks. The long answer comes in three reasons, which you can read below.

Search is Everywhere

The internet literally started with search engines – well, they do exist as a network of computers linked and communicating with each other. But for human purposes, search is the first and foremost function humans do in interacting with the internet.

A digital marketing agency can have various departments, but its scope of work will almost always include visibility in search engines. The reason is that search is a tremendous factor for both businesses and non-profits; Google alone processes about 3.5 billion searches per day or about 40,000 per second.

Search is also massively profitable – search advertising spend was worth $104.8 Billion (in US dollars) in 2019 and projected to grow to $137 Billion by 2022.

SEO Amplifies Other Avenues of Digital Marketing

When you discuss creating campaigns with an SEO consultant, you’ll probably touch base with other departments or projects. Many campaigns, such as social media and website-based ones, can benefit from the wise use of SEO.

SEO can help make content more visible, whether it’s a full, in-depth article or a short intro copy for video material. Content marketing, for instance, overlap and integrate with SEO in that the latter leads the former through keywords and linkbacks. They also answer general website needs, as the technical requirements of good SEO improve content optimization, which would also improve the user experience (UX) of your content in the long run.

Without SEO, Digital Marketing can be a Mess

Optimization is a crucial part of marketing or any industry for that matter. For an SEO agency, making sure that your content and back-end SEO requirements align with the latest search algorithms is a meticulous task.

Many online promotional materials today – whether it’s on your website or spread across various platforms and apps – rely on connections created or generated through SEO. Organized information in both the content itself and the back-end (such as meta descriptions and image tags) helps funnel users to finding your data in their searches.

While Google does not count social media links in their ranking algorithm, shares in social media can tangentially contribute to accumulating links on other platforms like blogs and other content-rich websites.

Conclusion

Given how search is a vital part of marketing and basic internet activity, it is difficult for digital marketing to make do without SEO. Businesses are sure to flourish when they make use of SEO’s potential to boost their content’s visibility. It can be a complicated process, but agencies like us here at Media Manager, with our experts in SEO and digital marketing in Singapore, can help organizations achieve success in the digital world. Find out more about digital marketing and inquire about our services at https://www.mediamanager.com.sg/contact/.