SEO and PPC: Getting the right mix for your business

Pay Per Click (PPC) marketing

PPC campaigns enable you to advertise your business to customers as they use search engines or browse the web. Campaigns are based on keywords and are highly targeted to the audiences you want to view your website. Read more about PPC.

Search Engine Optimisation (SEO)

SEO is about ensuring your website has the content and technical specifications to rank highly with search engines like Google or Bing. In terms of content, it’s about using the right keywords in the right way so that your content is discoverable by users. Read more about SEO.

 

Timescales for seeing results from Pay-Per-Click

 

PPC is considered a very rapid and responsive form of digital marketing. From the day you launch your PPC campaign your ad can appear on the first page of Google. For this reason, many people equate PPC with instant results. However, whilst users may see your ad immediately, it can take longer for a PPC campaign to demonstrate significant results. A recent video from digital marketing library BoomTown! explains that to really see results could take 30, 60 or even 90 days or more . Keywords need refining over time and campaigns require tailoring based on click-through rates. So whilst you may see results from day one, an effective campaign evolves over a period of months.

 


Timescales for seeing results from Search EngineOptimisation

 

SEO generally takes longer, with a lead in time of around 4 to 6months before websites start to rank more highly . However, the impact is cumulative and the longer you invest in SEO the greater the impact. Climbing up search engine rankings is a very visible sign that your SEO strategy is working. But Josh Steimle (writing for Forbes ) argues that when measuring the time taken for SEO to start working, businesses should think in terms of whenSEO starts generating leads and sales , rather than simply looking at rankings. This could bring the timescale closer to six months or more.

 

 

Measuring impacts: SEO & PPC analytics

 

When you run a PPC campaign through Google Adwords you get a lot of useful data about the effectiveness of your campaign. This means measuring campaign success is fairly straightforward: the data is there; it’s just a case of learning how to interpret it. With SEO the link between actions and results is often harder to see. As we’ve discussed, climbing search engine rankings is one measure – but it’s difficult to know which of your SEO activities is having the greatest impact. An analytical tool like SEOptimer or SEMrush can help with identifying which of your activities may need reviewing.

 


When to use PPC marketing

 

Because PPC is quicker, more responsive and can be targeted to users, it can work well for achieving a specific goal. This could be directing customers to a product page, getting them to sign up for a newsletter, or landing on your homepage. It’s important to have a clear idea of what you want from a campaign and to develop your keywords and landing page around this. It works well for targeted and time-limited campaigns, but will have limited impact on your long-term web profile.

 


When to use SEO

 

SEO is about building your overall discoverability and profile to rank more highly for specific keywords. It allows you to be focussed, but because it is a more holistic long-term approach, its value lies in making your company more visible online over a long time period. It wouldn’t work fora short-term campaign because the results would take too long to be seen and you wouldn’t want to restructure your site and content for a time-limited campaign. What it does do, however, is provide you with organic benefits –ranking highly on search engines without paying for a listing each time.

 

In summary: when are PPC and SEO right for your business?

Whilst PPC and SEO are both about making your company’s website more visible online, they are very different. PPC is a more dynamic tool and works well on very specific and tightly defined marketing campaigns ,but it will do little to grow your long-term organic search ranking. SEO is a long-term and organic approach to raising your profile, it’s less specific, but benefits your website ranking as a whole.

Achieving the right mix of PPC and SEO

As a company, you want the benefits of both SEO and PPC –the long and short-term increase to discoverability online. But for small businesses, you may have constraints about how much time and money you can invest in digital marketing. For this reason, it’s important to be clear about what you want to achieve and over what timeframe. It is only from this starting point that you can focus your efforts on the right digital marketing tool.

Digital marketing in Exeter

At QuayClick we work with companies to improve their SEO and run successful PPC campaigns as well as providing web design services. If you’re unsure how to prioritise your digital marketing activities we can help with campaigns targeted to your business. Contact us in Exeter to find out more.