In the dynamic and environment of digital marketing, search engine optimization (SEO) and pay-per-click advertising (PPC) are two powerful strategies that can significantly enhance your online presence. While these approaches may seem distinct, they can actually work harmoniously to amplify your marketing efforts, drive targeted traffic, and boost conversions.
In this blog post, we will discuss the symbiotic relationship between SEO and PPC and explore how these complementary approaches to search engine marketing (SEM) can help you reach your marketing goals.
SEO Vs PPC – What’s the difference?
Before we discuss how these two facets of digital marketing can work together to get better results, it’s important to distinguish the difference between the two. SEO is concerned with driving organic traffic because it relies on the actual search results rather than a search engine’s ‘ad real-estate’.
PPC, specifically Google Ads, only covers the ad space that Google provides which includes the top of the page google shopping window for products, search ads above search results and ads on other Google networks . This means with PPC, you have a much wider reach than SEO as your ads can appear on other websites and platforms like YouTube.
PPC also depends largely on your budget and previous ad performance which is reflected in the ‘quality score’ of your ads. Therefore, SEO involves a lot more time and effort compared to PPC, and this is where the cost of SEO comes into play.
Previously, there was more control over where your ads are shown but with the introduction of PMAX campaigns from Google, more budget is spent on display networks and other Google platforms that have ‘ad real estate’
Because SEO is considered ‘free traffic’ it is seen as a more affordable option for user acquisition and is used to supplement PPC activity for companies that run ads. PPC is arguably more effective at generating converting traffic but recent studies such as a 2022 SEMrush study on zero clicks and click through rates.
The study found that 45.1% of clicks from search engines come from organic search results whereas 1.8% of website traffic is from paid ads. This was contrary to what many people believed at the time as Google has never actually revealed the breakdown of traffic acquisition from their search engines.
Search Engine Marketing Synergy
At first glance, SEO and PPC may appear to be competing strategies, vying for the top spots on search engine result pages (SERPs). However, a closer examination reveals their potential for synergy and collaboration. By combining their strengths, businesses can maximise their visibility and impact.
- Keyword Insights – PPC campaigns offer valuable data on the performance of specific keywords, allowing SEO efforts to be refined and tailored to target high-converting terms more effectively.
- Enhancing SERP Real Estate – Occupying both the organic and paid sections of SERPs increases your brand’s visibility and authority, capturing a larger share of user attention and generating more clicks.
- Conversion Rate Optimization (CRO) – Utilising PPC campaigns to test landing pages and ad copy can provide valuable insights for optimising conversion rates, which can then be applied to SEO efforts for better user experience and engagement.
Targeted Keyword Research
Keyword research lies at the foundation of both SEO and PPC. By coordinating these efforts, businesses can gain a competitive edge and drive qualified traffic.
PPC campaigns can uncover keywords that generate high click-through rates (CTRs) and conversions. These insights can be integrated into SEO strategies, optimizing content and meta tags to rank organically for these lucrative terms.
Another benefit of PPC campaigns for SEO is that they allow businesses to test the performance of long-tail keywords quickly. Once the effectiveness of these keywords is established, they can be seamlessly integrated into SEO campaigns to capture highly targeted organic traffic.
A Stronger Content Strategy
Content is the backbone of any successful online marketing campaign. By leveraging the combined power of SEO and PPC, businesses can supercharge their content strategy for maximum impact.
PPC campaigns can reveal keywords and topics that have high search volumes but are not adequately addressed by existing content. This information can guide SEO-driven content creation to fill these gaps and capture organic traffic.
PPC also enables businesses to test different versions of ad copy and landing pages, providing insights into what resonates best with the target audience. These learnings can be used to optimize organic content, resulting in higher engagement and conversions.
High-performing PPC campaigns can attract quality traffic, increasing the likelihood of obtaining backlinks. These backlinks, in turn, boost the SEO efforts by enhancing domain authority and organic rankings.
Maximising ROI and Conversion Rates
Combining SEO and PPC can yield significant advantages in terms of return on investment (ROI) and conversion rates.
In order to understand the value of each traffic source and allocate resources effectively, both SEO and PPPC need to be explored. By analysing PPC campaign data, businesses can allocate resources more effectively between SEO and PPC, ensuring the right balance to achieve optimal results and cost-efficiency.
Appearing in both organic and paid search results reinforce brand credibility and authority, leading to higher click-through rates and conversion rates. Some of the best performing organic results have a well-structured PPC campaign too which just puts the brand at the forefront of the user’s mind.
PPC campaigns allow for precise audience targeting, capturing potential customers who have previously engaged with. Retargeting is a lot more effective when the company performs well in terms of ad reach and organic performance.
Making SEO and PPC work for you with Squarebird
It’s important to find the right balance between SEO and PPC in order to get the most out of digital marketing strategy. Both SEO and PPC can be quite good at generating traffic but as PPC is very costly and SEO can be very time-consuming, so Marketing teams needs to decide how they can split their efforts and budget.
Get in touch with us to find out how we can help you leverage SEO and PPC to make sure you have a robust traffic acquisition strategy which is still budget friendly and easier manage.