Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is usually seen as a marathon approach, and Pay Per Click as more of a sprint. The truth is that they’re two sides of the search campaign coin. If you can align your efforts in these two fields, your business will reap immense benefits. Here are three ways to coordinate these two channels.
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Share PPC insights on successful topics
SEO is notorious for taking a long time to provide measurable results. If you decide to target a new keyword, it could be months before you know whether it’s a success or a fail.
Keep an eye on telling indicators like click-through rate. If the CTR for the new keyword is low and it’s not getting much engagement, it could indicate a failed campaign and wasted resources, even if it gets a high ranking.
Use PPC insight to counter that. Come up with several variations of ad copy and test them out. You’ll typically get useful feedback within a few days. Use these short-term insights to direct your long-term SEO strategy.
Some data you’ll get immediately include:
- Click rate impact
- Page visit duration
- Goal completion
- Bounce rate etc.
If you’d like deeper insight into engagement trends, test your ad copy over a longer period of time. See how much engagement a given keyword gets on a monthly basis. Use that information to set more realistic goals for your SEO team and increase your business performance.
Here are a few ideas for what to test with your PPC variants:
- Topics
- Headlines
- Title tags
- Landing pages
- Descriptions
- New keywords
- Specific angles for keywords
These should give you some insight into what topics are the most in-demand, which descriptions and headlines get the most interactions, and what ad copy is the best match to what your audience wants and expects from your business.
Share SEO insights on search intent
The cornerstone of SEO marketing is understanding why people search for particular keywords. It’s a good idea to get insight from someone experienced in the nuances of your location, e.g. if you run an SEO agency, and your business is based in Australia, look for “SEO experts in Sydney“. Things like geography and culture can strongly impact your ranking in local searches.
Subtle shades in search intent are critically important to your ad success. That’s especially true if you do business in a niche where keywords can signal very different motivations. For example, if the search term is “training material”, the intent could be “subject course”, “skill how-to”, “workout program”…
In these cases, the organic results should drive your adjustments. Oftentimes the search engine will show its own interpretation of the term via the type of results it displays. In our example, if most of the high-ranking links are to weightlifting guides, you’ll know that your online Biology tutoring business won’t rank well for that query.
The “People also ask” or “Searches related” fields are great for disambiguation. See what they have in common and it’ll give you a hint towards what the search engine thinks is the dominant intent behind those keywords. Share this intelligence with your PPC team to improve ad copy, avoid mismatched meanings, and improve searcher satisfaction.
Optimize landing pages for both
Rather than choosing between organic and paid traffic, make your website suited to both SEO and PPC.
The most important common asset they have are your landing pages. Ideally, you want every click on an organic link or paid ad to convert. That means that your landing pages must be optimized both for the search engines and a living audience.
Some of the tasks in optimizing landing pages are:
- Reducing loading time
- Inserting attractive images
- Including a compelling Call to Action button
- Changing the lead capture form
- Writing customer-focused copy
The goal of this dual optimization is to surround users with your brand presence. They need to get used to your message, communication style, visual identity, etc. If they repeatedly see you, they’ll remember you. If they remember you, they’re more likely to choose you over a competitor.
Have a landing page aimed at PPC conversion. Include elements like live chat, forms, or demos. If users like what they see in your ads, they’ll interact more with your long-form content. You get an increase in organic leads.
Likewise, have consistent, recognizable content on your non-ad pages. Optimize your blog, educational hub, product catalogs, etc. if you make yourself memorable among all other organic results, people are more likely to click on your ads.
In summary, SEO and PPC are powerful complements. Use the keywords from PPC conversion insights in your organic SEO efforts. Use SEO intelligence on search term intent to improve your ad copy effectiveness. Combining these two strategies can dramatically improve your engagement, brand presence, and bottom line.
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