Is there ever a time when we shouldn't care about content showing in search?

[AsanaOps]

I often get push back from our content team about optimizing blogs for organic search. They'll say things like "but this isn't relevant for search" or "well, this is intended for people who come directly to our blog, I don't think it'll matter if it shows up in search." This is especially true when we publish product announcements and customer case studies.

As an SEO, my opinion is definitely biased, but I 100% disagree and believe that search is relevant for every piece of content -- it's just that we might approach SEO differently for a product announcement (i.e. looking at branded search queries) vs. a more general "how to create an editorial calendar" type post.

Would like to hear thoughts from the Moz community, though: what do you think? Is there ever a time when search isn't relevant for a blog post? Ever a time when we should skip the keyword/phrase research and tracking? Why or why not?

[WebMarkets]

Unless it's a service you can no longer provide, monetize or refer, there is never a scenario that you would prefer your website not be listed #1 on Google during any certain time frame.

[Nigel_Carr]

Hi

As the SEO I would be telling them exactly that. Why would they want to create invisible content that will not be found in the search? In fact, the more glib, unfocused they add to the site, the less it will look relevant. To me, this is just lazy content creators who say they don't have time to do a tiny bit of keyword research. I'd give them a kick up the bum or get new ones!

Regards

Nigel

[EGOL]

Everything that goes onto our websites is optimized for search.  Writing content, taking photos, preparing images takes a lot of time.  Keyword research takes very little time but if it is done right it can reveal a treasure trove of potential traffic.  Not doing keyword research is like not picking-up money.

A person getting ready to write should have some idea of the keywords that will be targeted.  They should also be thinking about the title tag and description tag that will be written to elicit clicks.  Takes very little time, can improve the writing, can improve the conversions.  These people would get a talkin' to if they worked at my office.