Content benefits SEO.
Content acts like a beacon for web crawlers.
Content provides the information needed to sort and rank a website and signals relevance. It should be structured with proper hierarchy in mind in order to direct searching web crawlers. The content should reflect important targeted keywords and long-tail keyword phrases.
SEO should not be heavy handed.
Content should be useful and authentic. It should not be a jumble of keywords and phrases trying to hit a search engine target. Proper research of competitive keywords and search phrases relevant to a subject can guide content generation. Weaving them into your content properly will boosts your sites relevance.
Content should be the foundation.
Organizing content will inform placement and user experience goals for each page. Starting with a well defined sitemap and detailed content descriptions will help a design team formulate how users will interact with the information and navigate the site, keeping the design process efficient and focused. A content model will show how specific content will relate to its page and the site as a whole. When created early in the design process, this framework will form the foundation and organize the structure that the website will be built from.