November 28th, 2016
Having a PPC agency separate from an SEO agency used to be quite normal. Why hire one company when you can hire experts from both sides? But now, as the lines blur and digital marketing strategies continue to evolve, it has become increasingly clear that search engine optimization and pay-per-click are not rivals, but allies.
The data doesn't lie: using both strategies together elicits better results. Approximately 48% of page one search engine clicks are to organic listings. The rest of the clicks are dependent on paid ads, next page results, changing the keyword, or the answer to the search is resolved through carousel results, which don't require a click.
Google periodically changes its SERPs, integrating both local organic search results, and paid ads. There is practically no divide.
Pay-per-click ads are also spreading beyond search engines. Now, on social media sites like Facebook and Twitter, these ads are becoming more prevalent. Now social media and content marketing are both effective forms of digital marketing.
Content marketing costs 62% less than traditional outbound marketing but generated three times more leads. SEO strategies almost always involve some sort of content marketing, just as pay-per-click will almost always include social media marketing. They work together, increasing organic clicks.
For those who are still loyal to one or the other, Google's 2011 report, "Incremental Clicks Impact Of Search Advertising," proves that paid ads do not inhibit the performance of organic clicks. When Google tested what would happen to organic results if paid ads were paused, they found that 89% of the traffic generated by search ads was not replaced by the organic clicks drawn through SEO, leaving a massive gap in search results.
Regardless of your budget, your business can afford both forms of digital search marketing. Deep data and quality marketing agencies can help you drive as many results to page one as possible, using a combination of marketing tips and tactics.
If you are not using both SEO and PPC, you're missing out on traffic that you didn't even know you could generate. For search results that pay off big time, contact Sectorlink.