PPC and SEO are ultimately about the same thing, search and getting clicks. These two inbound marketing tactics make it easier for your customers to find you online.
It used to be that PPC and SEO were siloed – you either focused on organic SEO or you put all your efforts into PPC campaigns. However, the internet is changing and so is Google, meaning that it’s time for SEO and search strategies to change as well.
When used together, SEO and PPC makes it easier for people to find you and encourages them to click your URL in the Google search results page.
What is SEO?
SEO stands for Search Engine Optimization. SEO is the specialized approach that makes it possible for your website to stand out from the crowd.
The right SEO components and strategy help companies rank higher in SERP. SEO goes beyond keywords to include page formatting, website layout, content structure, links, image tags, and more.
Learn more about SEO from Know Agency:
- What is SEO?
- Why Investing in Professional SEO is Critical
- 6 Ways to Refresh Your Content for Better SEO
What is PPC?
PPC stands for Pay-Per-Click advertising. PPC is an online advertising strategy in which advertisers pay whenever someone clicks on their ad.
The most common type of PPC is the paid search ad. These are the ads you see at the top of Google search engine results pages (SERPs). PPC is used to promote or sell products and services and to drive traffic to a website by giving people answers to their questions.
Both PPC and SEO use keywords to rank higher in SERPs and to capture attention.
5 Benefits of Using PPC and SEO Together
These 5 benefits of using PPC and SEO together underscore why an all-or-nothing approach to just SEO or PPC won’t get you the best possible search results.
- Share Keyword Data
Keywords are the words, sentences, and questions people type or ask of Google. These phrases are often referred to as search queries.
At their most basic, keywords are how people find products, services, information, and answers to their questions. For SEO and PPC, this means it’s important to know and understand what keywords people are using most to find your website.
PPC advertising campaigns use keyword data to inform ad structure, wording, focus, and messaging. SEO uses keyword data to guide website and social media content, so you can create content that gives people what they’re looking for.
By sharing keyword data across PPC and SEO, both strategies become more effective allowing you to reach people across a much wider search curve. For example, when you build SEO strategies around long-tail keywords, you’re able to maximize data which doesn’t work as well for PPC. And in tandem, the PPC strategy uses keywords that don’t convert as well in organic search.
Additionally, sharing keyword data in PPC and SEO campaigns gives you more data to analyze, offering more insights into what resonates with people and gets them clicking. - Enhance Visibility
Ranking in position number one in Google SERPs is not easy. However, the top three spot in Google SERPs are typically given to PPC search ads.
When used strategically, PPC and SEO can ensure a top rank position for the PPC search ad and the organic SEO result directly below the ads. When people see both an ad and an organic search result that includes the same messaging, branding, URL, and company name, they are much more likely to click one of these options.
People like familiarity and when they see a URL or company name appearing multiple times at the top of the SERPs they feel confident that this is a trust-worthy and useful search result. - Short- and Long-Term Marketing
It takes time to see results with an organic SEO strategy. However, a PPC strategy can start converting and generating results almost immediately (assuming the keywords are correct).
While your organic SEO strategy is working to build awareness with people and the Google Quality Raters, your PPC strategy gives your brand and message immediate visibility and SERP ranking.
As BrightEdge highlights, there are 3.5 billion searches a day and ranking high in the SERP has tremendous power to drive traffic to your website. As part of their research, BrightEdge tracks what people are clicking, revealing that while 50.1% of clicks are from SEO traffic, 48% of all queries display paid advertisements at the top of the organic search results.
These numbers tell us that “brands that neglect to integrate organic and paid search strategies will lose out on tremendous potential for attracting the attention of prospects.” - Higher Google Quality Score
Google uses Quality Score to rank and rate the relevance of your PPC ad copy, keywords, and landing page. A high Google Quality Score does a couple of key things – it helps lower your ad cost and helps your PPC ad rank in the top spot.
When PPC and SEO strategies are combined, you can improve your Google Quality Score:- Greater keyword data insight. Makes it easier to create relevant PPC ads.
- Maximize keyword effectiveness. This shows Google that your website has E-A-T.
- Test PPC ad copy with organic SEO. Learn what works before paying for PPC search ads.
- Improve landing page copy. Give people useful landing page content that increases the time they spend on your page and website.
Contact us to learn more about Google Quality Score and how we can increase your score.
- Better Content
Both Google and your customers are extremely savvy. They cannot be tricked into clicking or spending time on websites with poor content. PPC and SEO together gives you exactly what you need to create better content – data.
The data from PPC search ads tells you what works – the meta descriptions, keywords, landing page content, page title, and more. Use this information to guide your organic SEO strategy and inform the content and structure of your website copy.
Putting PPC and SEO Together with Know Agency
Putting PPC and SEO together to improve your visibility, search results, Google ranking, and branding is not simple.
The Know Agency team specializes in SEO, search, inbound marketing, PPC, and content.
Contact me or Kevin to talk about PPC, SEO, and how we can help improve your search engine ranking.
About the author
Jane Phelps is the CEO/Partner at Know Agency. Jane leads client SEO strategy and handles all aspects of in-house SEO demands. This includes providing SEO training, competitive analysis, keyword research, algorithm analysis, and the review of all new content to ensure SEO best-practices are followed. Jane holds a Master’s Certificate in Online Marketing from the University of San Francisco, is BrightEdge Certified and is the head of the BrightEdge User Group in Atlanta, GA.
