Search Engine Watch reported a 200 percent increase in conversions as a result of the combined effect of pay-per-click (PPC) and search engine optimization (SEO) strategies. These two strategies are considered two sides of a single coin.

To understand PPC and SEO in-depth, let’s take a deeper look into how these two marketing tactics are used.

For driving traffic towards a website, marketers have two options:

• Organic searches
• Paid searches

The first one promises to increase credibility while the latter provides a top listing in no time. A study revealed that 89.8 percent of users click on the first page of Google. Among them, only 10 percent bother to go on the second page. This shows how imperative it is to keep your product on the first shelf of the mart. A combination of SEO and PPC is the perfect competitive strategy to boost your business.

Here’s how this combination of digital marketing agency forms a formidable and comprehensive digital marketing strategy:

1. PPC is Guaranteed While SEO is Volatile

SEO is susceptible to change. Keywords promising great traffic today may not give you the desired results tomorrow. On the other hand, paid ads are a sure bet. Bing Ads and AdWords do not position your ad in one place today and another place tomorrow. Ad ranking is highly consistent in paid ads.

SEO is volatile because of several reasons, but mainly because Google updates its algorithm about 600 times a year. Therefore, the SEO strategy that worked today may not work as well tomorrow. SEO experts consistently overhaul their SEO strategies to keep up with Google’s changes.

Example:

Google has replaced side-bar paid ads with ads showed above organic search results. This has dramatically affected organic listing; it means that the top three or four positions are filled by paid advertisements and there is less space for websites using only SEO on the first page.

It shows how Google’s landscape is changing. Even the most expert SEO connoisseurs cannot predict the best SEO practices for the next year. Similarly, the recent update in which Google emphasizes the context of the keyword rather than just using the keyword has also affected search engine results. Content marketers had to revamp their strategies and all the previous efforts were vain.

Paid ads give you a high controlling hand in comparison to organic results. Thus, if a new Google update affects your business, you will have the surety of PPC to cushion the blow.

2. Maximization of Online Visibility

When it comes to the search results, there is a whole world of competition for a single keyword. Millions of brands use the same keyword trying to rank higher. We have to immerse our brand into the sea of competitors and wait for the customers to pick us up.

Some experts believe that having first-page visibility is enough to drive traffic. However, double results can double your conversions. An ideal approach is to get the best ranking on the first page besides having a paid ad at the top of the list. It will also give you a competitive edge over other brands using a single listing approach.

3.Quality Traffic

Every online brand is struggling to boost its traffic organically. However, experts know that having gazillion of clicks on your website will be of no use if they lack in quality. Yes, traffic that can lead to conversion should be the ultimate objective of every brand.

According to a study by Google, 50 percent of the paid ads are irreplaceable by the organic search results. It also revealed that the percentage of clicks irreplaceable by the organic searches increases automatically when a decrease in paid ads is made. This indicates organic searches can never drive quality traffic alone. It always needs the support of PPC to deliver game-changing results.

4. Higher Conversions

Once you have good traffic on your website, the possibility of converting leads into buyers is higher. However, conversions will only occur if your website has useful content, attractive aesthetics and is easily navigable. You need to work on your landing pages too. Many professionals optimize their landing pages in response to PPC and enjoy excellent outcomes. This approach is highly beneficial as it lets you optimize your landing page for a particular keyword.

Along with optimization, attention to the following points can result in better conversions:

• Better user experience (UX)
• Quick load time
• Mobile and desktop optimization
• Ideal graphics and design
• Enough information at a glance
• Customer support service

5. PPC Ads Aid in Developing an Organic Strategy

Another smart approach is to use PPC ads to find out which titles are working best. Once identified, they can be used to boost organic search by integration in:

• Meta titles
• Meta descriptions
• Tags

If the titles and tags are tested organically, it will take a lot of time. Thus, the immediacy of PPC results helps in crafting organic goals. This is the reason why SEO and PPC are often related. This strategy makes it undeniable that what works best for SEO will also work for PPC.

6. Bringing Customers Back With Re-Marketing

We cannot deny that SEO can deliver high traffic to our website. However, almost 80 percent of the customers go back after their first visit. Here, we can amalgamate PPC with SEO to market intelligently. We can start a re-marketing campaign with the help of PPC.

These paid ads help customers to get back and make a purchase in their second round. All our efforts of SEO might go in vain if we let the customers leave and do not use PPC. This double-down method of re-engaging the customers by enticing them with the products is an excellent approach.

7. Combating Negative Reviews

Brands get bad reviews as well as good ones. How negative online reviews are handled by the brand in question is crucial to customer retention. If your brand receives negative reviews or press of any kind, combining SEO with PPC can be a life-saver. This combined strategy can be used to keep track of the information and take steps accordingly.

Example:

An excellent example of this strategy was observed after the Gulf Oil Spill. BP took an inventive step after this event which was to make use of PPC ads to connect with the keyword “oil spill.” The ad was meant to share the cleanup story by taking the audience to a particular page. In this way, BP changed the negative narrative to a positive one for their business; they controlled the content that people would view most when they searched oil spill.

Other brands can use this technique to tell clients about their side of the story. Gaining back the trust of the customers became possible with this combined approach of SEO and PPC.

8. Social Media Campaigns

We all know that the landscape of social media is changing dramatically. The bombardment of advertising tactics has armed the marketers with multiple tools. PPC ads are one of them. Channels like LinkedIn, Facebook, and YouTube now provide an opportunity for targeted advertisements. These ads are meant to target a specific group.

The groups can provide useful information for SEO. Thus, this combination of PPC, along with SEO changes, can result in a significant boom in conversions.

Example:

A motorcycle company efficiently targeted its ideal market in its ideal location with PPC ads. It made a target group in which 25-year-old men were selected who were residing in Kansas. Besides this, these men are also interested in motorbikes. With the help of Facebook’s profile, the brand was successful in targeting this precise group. Moreover, these Facebook profiles showed insights of the customers and the SEO strategy was also changed accordingly. This has resulted in bringing huge conversions to the site and increasing return on investment (ROI) in six months.

9. Testing and Future Strategies

One of the most significant drawbacks of SEO is its delayed action. Though we get the fruit from the seeds, it takes a lot of time. However, the case is entirely different in PPC. Due to its instant action feature, it gives visibility in no time. Thus, PPC is ideal for testing new strategies to see whether to work in the long-term or not.

Example:

A software house in Pakistan tested a website with two sequences of products:

• Products in order of increasing prices
• Products in order of relevance and customer demand

The company then used PPC ads to drive traffic to the site. After some days, analytics showed that the products displayed for increasing prices got more traffic and so the company learnt how to set the products to get higher traffic. This could never be achieved with an organic approach alone.

10. Improving Quality Score of PPC

PPC and SEO is like catching two birds with a single stone. Usually, SEO experts optimize a website for organic results. However, by coordinating with the PPC team, they can also optimize for the quality score of Ad.

If the quality score of ads is improved, it helps in lowering the budget. This budget can then be used in various ways, like promoting the content, starting new campaigns, displaying ads, and so on.

Conclusion
SEO and PPC are both excellent strategies that have specific shortcomings. When used in combination, the perils of both strategies are significantly reduced. In fact, PPC and SEO complement each other and bring out the best in one another. A combined approach is more reliable and results in higher conversions.