Any digital marketer worth their weight in salt will have come across these terms before. However, if you’re just getting started in the marketing world and don’t already know what they are, don’t worry!
In this article, we’re going to be taking a closer look at what these two terms mean and how they can work harmoniously together.
Plenty of people out there hold the opinion that PPC and SEO are contradictory practices that should remain separate. Whilst that can be an easy conclusion to draw in theory, many marketers have found that combining the two is actually the most effective way to generate traffic to their sites.
Without further ado, let’s get into what both terms mean:
What does PPC mean?
Quite simply, PPC stands for ‘pay per click’ and it’s a marketing model that basically charges advertisers a fee whenever one of their adverts is clicked on. The most common form of PPC marketing is done through Google Ads, which is a way of paying to have your site listed at the top of a certain Google search results page.
A lot of the criticism for PPC stems from the fact that it requires an initial monetary investment and produces artificial traffic to a site. However, the initial monetary investment is always insignificant compared to the returns gained when an effective PPC strategy is carried out.
What does SEO mean?
The term SEO stands for ‘search engine optimization’ and its main goal (to generate more traffic to a site) is pretty much the same as with PPC.
SEO works by understanding the algorithm that runs search engines. Basically, whenever a search is made into Google, Bing or any other engine, the algorithm will search through its database of websites and offer the user the most relevant results for them and their search.
Therefore, to optimise something for a search engine means to include plenty of popular keywords in your content that a lot of users are searching for. There are plenty of ways writers and marketers do this to make it sound natural for the reader, whilst still ranking the site highly on search engine results pages.
Of course, unlike PPC, SEO requires no monetary investment, rather it requires some more time and work to gradually build up organic traffic to a website.
Key similarities and differences between PPC and SEO
In terms of their similarities, PPC and SEO share a common goal of generating traffic to a website. This traffic is then intended to generate conversions at the website by turning page visitors into paying customers. The other main similarity is that the two practices both use keyword research at the heart of their strategy. Without understanding what the most popular and relevant keywords are for a particular topic, there’s no chance of implementing an effective PPC or SEO strategy.
The main difference between the two is the fact that PPC involves paying for the same effects that are naturally generated by SEO. It might seem, therefore, that SEO is always the way to go, but most search engines incentivise advertisers to use PPC by ranking those results at the top of results pages, above the organically listed websites. Another key difference is in the longevity of each strategy. PPC campaigns will often have a great immediate effect but then tail off once it is finished. SEO works based on a network of large, built-up web pages that will produce results for years to come.
How can they work together?
Now that we understand how these two practices operate, let’s discuss how they can both work together. After all, the best advertising campaigns will make good use of PPC and SEO to produce the best possible results.
Covering the search engine results page
We mentioned earlier that PPC ads always appear at the top of a results page on Google or other engines. Well, if an advertiser makes good use of PPC and SEO, they can appear both at the top of the page with all the other PPC ads, as well as in the naturally generated results. This gives the advertiser a much better chance of having their site clicked on, as they cover much more of the results page users see.
Sharing data
One of the biggest similarities between PPC and SEO is that they both rely on keyword research. Looking at the most popular search terms in a certain niche or topic is a great way to tailor PPC and SEO strategies to generate the most traffic.
Oftentimes, a separate PPC and SEO team will be used to manage each campaign but both teams can benefit massively from sharing their keyword research data. When operating around the same topic or niche, the two teams can use the same keywords in different ways to produce the most effective results between them. It’s a win-win situation for everyone!
Creating long term customer relationships
Even when a user clicks on a PPC link and decides to click off to a different site within a few seconds, this is still beneficial for the advertiser’s brand awareness. Frequently appearing at the top of search engine results pages will put that brand’s name into the background of a user’s mind. Then, when they are actively looking to purchase a product or service provided by that brand, it might be the first thing that comes to their mind.
These users who are accustomed to that brand will engage much more frequently with organically listed links and web pages, meaning that SEO can benefit from the positive effects of PPC.
Conclusion
These two practices should always be used in tandem to produce an effective digital marketing strategy. Of course, it can be difficult to manage multiple different channels of digital marketing, especially if you have plenty of other campaigns to worry about at the same time.
HelloClicks’ PPC management service is a fantastic way to offload some of the work and effort required to balance the two strategies. You can request a free proposal on their website and find out more about the marketing services they offer.
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