A lot of businesses still seem to be confused as to what the benefits are to using different marketing channels, especially when it comes to search marketing. So in order for you to invest your marketing dollars (or pounds, euros...) in the correct areas, here's a quick overview of why you should consider using SEO and PPC (paid search ads) for best results.
Search marketing strategy
- SEO (or organic optimisation) is a long term strategy for a business, it is highly trusted by search engines and provides great ROI as the work can be done in house if you have the resources. On the downside, it is a lengthy process and results can be slow to appear (up to 6 months for a new website), however Google is improving its indexing all the time. SEO is also getting more complex with elements such as link building and social media activities now being included in the search engine ranking algorithms.
- Paid search (PPC) is a great tool because it provides an immediate implementation. As soon as you signup to a programme and put money in your account you're off and running. It is also better targeted as your ads can be tweaked and refined at any point in time to reach your targets. On the negative side it can be expensive, especially if you're in a competitive market. And it is of course limited by your cost per acquisition (CPA) - you don't want to spend £1 per click if you only get 50p in return...
Here are a few reasons why you should use SEO and PPC together rather than one or the other:
- Cover the whole search spectrum - ensure your brand shows in the search engine results pages (SERPs) for selected keywords via organic and/or paid listings - increase your chances of being seen by web users for a wide range of keywords.
- Improve overall traffic and conversion numbers by offering choice to web users
- SEO & PPC complement each other - as users become more web savvy, they use multiple channels before making a decision - extended click path: a search can start from a paid ad and end with an organic search for example
- Improved ROI through paid campaigns (PPC) and website (SEO) optimisation
The 5 steps below are and should help you get started with your search marketing activities:
- Establish your business objectives and KPIs
- Review your current strategy, keywords & implementation
- Start organic optimisation (onsite and offsite)
- Launch paid search campaigns
- Refine / optimise based on results using web analytics
1 comment:
The use of SEO is quite essential since it can turbo-charge your growth and catapult you to the top of your field.
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