In the fast-paced digital landscape, the relationship between paid advertising and search engine optimisation (SEO) is crucial for the success of any business. In many situations, we find that clients do not know the difference between the two. While both these strategies can serve clear purposes, they are inherently intertwined and complement each other’s roles. Understanding the harmony between these two pillars of performance marketing services is important in crafting an effective strategy for online presence and ensuring search dominance. 

What is Search Engine Optimisation (SEO)? 

SEO, or Search Engine Optimisation is the process of enhancing or improving a website’s visibility and rankings in search engine results pages (SERPs), this is done through organic and non-paid methods. SEO is generally suitable for long-term benefits and will help your business build credibility and a strong online presence over time. Organic methods can include the following;

• Technical health of a website
• Page speed optimisation
• Site Structure
• On-page Optimisation
• Quality Content Creation
• Off-page Optimisation – link building
• Local SEO
• Schema Markup
• UX and Conversion Rate Optimisation
• Mobile Usability

SEO Pros and Cons

A key advantage of SEO and these organic methods is that they generate sustainable and long-term growth, and can be integrated into the business’s long-term growth plans. SEO can help your business website create a strong foundation, which in turn will yield results over an extended period of time. Effective SEO practices can lead to improved visibility which will lead to increased organic traffic to the website and enhanced user engagement which can ultimately become conversions or leads for the business. 

It is important to know that SEO is not a quick-fix solution, and will often require time and resources before yielding the necessary results. It takes time to build an authoritative presence online and Search Engine Optimisation demands patience as it can take several months to see recommendations and fixes take effect and to start yielding tangible results such as improved authority, rankings, organic traffic, leads and revenue.

What is Paid Advertising?

Paid advertising, on the other hand, involves paid advertising strategies, such as pay-per-click (PPC) campaigns, social media marketing, and display advertising to promote the business’s products and/or services. Unlike SEO, paid media often yield immediate results, as the campaigns can be precisely tailored to reach the relevant audience at different stages of their buyer journey. These campaigns can also be further optimised to enhance the effectiveness of the marketing efforts. 

Paid Media Pros and Cons

Potential drawbacks, however, of paid media are that it might not be sustainable over a long period of time, and without proper planning and optimisation, can cost the business significant amounts of money without generating the desired return on investment (ROI). Also, paid media tends to diminish once the advertising budget is exhausted, requiring continuous investment to maintain visibility and momentum.

How SEO and Paid Advertising are related?

While both Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) and Pay-per-click (PPC) are distinct marketing strategies, they are intricately linked, and their integration could significantly enhance the overall outcome of the performance marketing efforts of a business. 

How does Paid Advertising Affect SEO?

1. Businesses Maximising Real Estate in Search Results: Having both PPC ads and SEO allows businesses to occupy more prominent space in the Search Engine Results Pages, this allows the business to increase visibility and brand exposure
   
2. Businesses Discover Valuable Organic SEO Keywords: By analysing the performance of both the PPC campaigns and SEO organic results, businesses can identify high click-through and high-converting keywords. If keywords are not performing well organically, using PPC can help capture that traffic using those queries in search.
   
3.  Creating Brand Awareness and Driving Organic Clicks: Effective Pay-per-click campaigns help with driving brand awareness, which in turn could lead to increased organic clicks as users become more aware or familiar with the brand.
   
4. Reach Local Leads: Through geotargeting and audience targeting, local PPC campaigns can help reach potential customers in specific regions and this can drive local engagement, ultimately driving traffic and leads to the website.
   

How does SEO affect Paid Advertising?

1. Impact on Click-Through Rates (CTR): An Effective SEO strategy can significantly improve the visibility, rankings and performance of a website which subsequently improves the Click-Through-Rate (CTR) of the PPC ads associated with the website.
   
2. Building a Remarketing Audience: SEO can help build a pool of visitors who engage with the website but might not be converting, this provides an audience for paid advertising remarketing campaigns.
   
3. Driving Paid Traffic to Optimised Pages: Optimising website content for SEO not only improves the page’s chances of ranking and improving organic traffic but also ensures that paid traffic captured through paid media efforts lands on a highly relevant and engaging landing page, and this can ultimately lead to an improved conversation rate.
   
4. Improving Conversion Rates and Lifetime Value: Organic SEO can contribute to higher conversion rates and increase the lifetime value of customers, which positively impacts the overall ROI of paid advertising campaigns.
   
5. Reducing Cost Per Click (CPC): A robust SEO strategy can improve the quality score of a website which can subsequently lead to a reduction in the cost per click for the business’s PPC campaigns, and in turn optimising the overall advertising budget. 

Why both Paid and Organic Deserve a Place in Performance Marketing

The idea of combining search engine optimisation and paid advertising in a comprehensive performance marketing strategy is crucial to achieving holistic growth and maintaining a competitive edge in the digital marketing landscape. Integrating both these approaches allows businesses to benefit from the strengths of each while mitigating the limitations. This can ensure that the business sees faster results, by leveraging the immediate results of paid media and the long-term growth of SEO while dominating search results pages, allowing the business to secure a prominent presence in search engine results pages.  

Cross-analysing data between the SEO and paid advertising strategies allows for a better understanding of the business’s audience where we can draw comprehensive insights into consumer behaviour, preferences, and market trends. This can inform our decision-making and help marketers create much more effective strategies which also allow for optimised budgets and better remarketing efforts. 

How SEO and Paid Advertising Work Better Together to Benefit Your Brand

There are many benefits to having integrated SEO and paid advertising strategies that go beyond what each strategy can achieve independently. By utilising both strengths, businesses can significantly enhance their online visibility, and improve the effectiveness of their marketing efforts. Here are other ways Paid advertising can improve SEO growth. 

• PPC data can inform SEO Strategies: Insights from PPC campaigns such as which are high-performing keywords, engagement insights, trends etc can help SEO Specialists refine their SEO Strategies, eliminating low-performing keywords.

• Paid data can improve SEO content: Understanding the performance of paid media advertisements provides valuable insights into your content strategy and the type of content and messaging that can be produced, ensuring that it resonates with the target audience. 

• PPC and SEO can combat negative PR: In the event of negative publicity, an integrated SEO and paid advertising approach can help businesses mitigate the impact by strategically managing the promotion of positive content that counters the negativity.

In the dynamic landscape of digital marketing and the ever changing layout of SERPs, an integrated relationship between search engine optimisation (SEO) and paid advertising is necessary. While each strategy brings its unique offerings and advantages, having them work in harmony is essential in maximising online viability for your business. By capitalising on the strengths of each approach, we can ensure achieving performance marketing success, such as growing online visibility, driving user engagement, driving conversions and achieving sustainable business growth. Embracing the synergy between SEO and paid advertising is not just a choice but an essential strategy for any business aiming to thrive in the competitive digital arena.

If you’re looking for an effective and integrated Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) and Paid Advertising strategy, contact Algorithm Agency today!