Marketing Through Search Engines
Many businesses focus on SEO, the most-heard acronym in search marketing. It can be easy on your budget if you know what you’re doing. Other businesses focus on PPC (pay-per-click) advertising for their search marketing. It’s attractive because you only pay when someone clicks your ad. The problem? Any internet marketing company will tell you that neither method will reach its full potential without help from the other.
How SEO and PPC Work Together
Since SEO and paid search ads both help your business get more attention in search results, it’s easy to assume you only need one. That’s not the case. Organic search results and paid ads show up on different parts of the page, and some people avoid paid ads. On the other hand, SEO is an art as much as a science, and it takes time and experimentation to get right. Here are some of the key ways the two ad types can work together:
- Keyword data: Paid search campaigns show you which keywords are most successful, which you can apply to SEO efforts.
- Doubling search result presence: Your business will be even more visible with both types of marketing.
- Testing messaging: Since paid search ads generate data so quickly, you can use them to test your messaging choices.
- Keyword competition: Small businesses often need to rely on long-tail keywords since huge companies dominate the most popular ones. PPC ads can give you a leg up. Visibility is simply more reliable with ads you pay for.
- Retargeting: After someone finds your site through organic search, your paid search ads can target them to reinforce your messaging.
- Seasonal advertising: If you’re on a tight budget, you can limit paid ads to the times when you most need them.
Digital Marketing Now and in the Future
A successful marketing strategy must aim for both short-term and long-term results. Optimizing your site for search engines can take months to work its magic, which might seem frustrating until you realize that the benefits can last long past your initial efforts. Meanwhile, paid search ads create results right away, but the benefits drop off immediately once you pull the ads. That means you’ve got to keep paying indefinitely if you want a constant PPC advertising presence.
Starting Small With Organic and Paid Search Ads
Perfecting SEO and paid search can be intimidating, so it’s no wonder that high-quality internet marketing services are so sought after. That’s why starting small is a good idea. Your PPC budget can stay low while you polish up your site for search engines. Before dedicating a lot of money or time to either effort, make sure your website—the sun around which all your other marketing efforts revolve—is attractive and functional. It must load quickly, work well on mobile, and contain all the information customers might need. Be patient with SEO; changing direction in response to each new data point will make it impossible to see what works and what doesn’t. If you aren’t sure about handling it yourself, you’re in luck. A lot of business leaders will tell you that a reliable digital marketing agency is the way to go, allowing you to focus on your own valuable work while an experienced Google Ads specialist gets you customers.
