If you’re an online retailer trying to drive more shoppers to your online store, you’re probably already aware of the individual importance of both SEO and PPC to your Search Engine Marketing (SEM) strategies.
Oftentimes though, retailers fail to recognize that SEO and PPC are close friends in ecommerce. It’s in cultivating this relationship that your business will witness greater results.
So what are they really? And what makes them better together?
What you should know about SEO
SEO stands for Search Engine Optimization (which describes its function in a nutshell).
The entire purpose of SEO is to increase your website’s relevance in search engines like Google and Bing. This can be accomplished through a polished business blog and/or website with quality content. This reach peak optimization, content should be filled with relevant information and industry/business-specific keywords, too.
By optimizing your website based on search engine standards, you should see an increase in free organic traffic to your site.
SEO is a brilliant option for online retailers with smaller marketing budgets, but as much as we hate to admit it, nothing is free. Optimizing your site for search engines is a long and time-consuming process which may actually require you to hire professionals. This of course, will cost you something.
Still, SEO is a cost-effective way to build your business’s brand organically, gain greater credibility, and acquire more long-term, sustainable conversions.
SEO is all about building your business; entry can be difficult, but it’s definitely worthwhile.
PPC made easy
PPC, on the other hand, stands for Pay-Per-Click advertising. Which, yes – PPC is paid; it's in the name. Still, over time PPC literally pays for itself.
Not to mention, with a PPC campaign, your link will appear right at the top of the search engine, above the organic search results. With this in mind, Google Ads receives 65% of clicks that start with buying keywords.
Utilizing PPC provides retailers with a faster route to increased traffic and more targeted visibility, thus leading to greater opportunities for conversions. With a PPC campaign, you’re placing a bid for that aforementioned spot above the organic search results. When a browser searches for a keyword that aligns with those of your business, your site is entered into an auction in which it’s considered for ad placement. If your site wins the bid, your ad is displayed.
If you’re just starting out in the ecommerce world, PPC is a great way to give your brand a fast visibility boost.
SEO and PPC – better together
An integrated approach is key to ecommerce success. It doesn’t stop there, though. Like many online retailers, your marketing may be focused heavily on PPC. Well, there are a few ways you can use SEO principles to spruce up your paid campaigns.
Take Google Ads, for instance. Google Ads determines the position of your ad based upon your ad rank, which is your determined maximum bid multiplied by your quality score.
But you might be wondering: what is this mysterious quality score?
Easy – your quality score is Google’s evaluation of your website based upon factors such as your click-through-rate (CTR), keyword relevancy, landing page quality, ad text quality, and your past performance in Google Ads.
This is where some SEO skills can help. SEO is all about crafting quality content that people actually want to read and that will rank in the search engine. To do this, SEO experts employ the careful use of relevant keywords in their content.
Since your quality score is largely determined by the quality of your landing page and ad text, make sure that the content you write for both places is expertly designed with both your customers and search engines in mind. Avoid keyword stuffing as neither people nor bots appreciate this. Instead, mindfully create your content, as it has the power to positively (or negatively) influence your PPC.
Better content leads to a better quality score, which leads to a better ad rank. With a better ad rank, your site will have a better opportunity of gaining that top spot in paid search.
Another simple way you can implement SEO strategies in your PPC campaigns is by using those same content principles to optimize your shopping feeds. Your feed is where your product data lives; it’s the foundation for how customers will eventually find your products. Ensure that your product titles and descriptions are concise and accurate – providing a relevant picture of the product you’re selling in order to achieve the best results.
As you would do on your site, also use relevant keywords in your feeds when possible. The search engine will recognize these, and shoppers will have a better chance at finding what you’re selling.
Conclusion
There’s no doubt about it – using both SEO and PPC in your marketing strategy is the best way to increase the visibility of your brand in both paid and organic search.
PPC and SEO do more than just coexist, they benefit each other. Where SEO falls short, PPC makes up for it, and where PPC fails to make the cut, SEO helps out.
As a result, implementing SEO principles into your PPC campaigns is a useful way to optimize your content and data in order to get the most out of your paid search strategy.
Begin cultivating this ecommerce relationship to see your online store thrive.
