The conflict between SEO and PPC arises frequently due to the tendency to rely on distinct sources of information for each channel, leading to communication silos between teams. The primary areas of conflict typically include reporting, landing pages, and budget.
Similarity Between SEO and PPC
SEO and PPC exhibit evident similarities. Both strategies are geared towards attracting prospective customers to a website. Additionally, they both revolve around keywords, with advertisers conducting research to identify lucrative phrases in PPC, while SEO marketers analyze relevant terms for optimization purposes.
Benefits of Keyword Research for SEO and PPC
In any search engine marketing strategy, be it PPC or SEO, keyword research plays an important role. In PPC, advertisers bid on keywords to target their audience, while in SEO, keyword research is used to optimize a website for higher rankings in organic search results.
By digging into relevant terms that online users are searching for, marketers gain insights into topics that resonate with the audience. This understanding enables the creation of more effective campaigns that yield superior results.
Using Cross-Strategy Data
Data obtained from one strategy can be effectively applied to the other, optimizing return on investment across both channels.
For instance, if certain keywords prove highly successful in PPC campaigns, integrating these terms into organic content efforts can lead to similar rewards.
Likewise, data collected from organic searches, such as average session duration or bounce rate, can inform the structure of future PPC campaigns, enhancing their overall success.
Difference Between SEO and PPC
SEO and PPC share the common goal of driving website traffic, but their differences become apparent in several aspects.
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Visibility
SEO generates organic search results positioned below-paid ads on the search engine result page, while PPC advertisements typically occupy the top positions. Organic rankings in SEO need to earn visibility through the successful implementation of techniques like content creation and link building, whereas PPC advertisers pay for each site visit generated through their ads.
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Return on Investment
PPC keywords often yield an immediate return on investment, generating awareness or conversions upon ad clicks. However, this effect may be short-lived after the campaign concludes. In contrast, SEO strategies may take longer to gain momentum but can yield more sustainable results. Once a company’s search optimization strategy produces results, the changes tend to endure longer than the short-term gains of PPC campaigns.
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Cost
Both methods require an initial investment before generating returns. SEO involves investing in quality content creation and technical optimization services. PPC, on the other hand, includes ongoing costs for each click on the ad, along with additional fees from platforms like Google Ads or Bing Ads for hosting campaigns.
Choosing between them depends on your business goals. However, it’s also possible to integrate SEO and PPC for a more comprehensive approach.
How PPC and SEO Work
Search engine optimization (SEO) involves the process of optimizing a website to achieve higher rankings in search engine results pages (SERPs). This optimization includes techniques like keyword research and content optimization, aiming to improve a website’s visibility. SEO targets specific words and phrases that potential customers are likely to enter into search engines when seeking goods or services related to your business.
Pay-Per-Click advertising (PPC) is an online marketing technique where businesses display ads on search engines and pay for each click on these advertisements.
While SEO takes time to show results, PPC campaigns can quickly generate traffic shortly after their launch. The cost per click in PPC is influenced by the competitiveness of the target keyword.
In contrast to SEO, which emphasizes organic rankings through long-term strategies like link building and content creation, PPC relies more on paid advertisements with short-term objectives, such as increasing conversions or sales.
Advantages of Combining SEO and PPC Strategies
The synergy of SEO and PPC forms a powerful combination for organizations aiming to improve visibility and elevate brand recognition. By integrating PPC advertising alongside SEO strategies, businesses can achieve optimal results while maintaining cost-effectiveness.
Here are three compelling reasons why PPC advertisers should contemplate integrating a cohesive SEO plan into their marketing strategy.
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Enhance Visibility
Both SEO and PPC contribute to increasing the likelihood of potential customers discovering your website. Through the strategic fusion of these tactics, your website can appear in a broader range of locations beyond organic search results or paid ads alone. This heightened exposure establishes connections with more individuals who are likely interested in what your business offers.
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Establish Brand Awareness
The problem of SEO and PPC endeavours is instrumental in cultivating brand recognition. As individuals encounter your company’s name in organic search results or sponsored ads on social media, they gradually develop familiarity. This brand recall can significantly elevate conversion rates, as visitors are more likely to engage with your business when they already possess prior knowledge.
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Minimize Costs
One of the primary benefits of merging SEO and PPC is the potential for cost reduction. Given that both strategies entail distinct levels of investment, distributing your budget across multiple campaigns instead of concentrating it in one area becomes feasible. This distribution enables small businesses to tap into broader audiences, expanding their reach without overburdening their financial resources.
Here are how to make SEO and PPC work together for your business.
Foster Collaboration on First-Party Data Readiness
Every digital marketing campaign must consider the utilization of first-party data. Determining the compliance status of your brand needs input from both your SEO and PPC teams. If your reliance on remarketing campaigns is significant, particularly in costly industries or those with complex customer journeys, you may increasingly depend on native audiences.
While some of these audiences can be potent, the majority may not perform as well as audiences based on brand-tracked activity. Using analytics audience segments can be an effective strategy to mitigate the variability in quality.
It’s important to ensure that these audience segments have consent and are compatible with the new global site tag, which should be updated to GA4. When configuring cookie consent, adherence to cumulative layout shift (CLS) rules is essential. Generally, modules placed at the bottom of the page tend to fare better as they don’t disrupt the user’s purchasing journey and carry less CLS risk.
Protect the first-party data collected, either by hashing and syncing through tools or by promptly deleting it once uploaded into ad accounts. Collaborate with your SEO team on content campaigns to integrate engaging hooks that foster consensual conversations.
Analytics
A significant drawback in the current implementation of GA4 and conversion modelling is needed for advertisers to make a choice between relying on analytics as their primary source of truth or leveraging the capabilities of improved conversions.
To use improved conversions, native Google conversion tracking is required. Although enhanced conversion tracking provides a more accurate insight into the performance of paid campaigns, the numbers will consistently deviate from those reported by the SEO team.
For the sake of trust and data consistency, it might be reasonable to accept the discrepancy in PPC-reported numbers as long as the overall metrics indicate a positive return on ad spend (ROAS). Opting for enhanced conversions entails acknowledging and accepting the divergence in reports, and all involved parties need to be comfortable with this reality.
Recognize and Adjust According to Domain Structure Choices
There are three approaches to configuring brand URLs:
- Using one domain for all content, including international.
- Using subdomains for various initiatives.
- Implementing vanity domains and country-specific domains.
Regardless of the chosen path, pages dedicated to PPC should be set as noindex/nofollow while ensuring accessibility for the adbot to contribute to the quality score.
It’s uncommon for non-ecommerce brands to benefit from consolidating everything in the same domain. This is because certain strategic elements crucial for SEO may conflict with PPC requirements:
- SEO discourages duplicate content, while PPC benefits from testing templates.
- SEO thrives with a robust navigation bar, while PPC performs better with limited choices for user action.
- Redirecting a page, which SEO might need, could lead to disapproval of the ad, and repeated instances (three strikes in a 90-day period) may result in the suspension of the ad account.
These challenges can be effectively addressed by utilizing subdomains, allowing benefits for the main domain without imposing creative or technical compromises on the SEO and PPC teams.
Moreover, using a subdomain enables the maintenance of the same analytics property and branding continuity.
If compelled to use the same landing page for both PPC and organic traffic, ensure that any redirects are communicated at least three to five days in advance. This provides the PPC team with sufficient time to adjust creatives, preventing the waste of resources on directing traffic to a malfunctioning page until the ad is disapproved by Google.
Effective communication of inventory status is vital for both PPC and SEO. Continuous product unavailability can lead to search engine penalties. Therefore, it’s essential to inform all campaigns about inventory issues, enabling the exclusion of products from paid campaigns and the application of the out-of-stock schema to the organic page.
Infuse Transactional Intent and CRO Across All Pages
SEO is often unfairly characterized as the “research” channel, with PPC exclusively held responsible for transactions. While there may be valid reasons for this perspective on traffic, there are valuable lessons in building trust and facilitating transactions that both channels can glean from each other.
For instance, although PPC pages typically feature less content, there still needs to be accessible information to comprehend the product or service. This content, whether in written or video format, should be positioned below the fold to maintain a clear path to conversion.
Similarly, while SEO demands rich and authoritative content for optimal ranking, if the path to conversion is obscured or nonexistent, the generated traffic becomes inconsequential.
How To Create PPC Text Ads That Are Trustworthy and Clickworthy
Use Search Query Reports to Guide Campaigns
One of the most effective methods to foster collaboration between PPC and SEO is by sharing data on search queries.
The search terms report, for which you are already investing, provides valuable data. Sharing this information, including what is converting and what is not, can guide content teams on where to allocate resources.
However, an often overlooked opportunity is sharing search terms obtained from in-site searches and the search console. Understanding the needs and thought processes of existing customers aids in prioritizing keyword variants.
Both channels should actively exchange search term data to provide brands with insights into content viability and auction prices. Establish a routine for automatic report sharing, preferably on a quarterly basis, to ensure seamless communication across all digital channels.
Allocate Time for Regular Communication
While it might sound like a simple and commonplace suggestion, the value derived from engaging in direct communication with your counterpart is immeasurable. Whether it’s a brief 10-15 minute check-in at the start of the week or a monthly collaborative session, dedicating time to discuss innovations and challenges in each domain ensures that both sides are prepared to enhance or address potential issues.
If you’re part of an agency and your counterpart is affiliated with another agency, consider arranging joint meetings with the client or separately.
Demonstrating your commitment to the brand’s success and fostering a collaborative approach can significantly contribute to client retention and safeguard against unintentional conflicts with the excellent work being undertaken.
PPC and SEO don’t need to be at odds
Resolve friction by fostering collaboration and taking responsibility for addressing weaknesses while maximizing profitability.
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