Within that discussion, you’ll often see people claim that one is better than the other, but they’re both missing the point There are always articles discussing the difference between PPC and SEO and which one is better. However, people usually miss the point when they claim one is better than the other.
Paid search advertising generated approximately $35 billion dollars in 2016. And those sky-high numbers only continue to climb.
But searches that come from clicking on links on other websites account for more than 51% of all traffic to search engines.
So here lies the marketer’s dilemma.
Where should you put your time and money when it comes to traffic sources?
Is one better than the other?
When done correctly, they can actually improve the results seen on both.
There’s no reason to choose one or the other. investing in both channels can be beneficial
Here are 2 PPC tips to improve your SEO.
Why you should be running PPC campaigns
PPC advertising can help boost sales of your products and services.
Here’s one of the major benefits that PPC offers:
Ads that are paid for show up first on search engine results pages.
AdWords Search Network ads will be displayed before any of the organic listings have a chance to appear.
This text is saying that there will be four ads on a desktop computer, and three ads on a mobile device, that will push the majority of the organic results below the fold.
Sure, there are a few local ads. But otherwise, there’s not an organic listing in sight!
PPC ads also let you pick what message is displayed, as well as what website it links to.
This type of ad allows you to include specific information that would appeal to a wide range of searchers, such as callouts, CTAs, and targeted messaging.
Organic search is a shot-in-the-dark in comparison.
You’re targeting specific keywords. You can’t really control what you’ll rank for.
Then there’s speed.
You can launch a new PPC campaign within hours. Traffic immediately starts coming your way afterward.
Why you should also be running SEO campaigns
Organic search makes up 64% of all website traffic.
Paid search makes up six percent on average.
Organic search is more effective than other methods for driving traffic and clicks.
That’s not the only big difference, though.
AdWords ads usually receive a 2% average click-through rate. Only 2% of the people searching for something will click on your ad.
Now compare that to the organic listings.
PPC ads might show up first on a page. But organic search claims the majority of clicks.
If you place in the top three organic positions on a search engine, you will get a lot more people clicking on your link.
That’s why SEO can drive countless visitors.
Obviously, all of these clicks are free, too.
Organic search traffic doesn’t cost you anything directly.
All of this sounds awesome so far, right?
Unfortunately, nothing great comes without a few disadvantages.
It can be difficult to get visibility and ranking on the first page of Google for a large keyword.
If you want to improve your SEO efforts, you should use PPC.
PPC can be used to make up for the things that SEO is lacking.
Here are two of my favorite techniques to make the two go together like peanut butter and jelly.
Start by reclaiming your paid traffic.
We’re about to start spending some money on PPC.
Before you can do that, you’ll need to check that it’s set up correctly.
The traffic from your pay-per-click ads can be taken away by other channels.
You’ll be throwing down money.
But Google Analytics won’t be recording it properly. So you’ll have no idea how it’s working.
Without being able to filter out your direct traffic, you will not be able to accurately see your paid or organic numbers.
The people who type your URL into their address bar directly are the only ones who should represent your direct traffic. That’s not always the case, though. You might be wasting money on ads that aren’t being seen by people.
Thankfully, you can fix this problem once and for all by using Universal Tracking Module codes.
The Google URL Builder can be used to quickly and easily customize tags for a URL. Simply drop your URL into the Builder and the tags will be applied.
UTM tracking is often neglected because it can be time-consuming. It also sounds like overkill.
The reality is that it benefits you by providing you with exact figures for paid and organic traffic, so you can make informed decisions.
The changes will result in your site traffic in Analytics being funneled into paid and organic categories instead of direct.
You’ll be able to use these PPC hacks to improve your SEO.
Match organic results with PPC ads
One of the ways I like to integrate PPC and SEO is to have the same content in the organic results as the PPC ad.
Here’s how it works.
A searcher’s intent is everything.
No matter how good your advertisement is, people who are not ready to buy will never click on your PPC ads.
If they’re not ready to buy, they’re not ready. You can’t do much to change their minds.
Here’s what you should do instead.
If you wanted to appear in the search results for the term “best laptops 2017”, you would need to optimize your website for that specific keyword.
However, you will notice that it is incredibly difficult to rank for the chosen keyword.
The search volume is insanely high, though.
I believe the intention of this search query is to find out how many calories are in a banana.
The people in the store are either looking to buy a laptop or compare different laptops to find the one they want.
That’s right. They’re looking to compare. They want to see how different laptops compare to each other.
If someone is looking to buy a laptop, it is more likely that they will search for the brand name of the laptop rather than just the word “laptop.”
When someone looks up a variation of “best ___,” they are looking for articles that compare the products in question.
They don’t care about your brand yet. They don’t even know who you are. If they did, they would have typed that instead.
There is a simple way to make sure that your PPC and SEO campaigns are working together effectively.
Match the searcher’s intent.
I am not looking to buy a laptop right now.
The results would all be comparisons and reviews! You’ll be getting a lot of lists of laptops with different specifications to help someone consider their options.
The Google algorithm has determined that the best way to answer this query is through comparison posts.
Why would you want to waste money on a PPC ad that just talks about your product, when you could use that PPC ad to boost your SEO?
Instead of trying to make your ad match the exact keywords that were used in the search, try to make your ad match the intention of the search.
If you are looking to spend some money, here are some tips to help you out.
18 PPC Marketing Tips Every Startup Should Know
If you’re starting a business and looking to get into PPC, this guide is for you. Here’s what you need to know to get started. Just remember to look before you leap. Here are 18 tips that will help you find success from your PPC campaigns quickly and easily.
Learn PPC before you start a campaign
But, chances are, you’ll be back to where you started in no time. Chances are, if you just throw money at something, you’ll be back to where you started in no time. Before you begin a PPC campaign, it is much better to do some research. You would be better off throwing your money in the trash can and setting it on fire.
PPC can be a waste of money if it is not done correctly. Although the auction/bid system is generally effective, you will lose opportunities if you do not know how to place winning bids strategically. You will either spend too much money too quickly and ruin your budget or you will not spend enough and your ad will never be seen.
Establish goals for ad campaigns
Most startups have ambitious goals, such as becoming a unicorn. PPC goals should be realistic in order to be effective. That means you want each and every goal you set to be SMART:
- Specific: Go in-depth on the results you want to achieve. More traffic? What percent? More revenue? How much?
- Measurable: Do you have KPIs set and tools in place to track them? Make sure you do before you get started.
- Achievable: Is the goal realistic in the time frame, or are you setting yourself up for failure?
- Relevant: Is the goal meaningful to your business? How does it impact the performance of your startup?
- Time-bound: Particularly important for paid ad campaigns. How long are you giving yourself to achieve this goal? Do you have the budget to sustain it?
Make sure every goal you set meets these criteria.
Determine your niche
Have you built an in-depth buyer persona? If not, now is the time. In order to understand how your brand can help solve for a customer’s pain points, you must first thoroughly investigate and outline those pain points. If you focus on a smaller, more specific audience, you will be more likely to reach the people who are interested in what you have to say.
When determining your niche, consider the AIDAS theory of selling:
- Attention
- Interest
- Desire
- Action
- Satisfaction
Make sure to go through each step while thinking about your buyer persona. What will get their attention and hold their interest? What do they most desire? What action do you need them to take? What does your brand do that will make your customers happy?
This will help you to identify your target market and speak directly to the consumers who are interested in your product.
Conduct competitor analysis
When it comes to PPC, you need to get really detailed in your research, not just for your main competitors, but in general. It would be beneficial to know which keywords your competition is ranking for and how they are handling their paid advertisement campaigns. Fortunately, there are many tools that will help you do this:
- Auction Insights: If you’ve already launched a PPC campaign via Google Ads, you can navigate to Auction Insights and see exactly which of your keywords they’re competing for.
- Semrush: This SEO tool allows you to input your competitors’ URLs and see exactly what they’re spending per keyword and who their biggest competitors are (it might be you!).
- SpyFu: The free version of this tool will allow you to see which keywords your competitors are bidding on and even see the ad copy and creative they’re using.
Segment your audience
Audience segmentation will help you get more useful data from your PPC campaign so you can see what works best for specific groups within your larger target audience. Focusing your keywords will help you target those that are most specific and relevant to each segment.
Most PPC platforms allow for thorough targeting, and having your segments already broken down will help you as you get started. You may want to create separate groups or categories based on geographic location, industries, age, and other demographic information.
Separate networks by campaign
If you’re running a Google Ads campaign, Google will usually recommend that you use the same ad on both the Display Network and the Search Network. This will give you a lot of exposure and potentially a lot of traffic. If you have a high CPC, clicking on your ads will quickly use up your budget.
This means that you will be bidding on an ad that does not have a large enough audience to appeal to, and you will ultimately end up wasting your money. Instead of blindly creating ads, do some research into what audiences want from ads on each social media platform. Create specific campaigns for each platform that are tailored to the users on that platform.
Choose your paid advertising channels based on your user needs
In order to most effectively target your buyer persona, you will need to comprehend their needs and how that impacts the messaging and platform you utilize to reach them. The first step is to align them with the buyer’s journey.
The needs of buyers vary depending on where they are in the journey, and buyers in different stages may be in different locations.
A very broadly targeted awareness ad on Facebook will not get much attention from users who have already expressed a specific interest in your brand. However, a relevant retargeting display ad might.
Continuously monitor your ads
You should find a balance between monitoring your ad performance too much and not enough. Although it may be tempting to constantly monitor your PPC campaign, especially when you first start using it, resist the urge to do so. You will not be able to identify trends if you are too close to the situation. If you launch a PPC campaign and then make no effort to monitor or adjust it, you will not be able to make changes to improve it if something is not working.
PPC marketers who have more experience typically only need to monitor their progress on a monthly basis. If you’re just starting out or don’t have much time, you should check in once a week. You should check your position and make changes to your bids and ad copy regularly.
Go beyond Google ads to social media
There is no doubt that Google is a great starting point for your PPC journey. The ROI is high, and the conversions are strong. It also reaches a massive audience. But when you’re considering expanding your PPC efforts, here’s the key factor to keep in mind:
You need to go where your audience is spending their time.
