What is PPC ? How Does it Help SEO’s CRO?
If you haven’t figured it out yet, marketers love acronyms! This headline has 3 of them in it!
PPC = Pay Per Click – Paying on the clicks your ads get while being shown on search engines.
SEO = Search Engine Optimization – Improving your organic ranking in search engines.
CRO = Conversion Rate Optimization – Improving the percentage of people who convert
In this strategy we are using PPC ads along with our organic rankings to take up as much real estate on the SERP as possible. Below is a screen shot of a SERP for the query “Running Shoes”, even though RunnersWorld.com is ranking #1 organically I believe that Zappos.com organic listing would get more clicks because of the repetition of the domain on the SERP. Not to mention the great title & meta description they have also.
Benefits of Optimizing PPC For SEO CRO
I wish I could give you specific data for the Zappos & RunnersWorld example but they won’t share that information with me. What data I do have I pulled from the test SEER Interactive did across their clients.
They tested what would happen if they started showing PPC ads for keywords that they are ranking at the top of the first page of Google.
They found that by having both organic and paid links showing up together they were able to double the amount of organic clicks and only a slight increase in PPC ad clicks! It is a small sample size, but the results are impressive. Below are the actual numbers from their study.
How To Optimize PPC For SEO CRO
1. See what keywords are ranking I like using the tool SEMrush because it goes out and finds what keywords your domain is already ranking for and the search volume for those terms. I don’t believe the rankings to be 100% accurate but it is close and you might find some quality terms that you didn’t realize you are already ranking for.
2. Prioritize which keywords to target Take the data from SEMrush and export it out to excel.
- Filter keywords for position 1 – 10, ideally 1 – 5 for the best results.
- Filter the remaining keywords by search volume or CPC.
- Now you have a list of keywords you can start targeting with PPC to see if it increases organic clicks.
3. Test, Test, Test Every industry and keyword is different so you just have to start testing now to see what works for your case. If you don’t currently do PPC you can get Free Google Adword credits & Free Bing / Yahoo Ad credits ($50 – $100) to get you started.
PPC & SEO FAQ
Q: Does having PPC ads increase SEO Ranking
A: No
Q: Will doing PPC ads guarantee getting me more organic traffic?
A: Nothing is a guarantee, that is why we always need to test and measure to see what works.
Q: What if I don’t have the budget to spend on PPC ads?
A: Both Google & Bing will give you free credits ($50 – $100) to get you started.
Q: How do I set up and use PPC ads?
A: Here is a guide from Google on how to get started in PPC.
PPC & SEO Optimization Resources:
- SEMrush – Tool that helps you find what terms your website is ranking for and what your competitors PPC ads are.
- Google PPC Guide – A simple step by step guide to get started with PPC on Google.
- Beginners Guide to PPC – by PPC Hero.
- SEO + PPC = SERP real estate & ROI – Search Engine Land
