Find top content marketing agencies to craft engaging brand stories that drive tangible business outcomes. Select experts from our vetted list of content marketing companies that specialize in copywriting, social media, and SEO.
After carefully considering each agency’s client reviews, pricing, range of content marketing services, portfolios, and industry reputation, we handpicked the finest content marketing companies. Below, you’ll discover what sets each of these agencies apart, as well as our ranking criteria.
The Number 1 Content Marketing Agency as Selected by DesignRush Is:
Notable Clients: Warner Brothers, eBay, Caliber Collision, and more
HigherVisibility produces content marketing that drives profitable business growth through its proprietary Targeted Growth System (TGS). Its steps involve custom strategy development, precise audience targeting, data-driven execution, and continuous optimization. With it, the content marketing company has helped clients increase organic leads by 191% and achieved a 124% return on ad spend. Moreover, it has won multiple awards and recognitions, including the Search Engine Land Awards and the US Agency Awards.
Despite its established reputation, Allied Van Lines fell behind competitors. It struggled with low-quality content, leading to lower site authority, poor search visibility, reduced organic traffic and lead generation, and disavowed quality links.
To resolve these issues, it partnered with HigherVisibility. The content marketing agency used historic data to identify valuable keywords, develop relevant and engaging content, optimize on-page elements, and implement link building and conversion rate optimization (CRO) tactics. As a result, Allied Van Lines increased year-on-year (YoY) organic traffic by 2.6%, month-on-month (MoM) leads by 800%, and YoY organic conversions by 9.4%.
Notable Clients: Nextiva, Casper, TripAdvisor, Norton, Airbnb, and more
Siege Media offers a unique approach to enhancing your website's authority through passive link building. As a collective of creatives, marketers, and SEO experts, Siege Media has generated content valued at approximately $12,387,175 per month in client traffic, which equates to $148,646,100 per year.
Zendesk approached Siege Media with the realization that its outdated content failed to generate desired traffic levels. It needed experts who could implement SEO best practices, conduct comprehensive keyword research, and create high-quality and strategic content to enhance its search engine ranking, drive traffic growth, and increase conversions.
The agency then revamped Zendesk’s existing content, focusing on technical SEO and design optimization. It also implemented a bottom-funnel strategy on their blog and service pages, featuring content that showcased the client’s expertise in software, customer service, and technology. These content pieces effectively combined informational and transactional elements and utilized high-quality imagery and user-friendly charts. The result was a surge in traffic: 37% growth to Zendesk’s blog, $731,924 in overall traffic value growth, 94% growth in organic traffic, and 10,675+ passive links.
Notable Clients: Miner, Stanford University, Rubbermaid Commercial, Canva, Cisco Systems, and more
Brafton's mission is to help businesses succeed through content marketing services and technology solutions worldwide. Its creative and consulting teams write for any industry, from technically complex niches to B2B and B2C brands, utilizing data-led digital content to resonate with the audience and generate results.
The strategy for their client, Quench USA, was to increase brand awareness by enhancing the company’s presence on search. With this in mind, Brafton crafted an SEO strategy that targeted not just consumers but also executives, small-business owners, and office administrators. Using a mix of general terms, such as “hydration facts,” and commercial-intent terms, like “water cooler service for office,” the agency ensured that the website ranked on Page 1 for the right keywords. Consequently, Quench achieved 37 new Page 1 keywords, with 21 being in positions 1 to 5, a $55,377 boost in monthly traffic value, and an increase of 443% in monthly traffic.
Notable Clients: Adobe, Amazon, Asana, Dropbox, eBay, Facebook, Fiverr, and more
Since its establishment in 2009, Column Five has been a leading creative agency specializing in B2B ventures. The agency harnesses the incredible power of storytelling as the ultimate differentiator, transforming ideas into successful campaigns for Fortune 500 companies, startups, and SMEs. It empowers brands to connect with their lifelong customers, foster meaningful relationships, and make conscious decisions that benefit individuals, profitability, and our shared planet.
Dropbox wanted to enhance its Talent Brand by introducing its brand to potential employees, attracting new talent, and engaging with the community. To provide an honest and genuine glimpse into #LifeInsideDropbox, Column Five created a series of videos featuring employees from around the world sharing their career journeys at Dropbox. This series aimed to humanize the brand, generate enthusiasm, and inspire viewers by recounting an authentic view of life within the organization.
Notable Clients: Twenty 20, Nextiva, Harris Teeter, Intuit, and more
Single Grain is a team of passionate professionals who use cutting-edge tools and technology, and personalized marketing strategies to generate leads, drive sales, and foster genuine connections. The agency’s remote-first approach allows them to work with talented creatives regardless of location.
One of their clients, Intuit, a well-known name in tax and personal finance services, recognized an opportunity to provide easy-to-use tools for other business aspects, such as website creation. While Intuit developed and launched the Intuit Website Builder, it needed help to gain traction and visibility in a new and different marketplace dominated by more established competitors. To tackle this challenge, it enlisted the services of Single Grain to create high-quality content and solidify its reputation as a powerful website-building solution.
The firm conducted an in-depth competitive analysis and increased efforts in blogging and social media to engage the existing user community and connect with new users. Within only seven months, the collaboration significantly increased Intuit's visibility in a highly competitive keyword environment across a wide range of common search terms.
Notable Clients: Sodexo, Adobe, Cisco, Salesforce, Autodesk, and more
Tendo is a comprehensive B2B content agency with expertise in crafting, implementing, and optimizing integrated content experiences that drive toward ambitious business objectives. It is a collective of seasoned strategists and creative minds with the knack for transforming a distinctive value proposition into a captivating narrative that resonates with the client’s key audiences.
When the existing Cisco.com needed to revamp its outdated content, Tendo conducted in-depth research to develop a content framework that could be expanded and maintained easily throughout the site. After evaluating the site’s current state, reviewing competitors, and interviewing key stakeholders, they created a content architecture and scalable content models, including organization, prioritization, and copy specifications for key page types.
Following this redesign, unique visitors to Cisco.com increased by 15%, task completion rose by 13%, and the click-through rate skyrocketed to 68%. Additionally, "contact us" clicks saw a remarkable 32% increase. The success was further validated through metrics, prompting Cisco to develop a design system based on Tendo’s content framework and apply it across all business units.
Notable Clients: Semrush, BigCommerce, SpyFu, Sprout Social, Influencer Marketing Hubb, and more
Attrock is a results-driven digital marketing company with an impressive track record of helping clients achieve remarkable milestones, including ranking for over 5,000 keywords on Google's first page and driving a 128% increase in leads and conversions.
It also played a vital role in scaling agencies from five to seven-figure incomes within two years by providing digital marketing services like content marketing, SEO, influencer Marketing, PR, lead Generation, and more.
Its content marketing campaign for ShaneBarker.com was aimed at increasing backlinks, building a strong social media presence, improving SERPs rankings, and boosting site traffic. By optimizing the web content and implementing SEO measures, its blog posts started to rank on the first page of Google search results without the need for link building. High-quality social media content also helped nurture its robust social media presence, with the number of sessions from LinkedIn growing from 686 to 16,000 in two years.
Notable Clients: Las Vegas Tourism, Miami Beach Pride, Midmark, BurgerFi, and more
S&G is a renowned content marketing agency consisting of experienced experts with diverse backgrounds, from prestigious newspapers, renowned magazines, Fortune 500 companies, and innovative technology firms. Its expertise has earned them recognition, making it among the top 50 global content marketing agencies by The Content Marketing Institute.
S&G collaborated with JW Aluminum to position the brand as a disruptor in the traditional metals manufacturing industry; it launched a new app to reduce lead times for procurement professionals and streamline supply chains for customers.
The firm created a comprehensive white paper exploring supply chain logistics in the metals industry and how technology could improve efficiency and boost revenue. The white paper generated over 200 new leads in only six months and served as a landing page for JWA's PR campaign, resulting in feature stories in Forbes, Supply Chain Brain, and other relevant industry publications.
Notable Clients: PayPal, NetApp, Sofinnova, and more
The Content Bureau is a fully remote, majority-female team dedicated to ensuring client success by balancing corporate marketing and branding protocols with trusted partnerships to provide maximum value over time. Its specialty is crafting B2B marketing assets, including copywriting, editing, and layout solutions for articles, banner ads, blog posts, and webinars.
The firm produced authentic and unscripted thought leadership videos for their client, SAP, to help partners and marketing staff understand the company's software business model. The challenge was to create engaging and authentic content while adhering to SAP brand guidelines.
According to the client, the collaboration between them and the agency resulted in fun, painless, and on-brand videos. It successfully delivered work quickly and professionally, reaching thousands of viewers and earning positive feedback from field sales representatives. Overall, the authenticity behind the videos proved to be a successful sales tool that effectively communicated the message to their target audience.
Notable Clients: monday.com, Freshworks, ActiveCampaign, AdEspresso, Zapier, and more
Codeless produces hundreds of long-form articles each month for some of the internet's biggest SaaS, service, and affiliate brands. Its process begins with SEO experts identifying content categories that resonate with the target market. The dedicated account managers then facilitate the production process, from keyword identification to uploading the finished product to your CMS.
The agency helped monday.com increase monthly blog traffic from 12,586 to more than 304,000 within 18 months. Despite the hyper-competitive nature of B2B and SaaS niches, Codeless helped them expand its business and secure significant clients such as Coca-Cola, Hulu, and Universal.
Its strategy involved creating content at scale to produce 950+ articles (2,000 words each). This enabled the client to rank for 140,000+ organic keywords with 25,626 first-page rankings on SERPs and amass backlinks from 6,500+ domains, adding to their traffic numbers.
How We Picked the Best Content Marketing Companies
To curate the list of the top content marketing companies, we examined the agencies’ client roster, testimonials, case studies, industry reputation, team expertise, and executive management. Our team of agency experts created a scoring system to gauge their overall performance based on metrics such as:
Relevant content marketing service catalog
Coverage of content marketing topics on their website and other channels
The number of content marketing projects delivered
The quality and diversity of portfolio, and success stories
Notable clients and well-known brands
Their online reputation on DesignRush, Google, and other platforms
This qualitative process helped us narrow down the cream of the crop content marketing providers you can work with on your upcoming project.
10 Most Popular Content Marketing Agencies Compared
Agency Name
Location
Hourly Rate
Size
Best For
HigherVisibility
Memphis, TN
Inquire
50-99
Overall
Siege Media
San Diego, CA
$100
100-249
Conversion-Focused Content
Brafton
Boston, MA
$150
100-249
SEO
Column Five Media
Orange County, CA
$145
Under 49
SaaS Companies
Single Grain
Los Angeles, CA
Inquire
Under 49
B2C Enterprises
Tendo Communications
San Francisco, CA
Inquire
Under 49
B2B Brands
Attrock
Miami, FL
$49
Under 49
Content Analysis
S&G
Miami, FL
$175
Under 49
Branded Content
The Content Bureau
Orinda, FL
Inquire
Under 49
Internal Marketing
Codeless
Lone Tree, CO
Inquire
50-99
Long-Form Content
Best Content Marketing Companies
6 Companies-Rankings updated: September 04, 2026
DesignRush assesses content marketing companies for their expertise and verified client experiences to help you make better decisions. Certain agencies have paid placements.
We empower you to create customer-focused, digital products.
Based in Leicester, England, we are a team of digital specialists - designers, developers, project managers and digital fanatics. We have a diverse set of skills and we love the digital products we make...
Top Services:
Web Design
Software Development
Web Development
Mobile App Development
Digital Marketing
Show more
Location
Leicester, United Kingdom
Number of Employees
Under 49
Average Hourly Rate
$75/hr
Minimal Budget
$10,000 - $25,000
Portfolios Count
4 Projects Listed
Bulb Studios Services
Web Design
Software Development
Web Development
Mobile App Development
Digital Marketing
WordPress Website Design
UI/UX Design
IoT
Video Production
Content Marketing
Data sourced from the agency's DesignRush profile, its website, and other relevant accounts
Jaguar Land Rover
Sytner Group
University of Leicester
English Institute of Sport
Association of Scottish Self Caterers
CGI
Earth Sense
StackGlobal.io
Data sourced from the agency's DesignRush profile
Bulb Studios Reviews & Testimonials
Gail van Dijk Marketing Director at Communisis
5.0★
Video Production Review from Gail van Dijk
Faced with a tight deadline and limited in-house resources, I turned to Bulb Studios to create a high impact product video for use across a global sales team. It was a great decision. The team at Bulb interpreted the brief perfectly, turning around the first cut in record time. The editing process was smooth. Communication was excellent. I have no hesitation in recommending Bulb Studios - their knowledge and technical expertise are superb!
Ray Meadham CEO at Multiview Media
5.0★
Mobile App Development Review from Ray Meadham
Jim and the team from day one offered a professional, cost effective service. From UX to UI design they dealt with the unique nature of our product and supported us through the process. They delivered an outstanding mock up for Multiview which allowed us to progress and deliver to clients.
Mick Cassell Consultant at Mick Cassell
5.0★
Mobile App Development Review from Mick Cassell
Bulb did a great job of a tricky task, helping me to evaluate the attractiveness and 'fitness for purpose' of an app that my clients had already developed. This was effectively a consultancy project and I was impressed not only by the team's knowledge of game design, UX and UI but also by their ability to provide really insightful analysis with great clarity and structure. Above all, issues weren't left hanging - clear routes to improvement were presented and communicated persuasively. The team was also a pleasure to work with and I would have no hesitation in working with them again or recommending them to others.
Reviews verified by DesignRush and sourced from the agency's profile View All Reviews
Ridge Marketing builds memorable brands, engaging digital experiences, and lead-gen campaigns to help companies of all sizes attract buyers and drive growth...
Top Services:
Digital Strategy
Branding
Web Design
eCommerce Development
SEO
Show more
Location
Bernards, New Jersey
Number of Employees
Under 49
Minimal Budget
$10,000 - $25,000
Portfolios Count
5 Projects Listed
Ridge Marketing Services
Digital Strategy
Branding
Web Design
eCommerce Development
SEO
PPC
Content Marketing
Video Production
Graphic Design
Data sourced from the agency's DesignRush profile, its website, and other relevant accounts
Hanwha Vision
R&T Deposit Solutions
Dun & Bradstreet
exederm
Mavro Imaging
Amphenol Broadband
Brother
Fairleigh Dickinson University
Spur Intelligence
Brinqa
Data sourced from the agency's DesignRush profile
Ridge Marketing Reviews & Testimonials
Amy Tallitsch Review from Google
5.0★
Amy Tallitsch's Review Sourced from Google
We have been partnering with Ridge Marketing since 2019, and they truly feel like an extension of our team. They take the time to understand our business, ask thoughtful questions, and collaborate with us to achieve our goals.The Ridge team is professional, responsive, creative, and simply enjoyable to work with. They help fill the gaps in our marketing efforts and provide expertise that has been invaluable to our success. I honestly couldn't do my job as effectively without them.If you're looking for a marketing partner that is invested in your success and works alongside you as part of your team, I highly recommend Ridge Marketing.
Leon Ariyan Review from Google
5.0★
Leon Ariyan's Review Sourced from Google
Ridge Marketing has been great to work with. From Revamping our website to creating blogs, key words, and more impressions, we have seen immediate results.The team there is extremely well versed and have executed on what they have said from the begininning.
Marie Chinnici-Everitt Review from Google
5.0★
Marie Chinnici-Everitt's Review Sourced from Google
I've had the opportunity to work with Ridge Marketing in my capacity as Strategic Advisor for R&T Deposit Solutions, and I could not be more pleased with the experience. The Ridge team is a true partner—bringing not only exceptional creativity and responsiveness, but also a deep understanding of our business that consistently shines through in the quality of their work.They go above and beyond—offering thoughtful advice, acting as a sounding board, and always delivering with a high level of professionalism and care. Whether it’s campaign strategy, content creation, or brand development, Ridge approaches every project with insight and enthusiasm. We’ve come to trust them implicitly, and they continue to exceed our expectations.I highly recommend Ridge Marketing to any organization looking for a smart, collaborative, and reliable creative partner.
Reviews verified by DesignRush and sourced from the agency's profile View All Reviews
Growth marketing agency for ambitious, growth-minded businesses. We turn marketing chaos into consistent leads...
Top Services:
Branding
Web Design
UI/UX Design
Web Development
WordPress Website Design
Show more
Location
Naples, Florida
Number of Employees
Under 49
Average Hourly Rate
$160/hr
Minimal Budget
$10,000 - $25,000
Portfolios Count
1 Project Listed
Lasso Up Services
Branding
Web Design
UI/UX Design
Web Development
WordPress Website Design
Digital Marketing
AEO
Advertising
PPC
Content Marketing
Data sourced from the agency's DesignRush profile, its website, and other relevant accounts
Murphy's Custom Homes
Elder Law of Nashville
Naples Plastic Surgery
Tru Glo Med Spa
Torgerson Design Partners
REA Homes
Teddy's Transportation
CoolZone
Hopkins & Porter
Lexar Homes
Data sourced from the agency's DesignRush profile
Lasso Up Reviews & Testimonials
Anna O'dell Review from Google
5.0★
Anna O'dell's Review Sourced from Google
Torgerson Design Partners has had an incredibly experience using Lasso Up thus far. All of our numbers/metrics are going up and we have had more leads/calls off our website than ever before. I have been impressed with their professionalism but also how geniune the whole team is. So thankful for their hard work!
Bryant Ballman Review from Google
5.0★
Bryant Ballman's Review Sourced from Google
We’ve been in business for over 20 years, and I can honestly say this has been the best experience I’ve had working with an SEO and web development company.We switched to Lasso Up after a frustrating year with another provider where we spent the same amount but saw little to no real results. The difference has been night and day. Within the first quarter alone, Lasso Up designed and launched a new website for us, created a new logo, and—most importantly—we’re actually generating quality leads now.Their approach feels much more personalized. I don’t feel like just another account number. Communication has been excellent, the process is organized, and their team makes sure everything on the backend is handled properly while also guiding me on what’s needed from my side.Dylan, who manages our account, has been phenomenal, and the entire team has been professional, responsive, and easy to work with. It’s clear they understand how to market construction businesses effectively and don’t overload their account managers like larger firms tend to do.Making the switch to Lasso Up was one of the best business decisions we’ve made. I would highly recommend them to anyone looking for real results and a team that genuinely cares about your success
Hillary Hodges Review from Google
5.0★
Hillary Hodges's Review Sourced from Google
Lasso-up has assisted my office (law firm) with a website redesign, advertising and marketing emails. They provide great customer service and their knowledge and skills are top notch.
Reviews verified by DesignRush and sourced from the agency's profile View All Reviews
Online Khadamate is a digital marketing agency specializing in international SEO and online business growth. Its services include SEO, GEO, AEO, LLM optimization, Google Ads, and web design, with multilingual strategies designed to help businesses reach global markets. Led by Mohammad Janbolaghi, the company...
Top Services:
AEO
Affiliate Marketing
SEO
Digital Marketing
AI Development
Show more
Location
Girona, Spain
Number of Employees
Under 49
Minimal Budget
$10,000 - $25,000
Online Khadamate Services
AEO
Affiliate Marketing
SEO
Digital Marketing
AI Development
Software Development
Web Design
PPC
Content Marketing
Digital Strategy
Data sourced from the agency's DesignRush profile, its website, and other relevant accounts
Jadi is a strategic brand agency built for science-forward consumer brands health, wellness, beauty, nutrition, and technology. We translate product truth, ingredient science, and real innovation into stories that build belief and systems that scale it.Strategy. Story. Systems. Scale...
Top Services:
Branding
Digital Strategy
Content Marketing
Video Production
Advertising
Show more
Location
Laguna Beach, California
Number of Employees
Under 49
Average Hourly Rate
$100/hr
Minimal Budget
$10,000 - $25,000
Jadi Communications, Inc. Services
Branding
Digital Strategy
Content Marketing
Video Production
Advertising
Social Media Marketing
Web Design
Creative Services
Design Services
Media Buying
Data sourced from the agency's DesignRush profile, its website, and other relevant accounts
Independent SEO consultancy for UK solicitors and law firms only. SRA-compliant SEO, Google Maps and AI search visibility across ChatGPT, Perplexity, Google AI Overviews, Gemini and Copilot — delivered personally by Gregg King to a maximum of four firms at a time. No juniors. No tie-ins...
Top Services:
AEO
SEO
Business Consulting
Digital Marketing
WordPress Website Design
Show more
Location
Warrington, United Kingdom
Number of Employees
Under 49
Average Hourly Rate
$250/hr
Minimal Budget
$10,000 - $25,000
Gregg King Services
AEO
SEO
Business Consulting
Digital Marketing
WordPress Website Design
Content Marketing
Web Design
UI/UX Design
Web Development
Digital Services
Data sourced from the agency's DesignRush profile, its website, and other relevant accounts
Professional Services Industry
AI Industry
Legal Industry
Data sourced from the agency's DesignRush profile
Gregg King Reviews & Testimonials
Polly Arnold Review from Google
5.0★
Polly Arnold's Review Sourced from Google
We have been working with Gregg for a few months now - he is really actively trying to increase our profile on Google. We always find him easily contactable and approachable
Tay Lynn Review from Google
5.0★
Tay Lynn's Review Sourced from Google
OMGosh! I didnt realize how much I needed SEO services until Gregg helped me go from somewhere in the "backpages" to ranking towards the Top 3. It will take time but Im headed in the RIGHT direction finally!!
Zoe Holliday Review from Google
5.0★
Zoe Holliday's Review Sourced from Google
Gregg’s knowledge & expertise were first class. He’s clearly an expert in his field. I would highly recommend!
Reviews verified by DesignRush and sourced from the agency's profile View All Reviews
7 Frequently Asked Questions About Content Marketing Agencies
What do content marketing companies do?
Content marketing companies create and distribute digital content intended to inform, attract, engage, retain, and inspire action across target audiences. The main goal of their produced work is to drive greater brand awareness, boost organic traffic and SEO rankings, and guide prospects through the buyer's journey to ultimately increase leads and sales.
What services do they provide?
Key services provided by content marketing agencies include:
Content strategy development: Curating bespoke plans to align content with business objectives, ideal customer profile (ICP) intent, and industry trends.
SEO copywriting and keyword research: Optimizing content to rank higher in search engine result pages (SERPs) and improve visibility to potential customers.
Editorial management and publishing: Sourcing writers, editing content, managing content calendars, and handling the publishing process.
Distribution and promotion: Making sure the content reaches the target audience through social media, email campaigns, and paid advertising.
Performance analysis: Monitoring how content performs and tracking traffic, engagement, and conversion rate metrics to refine strategies.
How much does a content marketing company cost to hire?
Across the US, a content marketing company usually charges between $100 to $500 per 1000-word post.For social media content, the price usually goes between $50 and $150 per post.
The final price can vary based on a combination of factors:
Length and topic complexity: Shorter, simpler posts cost less compared to in-depth, longer articles.
Expertise: Posts requiring niche knowledge or specific writing style entail higher fees.
SEO adjustments: Extending the service with SEO services like keyword research and integration can also raise the price.
Additional services: Content promotion, social media sharing, and visual add-ons count as an addition to the base fee.
How long do different content pieces take to write?
Short, standard articles can take an experienced writer 1 to 3 hours to write, while research-heavy pieces may require over 10 hours. Same as with pricing, the topic complexity and research requirements affect the writing time as well.
In general, seasoned writers can produce 500 words in 30 to 60 minutes, while for the same work, a beginner might need 2 to 3 hours or more.
Here are some average time estimates by content type:
Social media posts/short content (75 to 300 words): 30 minutes to an hour
Standard blog post/article (500 to 1000 words): 1 to 3 hours (assuming moderate research)
1,500-word piece: 3 to 6 hours, depending on depth
Long-form, 2,000-word content piece: 6 to 10+ hours
Technical content piece: Up to 10 hours per 500 words, given the need for extensive research and citations
Full website content coverage (20 pages): 11 to 40 days, depending on the complexity of the brand voice and required research
What types of businesses benefit most from working with a content marketing agency?
Small businesses, startups, expanding brands, and companies looking to set or correct a brand image benefit the most from a content marketing collaboration.
Businesses starting from the ground up benefit a lot from a content marketing agency as it maps out a clear strategy and builds an audience from day one. Companies dealing with a bad reputation or a complex rebranding phase also see considerable returns, as a good agency can use honest storytelling to fix misconceptions and win back trust.
At the same time, if a brand is entering a new market or launching a unique product line, specialized content helps them spread the message more easily by producing pieces in the local language.
How long does it take to see results from content marketing services?
Content marketing follows a more extended trajectory as it takes time for search engines to recognize and rank the content. As the content library expands and gains credibility, brands start to see incremental growth in 3 to 6 months.
The same goes for social media: as content compounds and reaches more people, the organic traffic gets steadier and lead generation efforts start gaining more traction.
How is content marketing different than SEO?
Content marketing is the substance, i.e., the strategy of creating value to build a relationship with the intended audience. SEO is the visibility or the technical process of making that value discoverable by search engines.
Essentially, they are two sides of the same coin: SEO makes demands (keywords, structure), and content marketing fulfills them.
Across both practices, quality comes first. Namely, if the piece is optimized for a search engine but fails against the intent of the reader, the content will eventually lose its rank because it lacks topical authority.