Most people who are quite new to digital marketing usually view SEO and PPC as completely independent areas that can be performed without any sort of cohesiveness with each other. While these areas are indeed, different from each other, it’s best to view SEO and PPC as being two sides of the same coin, that is, search engine marketing.
A top-level view of search engine marketing will help you determine how these two are separate. SEO is usually considered organic, while PPC lies on the paid side of search engine marketing. There are many ways in which these two are different, but the most notable parts that deserve to be discussed are their similarities, and how they complement each other. Done right, these two can yield a very successful search strategy. But in order to know how to create synergy between SEO and PPC, it’s important to understand each of them first.
What is PPC advertising?
Right off the bat, it’s easy to know what PPC is all about. It stands for pay-per-click and is basically just that: companies that place PPC ads only pay when users click on them. This refers to advertising entries you might have come across when browsing search engines such as Google, Bing, and Yahoo!.
Companies and advertisers utilize PPC on a daily basis and have become integrated into their marketing efforts because it allows for an affordable way to drive users to their pages and acquire new customers. it can also be easily tracked, helping marketers segment customers on a sales funnel easier. While some find PPC affordable, it can be tricky for high-traffic keywords since competition is tight, which may account for higher costs.
What is SEO?
If you have a light knowledge about digital marketing, or if you’ve been reading about how to make your website rank online, you may have already read about SEO. In essence, SEO is the process or set of techniques that improve website’s rank in search results on targeted keywords or phrases. It stands for search engine optimization and usually looks at optimization approaches either from outside or inside a website.
For instance, an organization that aims to improve its website ranking for “yacht rentals” will most likely create articles and website content that has this phrase, as well as rewrite its meta tags, page titles, and descriptions to include synonyms of this phrase. Additionally, they’ll even want to look at how fast or slow their website loads, and acquire incoming links from lifestyle websites and tourist blogs.
Making PPC and SEO work together
There are a number of ways that you can work on your website’s PPC and SEO and actually make them work for the benefit of each other. With proper targeting and careful planning, your website can appear in the top search results on certain keywords. On the other hand, setting the right purchase metrics for PPC ads of the same keyword will make your website appear on top of a certain keyword when a person searches for that keyword. A two-pronged approach will ensure you’re on top of your target keywords.
Let’s look at other techniques to make SEO and PPC work hand-in-hand:
Catch missed potential clicks with PPC
If your website is already organically ranking first for a certain keyword, then you may feel complacent and forgo PPC ads altogether. After all, why should your website appear twice on the same keyword?
A study by Google study saw that pausing a PPC campaign for a certain keyword will result in approximately 89% drop in referring traffic because you’re your organic traffic simply can’t cover it. Pausing your PPC ads will simply have negative impact on your website’s ranking, even if your site already ranks #1 through organic means.
Share keyword data
When running PPC and SEO campaigns, remember that hat works for PPC usually works for SEO as well. And since you’re running two campaigns at once, you’ll gather more data to analyze in the future. Determine the keywords from your organic and PPC efforts that turn in the highest conversion and use this information to optimize your overall strategy.
And since you’ll have a good idea as to what PPC keywords work best, you can use this insight when crafting title tags, meta descriptions, and even your website’s content in order to help them rank organically.
E-commerce: Integrate your Feeds in Adwords Results
PPC doesn’t just help your website be found by your customers. From a data analyst perspective, it also helps you to know which keywords are being used by your customers to reach a certain page. E-commerce site marketers will find this very useful. You can analyze the terms that are frequently used by your visitors and pull insight to have an idea about your customers’ search habits and needs.
Additionally, since Google now allows you to link specific product pages to your PPC campaign, you can now feature specific products on your ads along with customer reviews, which will help bring potential customers directly into the product page on your site, where a purchase can be made.
Use PPC as an Effective PR Tool
During PR disasters, one of the best strategies to prevent more damage is by changing the conversation. Should there be a PR nightmare that poses a big risk to your company’s brand, utilizing PPC and SEO can be a great damage control.
Let’s look at BP as an example. When an oil spill broke out in 2010, the company started buying PPC ads in related keywords such as “oil spill”, “deepwater horizon”, and “Gulf of Mexico”. These were then linked to a page on BP’s site about the company’s effort in cleaning up the spill. While they gathered some flak for doing this, the company was able to divert people’s attention and moderate what was being said.
SEO and PPC Together
Making SEO and PPC work together can help improve each other. By utilizing the data from each campaign, you can constantly refine your organic and paid strategies. The potential this synergy can bring can’t be brushed aside because it can help drive brand awareness, create traffic, and lead customers to conversion. However, always remember that success is fleeting: without constant effort, you’re bound to get left behind. Always stay on top of the trend, keep optimizing your campaigns, and stay updated in market trends. With PPC and SEO strategies in your arsenal, you’ll definitely stay on top of the ranks.
Author Bio
Kenneth Sytian a web designer from the Philippines leading Sytian Productions. He has been designing websites and developing web apps for more than a decade. His no-nonsense approach to design coupled with his vast creativity is a winning combination for his clients.
