What is content marketing and why does it matter?
Content marketing is a strategic approach based around the creation and distribution of educational, valuable, and consistent content. Content marketing for business is typically delivered in the form of blogs, website copy, and social media posts. Also known as inbound marketing, it works to earn trust and establish authority by educating rather than selling.
In 2025, search engines remained the most popular method of finding information online by the UK public, with 87.8% of users using them to solve their queries. By creating highly informative content, your website will rank higher on Search Engine Results Pages (SERPs), therefore bringing in more organic traffic and answering the queries of potential customers.
How content marketing generates leads
Content marketing gives potential clients the exact answers they are searching for, 24/7. With users spending an average of 6.38 hours online per day, information about your company and services should always be readily available.
Modern buyers value autonomy in decision making – a concept known as self-selection. This is one reason why AI search is gaining popularity; it empowers users by giving them the relevant information to influence their consumer behaviour.
How does Google rank content?
Google uses the EEAT framework – Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness. It uses these models to decipher how legitimate your website is, and the quality of its content. By creating high-quality blog articles, for example, you are not only establishing yourself as an industry expert to customers and competitors, but are also securing your appearance on the principal results pages.
How to earn trust online
Trust is earned by showcase expertise through educational content. Think of your audience as students and your business as the teacher. This kind of content works because it shows that you understand both the service you offer, and the intent of users visiting your website.
The best way to begin planning a calendar of content is to determine what your buyers are thinking at the time they land on your website. What questions have they searched on Google to land there? Knowing the search intent of your customer base is a great foundation for creating a digital content calendar.
How insourcing can elevate content
Insourcing, or utilising internal experts, can be a game changer for content marketing strategy and generating website enquiries. Within a business there are multiple subject matter experts already present on your team. While you may currently see them as completely separate to the marketing team, their knowledge can take blog articles to the next level.
By introducing specialised employees to content marketing and working with them to create a blog production schedule, you can ensure that your EEAT ranking will soar astronomically. A combination of expertise and good SEO practice is the best way to create a highly functioning inbound marketing plan.
Key content strategies to generate enquiries
SEO’s role in SERPs and AI Search
SEO, or Search Engine Optimisation, is critical for visibility. To make sure that the SEO on your page is effective, research relevant keywords and integrate them naturally into your content.
With AI search tools like ChatGPT, Gemini, and Copilot becoming mainstream, good SEO practices, such as H1, H2, and H3 headings, ensures discoverability across platforms.
Leverage case studies and testimonials
Another method of generating leads through your website is utilising social proof. Research from Dixa in 2023 showed that 93% of clients read reviews before making a buying decision. This is extremely relevant for financial and professional services firms where p case studies and testimonials demonstrates success and acts as a trust signal.
Amplify content through social media
Social media extends your reach to large audiences. By sharing blog posts, testimonials, and case studies on social media platforms such as LinkedIn you can amplify the reach of your online publications.
LinkedIn posts can also appear in AI search, meaning that when they utilise SEO and take into account platform algorithms, they can be a very efficient way of boosting traffic to your website and generating new leads.
How to measure the success of content marketing
Key metrics
When assessing the success of your content marketing strategy, you should be utilising all of the data and analytics that you have at hand. These metrics can help you track everything, from the length of your sales funnel, customer behavioural patterns, and website functionality.
The most useful metrics to measure the success of your content marketing are:
- Website traffic: How many users have clicked on your page when it appears in SERPs
- Conversion rates: Out of the total traffic that lands on your website, how many of these users submit a contact form or become a client
- Enquiry forms: Monitor submissions to gauge engagement
Tools for analytics
There are a variety of analytics tools available online that will make measuring metrics clear and easy for you and your team. Google Analytics offers an insight into website visitors, demographics, and time spent on each page, enabling you to determine which pages performed best.
CRM software like MailChimp allows you to track these analytics for your email marketing campaigns. When reviewing your past campaigns, you can check metrics such as:
- Open rate
- Click Through Rate (CTR)
- Unsubscribe rate
- Read time
Tracking sales impact
It is important to not only record data regarding click through rate and conversion, but also analyse customer journeys through the sales funnel.
By tracking customer behaviour through Google Analytics, you can determine which page a customer first landed on, which page prompted them to fill out an enquiry or contact form, and then link this to the point a sale was decided further down the line.
Common content marketing mistakes to avoid
Publishing without a strategy
Beginning to post content without a clear strategy behind it can set you back. Before publishing any articles online or sending out an email campaign, always define goals, audience, and search intent.
Ignoring SEO optimisation
Poor SEO optimisation in your content will lower visibility on SERPs and in AI search.
Hiring or outsourcing an SEO expert ensures that your blogs and LinkedIn posts are complying with best practices, giving your company the best chance at reaching your customer online.
Failing to include clear CTAs
Your blog, email, and LinkedIn content could be to a very high standard, but if there are no Calls To Action (CTAs), your customer may not end up reaching out to you. Including links to Contact Us pages, prompts to comment or DM the company page, and buttons to new offers boosts conversion by making information easy for users to locate.
Why content marketing matters
Content marketing is an essential digital strategy that generates inbound enquiries by making your service or product information available to the customer 24/7. If we think of search engines as the Yellow Pages of the digital world, SEO is the index that helps you find the business you’re looking for.
Writing and publishing blogs positions your company as an industry expert, therefore building trust and credibility with any potential customer, before they have even submitted an enquiry. By the time they contact you, they already respect and trust your insight, shown by the fact that companies with blogs generate 67% more leads than peers without a blog.
If you’re ready to grow your inbound enquiries, MSP Reach are a marketing outsourcing provider offering branding, values, content strategy, SEO, and social media services that will help you succeed. Contact us today.
Frequently Asked Questions
How does content marketing generate more business enquiries?
Content marketing generates business enquiries by improving your visibility on search engines and giving potential customers the information they’re actively searching for.
By publishing high‑quality, educational content that answers user questions, your website ranks higher on SERPs and drives more organic traffic. This builds trust, establishes your business as an industry expert, and ultimately encourages visitors to submit enquiry forms or contact your team.
Why is SEO important for a successful content marketing strategy?
SEO is essential for content marketing because it helps search engines and AI search tools understand, index, and rank your content. A SEO expert can help with your strategy.
By using relevant keywords, clear headings (H1, H2, H3), and optimised on‑page structure, your content becomes more discoverable online. Strong SEO boosts your visibility to potential customers, increasing website traffic, and improving the likelihood of generating qualified inbound leads.
How can I measure the success of my content marketing efforts?
You can measure content marketing success by tracking key metrics such as website traffic, conversion rates, enquiry form submissions, and user behaviour.
Tools like Google Analytics show which pages attract the most visitors, how long people stay on each page, and what content helped convert them. CRM platforms also provide insights into email engagement, including open rates and click‑through rates. These metrics help you understand which content drives the most enquiries and where to refine your strategy.