Both PPC and SEO are inbound search marketing methods, and as such, they are intertwined. Despite this, as the Head of SEO in London, I’ve seen many marketing teams plan and manage their PPC and SEO independently, which can result in big inefficiencies in my experience. A comprehensive approach to search marketing has a number of benefits for site performance, which I’ve listed below…
What’s the main difference between SEO and PPC?
I’m sure many of you should be familiar with SEO and PPC – but a quick refresher is always valuable.
SEO stands for ‘Search Engine Optimisation’ and refers to the techniques which can be used to affect a website or webpage’s visibility and ranking on unpaid search engine results. This can include On-Page SEO (Keyword research, targeted content creation and using good meta tag SEO), Technical SEO (Site speed, Indexing, Mobile-friendliness, Crawlability, Security, Site architecture and Structured data) and Off-Site SEO (strategies to improve your site’s reputation and authority, particularly high-quality backlinks).
PPC stands for “Pay Per Click,” and it is a search engine feature in which advertisers pay a fee each time one of their ads is clicked, but they are compensated on the quality of their pages’ relevance and targeting. Search advertising, display advertising, social media advertising, remarketing, sequential remarketing, and Google Shopping are all examples of PPC.
The main difference between these two inbound marketing channels is that SEO delivers organic traffic, while PPC is a paid-for strategy. Advertisers pay for every person who clicks on your PPC ad, whereas clicks generated from SEO are free, driving organic traffic to your site. Unlike SEO, PPC delivers fast results. As soon as your ads are live; potential prospects are seeing your business when searching for keywords you are bidding on.
In B2B, they are both hugely important, with combined search averaging 76% of traffic.
Why SEO and PPC work well together
We assist a number of clients with either their SEO or PPC efforts, and some clients receive assistance with both. In my experience and based on the results we’ve seen, I feel the two require a collaborative approach to ensure that all aspects are operating at peak efficiency.
An integrated search strategy that looks at both SEO and PPC will improve results in each channel, increase website traffic, click through rates and conversions.
This is not appropriate for every firm, but for high-growth, aggressive marketing, you should establish a holistic search engine strategy rather than focusing solely on SEO or PPC.
8 Benefits of a Combined Strategy
1. Holistic view of marketing activity and shared insights
Shared insights should work to increase confidence and awareness by having both strong organic and paid visibility. By utilising cross channel reporting, marketers will be able to gather a more comprehensive overview of their digital advertising performance than ever before. Looking at how users react to both your organic listings and PPC ads will not only provide insights around customer behaviours, engagement, and conversion, but also help you to understand which channels and tactics they should focus on.
Marketers can repurpose copy from successful paid search advertisements in meta titles or pause keywords that rank in the top places organically using this knowledge (while investing that budget in more competitive keywords).
2. Increased online visibility
Combining SEO and PPC provides better exposure online and boosts search visibility. This will not only increase website traffic, but also help establish a solid brand presence in the market.
Marketers may double up on their site’s search engine results page (SERP) visibility if sponsored advertising appear for queries that return local listings, and SEO teams can build on this by helping to rank content in the organic text results.
3. Landing page improvements = Cheaper cost per clicks
The landing page experience will be improved if marketers leverage PPC and SEO analytics to optimise landing pages. A good landing page user experience raises a site’s Google ranking by increasing quality scores, resulting in lower cost per clicks.
4. Client stickiness
Managing multiple channels under one roof makes it more likely the client will stay with a brand, as PPC and SEO teams will have the necessary lines of communication to optimise most effectively and will not be competing or trying to shift blame. As mentioned, shared reporting can also make the job of showing the client value easier and more streamlined.
5. Cost per lead savings
The total volume of traffic can be increased by targeting clicks in paid and organic for high-performing keywords. High-cost keywords, high-volume or low-converting (yet still important) keywords can be moved from PPC to organic search (and thus, for free).
6. Increased confidence in brand
Having a high Google ranking is key for instilling confidence in your brand, and a streamlined SEO and PPC approach will help you to climb the rank if executed properly. People buy from websites they trust. If they see your paid search ads at the top of the page and your organic listing below, they know you are credible player. If users cannot find companies online easily, they will become wary, and buyers are more likely to trust brands they see on the first page of Google.
Investing in SEO and PPC is investing in your brand presence.
7. Better targeting and testing
Using PPC Agency London, you will be able to target users at all stages of the customer journey- from research to comparison to purchase, with commercial keywords.
You can also test your keyword strategy in PPC before committing to long-term SEO services and can carry out A/B testing of ad copy and landing pages to determine the most successful ads. This can be fed into your organic listing and landing pages.
8. Re-marketing
Remarketing allows you to stay in front of visitors after an initial touch via organic search and customize messaging around their engagement with your site.Get In touch with our SEO Agency London today!
