Introduction

Boosting your webpage to the top of the Search Engine Results Page (SERP) is a challenge growing in difficulty, especially in past year. Google has been modifying the algorithm to such an extent that it has become a science to crack the right formula and get yourself seen.

The modification to the algorithm has created a demand for strategists to have a plan that combines their Search Engine Optimization (SEO) and Pay-Per-Click (PPC) models in a tandem. So far it has proven that the changes to the search engine business are an obstacle preventing these models to shine to their fullest if implemented alone. Of course, other methods like Email and Social Media Marketing are complementary, even desirable, to SEO and PPC campaigns.

Below I’ll lay out a couple of underlying reasons why this is happening along with steps that your business can make to improve its return on the marketing investment.

Reaching the perfect output is impossible

This is best understood by looking at the mechanics that form the results we see in the browser. The factors combining the numbers are in the hundreds and often are interwoven with each other, further complicating the calculation. Google’s angle here is clear - the way to the top of the query has to be obscure, simply because of the ease to reach the top page if the formula was clear.

This attitude towards the SERP, rather the importance of winning the SERP race essentially creates this problem for us. Marketers have to adapt in a fashion dictated not by the consumers, but rather by the platform that makes them visible.

What is SEO and how does it operate?

Businesses enter this model of marketing to achieve quick success, but that might be a mistake sometimes. SEO is a marathon, where you have to invest a lot of time and effort to reach the top of the page. One way that can speed up the process is by advertising keywords in a rapid way to quickly analyze the ones that generate the most traffic and continue going with them.

The important thing with SEO is to generate traffic, not conversions. It’s all about getting the click but not the penny. This is why SEO is in such a difficult state in 2018. The game has complicated itself, making it a lot more difficult for the SEO to grind its way to the goal while also lowering the effectiveness of conversions by default.

How does PPC fit in?

PPC is a value that refers to the rate at which your visitors actually convert their visits to profit. While the SEO is there to set the stage, PPC is there to deliver the final blow. The reality forming a presence online is that even if you have content that is more than representative you will still suffer in the conversion rates.

Rates as low as 2% when it comes to visitors and actual buyers seems daunting, but it’s actually really good. Still, this means that 98% of our visitors don’t put anything in the checkout. This can be for a variety of reasons. Remember that not all visitors are there to buy.

In essence, buying a click campaign isn’t a good thing to do if you don’t have SEO-friendly content. You’ve probably never been to a marketed event that you couldn’t find. Therefore, SEO should be already implemented ensuring that your business is visible and well presented for the upcoming clicks going your way.  

SEO + PPC = benefits

Driving the appropriate traffic to your site and hitting the maximum of your conversion points is a goal that can be achieved only by combining the methods mentioned in the headline. Mixing the data for both strategies opens avenues of data exploration that points to numbers directly connected with consumer tendencies, intentions and geo-location.

Companies doing such strategies, like in , have been able to modify the keyword strategies to optimize the phrases used according by the audience aligning with the product, geographic factor of placement or time of the year (holidays, seasons, etc.).

Conclusion

The complexity of the SERP path has increased and will probably continue to shake around with emerging problems like Net Neutrality. However, for most online marketers this is business as usual, they will have to adapt like countless times in the past. One that manages the ensuing turbulence will profit, as per usual.

About Author:

The author of this article is a content team member at PPC Plus, who has written many quality blogs for in-house and external clients.