Link SEO & PPC for smarter targeting of searches
SEO and PPC were supposed to work together. It’s not crazy.
But since these two channels function so differently, it is easy to get caught in one channel and its performance metrics and ignore the other entirely.
So let’s get that wrong!
Here are suggestions and tips on how to better align SEO and PPC with most advertisers.
But a disclaimer before you jump in! It’s a huge topic.
(You have time to write a book) That’s why this post is meant to be a first, a jump-off point for your future discussions. And it is aimed at most small to medium-sized enterprises rather than the group of enterprises with more niche needs.
Let’s get there!
First: Set SEO & PPC mutual goals and start looking at how they communicate with each other
Setting shared goals is a good way to fundamentally align SEO and PPC. This creates a binding that may result from other connections.
We find that SEO people are often comfortable with metrics such as rankings and PPC people are comfortable with other metrics such as CPCs. This does not need to change, but website conversions and goals are a sensible common goal.
You can slice and dice the data using Google Analytics to demonstrate how users communicated with each network during the decision-making process with website results and targets in place.
Top paths of conversion: display any sequence of interactions leading to conversion
The multi-channel funnel segment often demonstrates how often sales and converts are initiated, supported, and closed by each channel.
These studies shed light on the entire path leading to conversions, not just the last tap.
Knowing the larger picture makes better choices about where to place the budget (and if you get somebody else’s budget, how to help them see where performance comes from and stop them from inadvertently doing something that works).
Make sure website targets are decided and applied to Google Analytics in order to achieve this in a standard system. Then ensure that these objectives are imported into AdWords and that they are linked to Analytics and AdWords.
Second: Share PPC search terms with SEO
Google hides keyword data for organic search.
Hiding keyword organic search data makes it difficult to separate search terms from those that don’t refer to good quality traffic. The days are gone when you could see organic keyword performance. Here’s a post from back in 2014 on this topic.
There are still the same issues in place today. They are actually bigger.
Looking at keyword and search query data from PPC is one reliable solution to this problem. All this is still available and can be imported into Google Analytics (once linked, as above) to show you how people using a specific term interact with your site (e.g. bounce rates, on-site time, average page views, conversion actions, etc.). Thank you, PPC for that!
You can then use this data to explain that terms of search lead to engaged visitors and not.
In Google Analytics, the two reports you want to look at are:
Keywords : Acquisition > Adwords > Keywords
Search Queries : Acquisition > Adwords > Search Queries
Third: Tell page names, meta descriptions and content using PPC ads and keyword information
For SEO, often what works for PPC works.
The PPC ads that get the most views and generate the most sales are a good starting point to create enticing page titles and meta descriptions, as well as material for the pages that you want to rank organically.
It is particularly important to include keywords in the title tags.
Ideally, to strike a balance between keywords and interaction, you want to write your title tag.
Too many keywords tend to be poor in a title tag.
Too few and the search engine misinterprets the intent of the site.
You must find the balance!
Through looking at the message that gets the highest response rates, PPC information can be used to make these tags more attractive to people, as well as search engines. And because the search question in the ad copy is included in most PPC ads, it is already somewhat balanced.
Fast Recap: The page’s title tag appears as the clickable text in SEO. The meta description is the text below.
Organic testing of page names, meta descriptions and content can be quite an undertaking, so using data collected through your PPC operation to help you pick the keywords you want to target lets you concentrate on testing the right things.
Vital: If you are extending SEO strategies to cover new keywords, first check such keywords with PPC to ensure sales are guided. If they do, great! If they don’t, you have to do another job before working on SEO (such as optimizing the conversion rate).
Fourth: Have a continuous search strategy and use the strengths of each channel
There are times when it works best to rely on PPC, and times when SEO is good.
Understanding when to use each one is necessary to complement the two disciplines. But that depends on your timing and context.
SEO, for example, is not an overnight endeavor. A new business chasing leads NOW because it takes time to get them out of SEO, so they should concentrate on PPC to get going. Investment is available for SEO when PPC starts driving a return.
One of them drive the other.
At the other end of the scale, a long-established brand with very strong rankings may need less PPC support for a wide range of search terms. While continuing to invest in increasing SEO coverage while using PPC for remarketing, attracting tourists to different areas of the site and encouraging email opt-ins, the budget could be better applied.
It all depends on your business needs, your budget and your timetable.
All PPC and SEO are explicitly observable in an optimum situation and provide a positive ROI within a defined scope. A good digital marketing agency is really shining here adding profit and ROI by scaling up what works and improving what isn’t.
Fifth: Maximize visibility and exposure
Depending on your priorities, you may determine whether or not you want your paid ads to appear for queries that are not organically ranked by your website.
You may still want to have a presence in both PPC and Organic results, even in terms where you rank high organically.
Why would you like your presence to double, displaying a PPC ad if you already rate organically well
Because the room above the fold is primarily dedicated to advertisers (without scrolling down the search result). And it’s your searcher’s first thing to see.
You don’t get into this room with a low organic rating, but a well-built PPC ad does. And that PPC with persuasive advertising and ad extensions could command even more focus.
Particularly on the phone.
Ads are devoted to the entire top of this search result.
So if you’re worried about getting a rival for a specific keyword to your target first, try SEO and PPC at the same time.
If you have a PPC ad run above a top SEO ranking, the overall results of digital activity can benefit as you create a second entry point to your website and essentially double your chances of receiving that click.
Of course, you can run mobile-only PPC as well.
Sixth: Category and purpose segmentation of keywords
Keywords appear to be divided into three categories: data, transactional and navigational.
Keywords for information are searches where the goal is the data itself, e.g. “holiday ideas.” In commercial intent, these tend to be lower.
Transactional keywords are more transactional searches, such as “flights to Paris.” In commercial intent, these tend to be higher.
Navigation keywords are searches where the client is concerned with a specific website, e.g. “plane centre.” These are usually a mix.
You can choose to approach this by knowing this:
SEO-only insightful keywords are not yet ready to purchase from you as people using these queries. In exchange for an email address, you could offer a downloadable item to start the marketing process.
To maximize your chances of attracting a converting click, transactional keywords with SEO and PPC. You could give your sales team a compelling offer because this person is probably a leader.
Navigational keywords like SEO and PPC to ensure that you are first noticed by people who are looking for your page (and are not redirected to a competitor).
Through carefully matching the keyword coverage with SEO and PPC, you can deliver the best marketing message for each search form, your preferred USP / KSP’s, a strong CTA (call-to-action), and the most persuasive landing page, etc. You will increase your chances of success, in other words.
Lucky number 7: Stay ahead of new features in the cross-train
Historically, in general inside companies, digital marketing teams often operated in a prescriptive fashion one product only. This siloed method does not encourage teamwork and may result in clunky work.
Digital marketers now need to adopt growing skillsets to better connect their work and improve overall quality.
Even online, it can have its advantages to be a bit of a jack-of-all trade…! The first being that you know where to look in the channel mix to solve a problem, instead of trying to solve with one channel any marketing problem.
In other words, there should be a good understanding of PPC by a SEO expert, and vice versa.
But this is even more important as each channel continues to change rapidly. It feels like a new feature, tool, ability, or network is available every day.
And it’s exciting to stay up-to-date. That major announcement is another arrow in your quiver of advertising problems solving choices.
What’s incredible.