SEO and PPC: The Perfect Combo in Digital Marketing

Nowadays, agility is critical and customers become more tech-savvy. Companies wonder how to adapt their offerings better to suit their customers' needs better. While advertising is an integral part of many companies, there is a constant effort geared towards generating increasing website traffic. Leads from SEO or PPC are the most sustainable short and long term in generating new business development while customers step away from engaging with outbound channels and adopt more inbound oriented buyer behaviors. 

Let’s check out what SEO and PPC mean for your business, the pros and cons of each, and how to benefit from a joint strike force between the two. 

SEO vs PPC: What do they mean and when should you use each

SEO

In case you missed it, SEO stands for Search Engine Optimization. SEO is used by companies to improve their website rankings, especially when searching targeted keywords. In one of our previous blog posts, we have written about the latest SEO trends and some tactics to improve your rankings. So make sure to have a look. 

PPC

PPC or Pay Per Click advertising refers to the advertising you see at the top and the sides of Google, YouTube, Bing, and Yahoo. It’s called pay-per-click as companies only pay for those ads if they are clicked on. When considering this tactic, make sure you have some keywords lined up, as the cost to bid on each one may vary.

Choosing between the two depends on what your business wants to achieve. Even though both of these tactics have the same goal to generate traffic, each requires different techniques to implement.

Statistics show that 80% of the website traffic that comes to a business derives from search engines. The biggest one, Google, accumulates 3.5 billion searches per day, so most SEO campaigns target this search engine. SEO proves to be beneficial for many businesses as it brings consistent results, as it takes a long time to set up, optimize and improve. When you want to establish your brand as an authority on a specific domain, SEO fits right in. The best way to do that is by generating and directing enough traffic to your website that it builds up the reputation, which, in turn, will dominate its market or domain.

Furthermore, SEO is best used when you want to increase the value of your website. Here, there are other things to consider, such as the amount of traffic generated, consistency, search rankings over a specific period, and link popularity. Contrary to its PPC counterpart, SEO requires a lot of work, effort, and perseverance to be successful.

Let’s take a look at when it’s best to use PPC. First and foremost, PPC should be used for immediate results and business bottom line increase in terms of sales and business development. With the right approach to remarketing via paid media and channels PPC can be your best tool to push ABM conversions as well. If you have a powerful bidding strategy, you will see your first website visitors within minutes of deploying the PPC campaign. Additionally, many PPC platforms, such as Google Ads, give you and your business the possibility to narrow down your audiences even further, unlike more general SEO. As previously mentioned, PPC gives results much faster than SEO which is great if you’re considering promoting a time-sensitive product or service. Furthermore, PPC allows you to display your results above the search results, which means you can dominate the keyword category since the top 3 sponsored links absorb as much as 50% of the search traffic.

SEO vs PPC Pros & Cons

SEO

When deciding which one to use for your strategy, you need to know the pros and cons of each one, so we have compiled a shortlist of both.

SEO Pros

• Improved Traffic: you can get a great ranking if you do it properly, which means you can attract more visitors to your website.
• Internet Presence: as stated above, a good SEO strategy can make your website more visible. Having more visibility can help you establish your company authority on a given subject, domain, product, or service.
• Money-Saving: traditional marketing methods are often pricey, which is why having great content and optimization for your website can help you save money.
• More Control: doing your SEO helps you stay in control of your audience, content, and internet presence. You are solely responsible for the performance of your website and business since you have no one to account for.

SEO Cons

• Results take time: given the fact that SEO takes time, you might feel frustrated if you’re not getting the desired results right away. Be patient, as it takes a long time to see the results.
• Lost Rankings: with all the algorithm changes, regulations, and laws surrounding SEO, you can often find yourself using obsolete techniques and KPIs
• No Guarantees: despite being a great tool to increase the visibility of your website, there are no guarantees that using SEO techniques will deliver. There are many more competitors out there, and sometimes, it’s just a matter of luck.

PPC

PPC Pros

• Visibility: a well-implemented PPC campaign works instantly. Users can see your ad in a second, and you will see traffic from those paid ads pouring into your website.
• Budget Control: your budget is an essential part of your marketing efforts, and keeping control over your spending is excellent. The best part here is that you can start small, and scale up once you deem it necessary.
• Targeting: numerous platforms offer PPC, and almost, if not all, offer significant targeting criteria. This will help you attract the right customers, with higher chances of conversion.

PPC Cons

• No Longevity: while a PPC campaign offers you immediate visibility, it often comes with a cost. Since costs can go up, a long-term PPC campaign is a no-go.
• Bidding Wars: many companies are fighting for a top spot in paid advertising, so making it on the first page as a top result can be challenging.
• Creatives: with most search engines, it’s all about keywords. No matter how beautiful a visual is, a keyword is the main factor that determines whether your ad is clicked on or not.

Combine SEO & PPC for best results

There are several ways by which you can leverage the power of both SEO and PPC. First, an integrated strategy that combines the two can minimize the downsides of each. Thus you can increase your visibility, drive traffic, and provide a good user experience.

The first advantage of using both of these tactics is that you have increased search engine presence. Improving your SEO can give you higher chances of ranking on the first page or have the top stop for keywords you are using. Using PPC ads for those keywords with enough bidding will allow you to appear near the top of the page. By combining the two, you ensure that your brand dominates the search results, which, in turn, gives you a higher chance of getting those clicks.

You might wonder what difference it makes whether or not you purchase a PPC ad for the exact keywords ranked no1. Well, according to Google research, if you pause a search ad for a keyword, 89% of the traffic generated by that ad cannot be replaced by organic rankings. Using PPC, you help your brand recover clicks otherwise lost organically. In addition to this, being more tech-savvy, customers take much more time to convert than usual, which is why a remarketing campaign could turn things around. This means that by combining SEO and PPC, your brand can reach customers and encourage them to come back to complete a purchase or convert into a lead. Of course, this is impossible without having a solid remarketing strategy in place.

In the previous paragraphs, we have highlighted the time needed for both SEO and PPC to bring in results. No matter how good your SEO is, you can always test out a specific keyword with PPC. Once you purchase a PPC ad for a particular keyword, you can monitor it and see whether that keyword gains traction. Once you see the reports, you can either optimize your SEO efforts or test a new one. Performance reports of keywords are vital when it comes to decision-making. Imagine having detailed information from both SEO and PPC. Performance indicators such as CTR, bounce and exit rates, time on site, and conversion rate are vital criteria that can help you adapt and change your overall marketing strategy.

Conclusion

Combining and sharing data between different company departments can go a long way in improving your page rankings and website traffic. There’s no question that each of these two tactics, SEO and PPC, offer many benefits. However, companies must understand that one completes the other, and having insights from both can help them optimize their digital marketing strategy and efforts. NNC Services provides both SEO and PPC marketing consulting services. Make sure to drop by our blog for more exciting topics. For inquiries on PPC or SEO, make sure to give us a call!