There’s a lot of talk these days about the importance of search engine optimisation (SEO). And with good reason—as online marketing continues to evolve, SEO has become an increasingly critical component of any successful digital strategy.
But what about paid search? Isn’t that enough? Won’t it cannibalise your SEO efforts? The answer, quite simply, is no. In fact, when done correctly, paid search and SEO can actually work together to create a more powerful and effective overall marketing strategy (more on this later).
In this article, we’ll give tips on how to make your paid search and SEO efforts work together. With help from a reputable Sydney SEO agency, there’s no reason why you can’t make it happen.
What is paid search?
Paid search is the process of bidding on keywords in order to have your ads appear in the sponsored results section of search engines like Google and Bing. You’re essentially paying to have your website show up when people are searching for specific terms related to your business.
What is SEO?
SEO, on the other hand, is the process of optimising your website and its content to organically rank higher in search engine results. This can be done through a variety of tactics, such as creating keyword-rich titles and descriptions, building links and improving overall site quality.
Is there a chance paid search would cannibalise SEO?
As mentioned early in the article, the short answer is no—there is very little chance that paid search will cannibalise your SEO efforts. In fact, the two disciplines can complement each other quite nicely.
Let’s say you’re a bed & breakfast in Sydney looking to attract more visitors during peak season. You could use paid search to target key phrases like ‘Sydney hotels’ and ‘B&Bs in Sydney’ while also using SEO to improve your organic ranking for similar terms.
By doing so, you would be able to reach potential customers at multiple touchpoints throughout their journey, increasing the chances that they’ll eventually book a room at your establishment.
Why you need both paid search and SEO
Simply put, paid search and SEO are both important pieces of the puzzle. They both have their own distinct advantages that can help you reach your target audience and achieve your marketing goals.
Paid search is great for reaching people who are actively searching for your product or service. It’s fast, it’s efficient and it puts your ad right in front of potential customers when they’re most likely to convert.
SEO, on the other hand, is more long-term and sustainable. Once you’ve optimised your site and built up a solid foundation of quality content, you’ll be able to rank higher in organic search results and enjoy a steady stream of targeted traffic—even after you’ve stopped paying for ads.
What are the ways paid search and SEO can work together?
There are a number of ways you can use paid search and SEO to complement each other and create a more effective overall marketing strategy. Here are just a few:
- Use keyword research to inform both your paid and organic campaigns. By understanding which keywords are most valuable to your business, you can bid on them in paid search while also using them to optimise your website for organic search.
- Use negative keywords in paid search to avoid wasting money on irrelevant clicks. Negative keywords can also be used in SEO to help improve the quality of your traffic by filtering out people who aren’t really interested in what you have to offer.
- Send visitors from your ads to relevant landing pages. This not only helps improve conversion rates, but it also gives you a chance to further optimise your site for the keywords you’re targeting.
- Use conversion tracking to measure the success of your campaigns. This data can then be used to improve both your paid and organic efforts by helping you understand which keywords are most likely to result in a sale or lead.
Paid search and SEO are two of the most important components of any successful digital marketing strategy. By understanding how they work and how they can complement each other, you can create a powerful campaign that will help you reach your target audience and achieve your business goals.
Read More: Search Engine Optimization (SEO): A Strategy
