4 Ways PPC and SEO Can Work Together (and When They Can’t)

Search engine optimization (SEO) is the process of optimizing websites to achieve higher rankings in organic search results.

Pay-per-click (PPC) is a form of online advertising in which advertisers pay a fee each time someone clicks on their ad.

There is no mystery between the two types of marketing. You don’t have to choose one or the other; the best companies employ both.

Here’s how they can work together and create magic:

SEO content creation is the process of determining what your target audience is looking for on Google and matching your content to their search intent.

The first thing you need to do is figure out what they’re looking for. The easiest way is to employ a keyword research tool like Ahrefs’ Keywords Explorer.

Here’s how you might find keywords for a hypothetical coffee supply store:

1. Go to Ahrefs Keyword Explorer
2. Enter a relevant keyword (e.g. “coffee”)
3. Go to Matching appointments

Go through your list and choose keywords that are relevant to your site. For example, the keyword “how to grind coffee beans” seems like a good keyword to target.

Once we have chosen our keyword, we want to know what exactly searchers are looking for. Sometimes the keyword gives us an idea, but to be sure, we can look at the top-ranking pages.

So click SERP button and click Identify Intentions to see what users are looking for:

We see that searchers are looking for techniques and methods for grinding coffee beans at home, especially without a grinder. If we want to rank high, we will probably have to follow their example.

These are the basics of SEO content creation. But that alone isn’t enough. After all, the quote goes, “If a tree falls in the forest and no one hears it, does it make a sound?”

This also applies to your content. You don’t want to create a vacuum; you want people to see and consume your content. This is where PPC comes in. You can run PPC ads to make sure as many people as possible see your content.

For example, at Ahrefs we display ads for our content on Facebook:

We also place ads on Quora:

This way we can ensure that none of our content creation efforts go to waste.

Links are an significant Google ranking factor. Generally speaking, the more links your site has, the more likely it is to rank high in search results.

But getting links is tough. That’s why it’s still a reliable ranking factor. And that’s why there’s an entire industry behind link building and a ton of tactics you can employ, all with varying degrees of success.

One way you can consider building links to your pages is to run PPC ads. In fact, we ran an experiment a few years ago to prove that it was possible.

We spent about $1,245 on Google Search Ads and acquired a total of 16 backlinks to two different pieces of content. (About $77-$78 per backlink). This is much cheaper than buying a backlink, which according to our research costs about $361.44.

(Gaining links through outreach would be even more steep because you would have to factor in additional costs like software, labor, etc.)

Remarketing allows you to reach users who have left your website.

Here’s how remarketing works:

1. A visitor discovers your article on Google
2. Advertising management software places a cookie on a visitor’s browser, which enables it to serve ads to those visitors.
3. When a user leaves your site and browses the web, you can show ads and encourage them to come back to your site

Depending on where they are in the buying process, you can convince them to take the next step.

For example, if someone found your site via an article on “best coffee machines,” they’re likely looking to buy something. So you could set up a retargeting ad to encourage them to visit your coffee machine category page.

On the other hand, if a visitor discovered your site through your “what is a coffee grinder” article, they may still be early in their journey. In that case, it would be wise to encourage them to sign up for your email list.

Every page has significant keywords. For example, in addition to our brand and product terms, key keywords include “keyword research,” “link building,” and “technical SEO.”

Since these keywords are significant, it makes sense to dominate the SERPs for them. You can do this by simultaneously showing ads for them while also ranking in organic search results. For example, Wix ranks for the keyword “create a website for free” in both paid and organic SERPs:

This is especially useful if you have a novel or smaller site. The keywords that are significant to you are likely to be significant to your competitors as well. This means you can’t compete with them overnight.

So, a good strategy is to first target these keywords with PPC while also investing in an SEO strategy. Over time, as you gain more backlinks and gain more site authority, you will be able to compete with your competitors in organic search results as well.

While both channels complement each other, there are situations where it may make more sense to choose one over the other.

When to choose PPC

If you fit into these scenarios, it might be a better idea to employ PPC:

• You are promoting a confined time offer, an event or launching a novel product. According to our survey, SEO needs three to six months to show results. If your event, offer, or launch is shorter than the expected time, it will be over before SEO starts working.
• You need immediate, short-term results. If you want to show some results now, PPC is a better choice.
• You have a breakthrough product or service. SEO is based on understanding what people expect Already search. If your product or service is completely novel, chances are no one is looking for it.
• Very competitive SERPs. Some niches have competitive sites with enormous SEO teams and deep pockets. Combined with Google preferences for well-known brandsif you operate in these niches, it can be tough to compete. PPC offers a viable alternative to gaining first page visibility.

When to Choose SEO

Here are some situations where choosing SEO might make more sense:

• Keywords are too steep. Some industries, such as insurance and finance, have a cost-per-click (CPC) of several hundred dollars. For example, the keyword “direct auto insurance san antonio” has a CPC of $275.
• Your niche is confined. In certain industries or niches (e.g. adult, weapons, gambling, etc.) advertising is prohibited or restricted.
• You have a confined budget. PPC requires an upfront financial outlay, whereas SEO can drive traffic to your website without any direct cost per visitor.
• You are building an affiliate website. Affiliate sites earn a commission when people buy from their recommendations. While it is not impossible to build an affiliate site with PPC, it is tough to control the return on investment (ROI) because affiliate site owners cannot control sales conversion rates.

Final thoughts

There are cases where focusing on either SEO or PPC makes sense.

But in most cases, the best companies don’t differentiate between channels. If they generate a positive return on investment (ROI), you should be using all marketing channels.