If you’ve been active in your company’s marketing, or you are seeking new marketing opportunities, chances are that you have been educated on both PPC and organic SEO. More often than not, these two things will be presented as very separate strategies. One (SEO) is looked at as a way to gain growth over the long-term, which the other (PPC) is looked at as a way to get instant results. However, when you begin to think about these two things under the same umbrella, you’ll notice that the two can be wildly complementary, ultimately creating more success in the realm of search. So, just how can these two be used together to benefit your online marketing presence?
Multiple pieces of SERP real estate are better than just one.
The most blatantly obvious piece of evidence that SEO and PPC work well together is right on the first page of Google. If someone searches a keyword like “sinus treatment” in your area, they’ll most likely be offered up a few paid ad results at the top of the page. After that, you’ll see a few Google listings via the map, and then your organic listings. Now, imagine that you, an ENT doctor, have placement on the ads, the Google listings, and the organic search all within that first page. Not only are you taking up much more real estate than your competitors, but you’re also generating the impression that you have a very established presence within that market. Regardless of the area in which they click, they still navigate to your website and ideally turn into a strong lead for your practice.
Tip : Don’t reduce efforts drastically just because you’re ranking.
A lot of people will begin to pull back their PPC budget after they see that all three of these areas are ranking, or will stop looking at SEO as something the need to focus on. This is a quick way to lose all of the steam that you’ve generated, and potentially deplete your page one real estate. While you certainly can adjust budget as needed, it’s important that you do not make hasty decisions based on your search engine results as you could spend more money just to get yourself back to that great placement.
Data trends can give you helpful keyword insights.
By running both PPC and organic SEO campaigns, you’re allowing yourself to get double the data output to analyze. You can gather the keywords from both sources that are gaining the most conversions, and create a more robust campaign from that information. While you can definitely use the tools separately (as Adwords is often use to create organic campaigns), you are relying heavily on hypothetical data. By officially running the campaigns and generating results you are able to get the real data and construct something much more effective in the long haul.
Tip : Content is key with both PPC and SEO, so use them interchangeably.
If you’ve written successful ad copy for a PPC program and find that it is providing you with great results, using this content in your title tags, metas descriptions, and page content could result in more success. On the other hand, if you have created a very successful organic SEO campaign, use that content and keyword data to assist in creating your PPC ad copy. After all, if something works well, you might as well utilize and repurpose that information!
Expand your reach through both information and locality.
When doing either a PPC or SEO campaign, you ideally have two main goals: rank for your specified terms and rank in your service area. While both of these things can be accomplished with both PPC and SEO separated, it’s a much faster and more effective process when done together. Let’s go back to the above “sinus treatment” scenario and say that you are an ENT doctor out of Atlanta, GA. While you certainly want to target Atlanta, you notice that there are multiple cities around the area that bring you patients. In addition, you find that patients coming in are seeking relief from headaches. At this point, it’s important that you expand both your keywords and your locality, but how can you accomplish that without losing your current results? This is where the importance of both avenues’ strengths lie. PPC is wildly effective in getting instantaneous results, and is ideally set for your more competitive markets. In this instance, perhaps look at focusing on searches surrounding “headaches” in the Atlanta, GA area. This can be done by viewing all avenues of keyword and phrase research via Google. For SEO, you’ll have more success focusing on your smaller areas within your content (think headers, metas, etc.) and pushing “sinus treatment” as a main focus, with “headaches” built into your rich, informative pages. With all of this working together, you’ll have quality success!
Tip : Use your site’s content in more ways than one!
Your site isn’t just limited to page content, so don’t be afraid to expand your horizons. Some of the most effective SEO resources are within your titles, descriptions, and headers. Make sure that your site is truly targeting all of your service lines as needed, and not just being overly-vague. For example, you’re not just a “sinus doctor,” but rather someone who can help diagnose any symptoms as well as someone with many treatment options. Continuously use those words and phrases throughout your site and Google will see your site as a thought leader in the specialty, and ultimately rank it highly.
As you’re looking to create a dynamic marketing campaign, it’s important to look at all avenues and determine what’s going to be successful. While you don’t always need every single service, a unique approach to digital solutions will help you gain the most traction. Practis can help you put your best foot forward and determine which campaigns , such as PPC and SEO, are best for your practice. Contact us today to learn more!