AdWords & SEO – A Match Made in Heaven

Quite often, when referring to Google AdWords and SEO (Search Engine Optimisation) in the same sentence, the phrase which is used is ‘AdWords vs SEO’. The common misconception is often that it is one or the other, whether that be due to cost, flexibility or results is completely irrelevant. The simple fact is that you will find firm advocates for both marketing strategies, because (and this is the bottom line)… they both get results when done well.

First, let’s look at AdWords. It’s flexible, fast and reactive. You can easily test search traffic on hundreds or thousands of keyword variants. AdWords allows you to explore how people are searching for your products and services. When a new product comes out, the process of setting up a new Ad group dedicated to it is quite often a same day experience – and with that said, you can be on the first page of Google catching that search traffic and directing it through to your site within hours of posting the new Ad group live. In a nutshell, AdWords allows you to find out what works and what doesn’t in remarkably short time frames – which is a pretty big positive!

The one thing that many people overlook is that as you discover keywords that convert or have high traffic volumes that are actually engaging with your website, is that you are collating invaluable data for your long term online strategy: SEO.

When you have discovered keywords that are typed in often by Google users that drive quality/converting traffic through to your site via AdWords, then you have the starting ground for an effective SEO campaign. Unlike AdWords, SEO is a slow and methodical process and is in ways limited as you can only optimise your site for so many keyword themes at a time. Instead of being something that can be put up in a matter of days, we are looking at a process of months, and in competitive industries, it’s fair to say years. It’s vital that when optimising a site for keyword sets that they are the right keywords, because it is no mean feat to get Google to recognise your site as the most relevant site to a keyword theme.

Google wants educational and informative content. This needs to be created and integrated with the site in a manner that appears natural. Google also wants to see that you are regarded as an authority when it comes to your keywords… this means creating quality links to your site from other ‘recognised authorities’. Google wants your site to be user friendly. Then there’s the trickiest part… Google will penalise you for over optimisation, so it’s not a case of just doing it all at once and hoping. The work needs to be rolled out methodically and patiently, allowing Google to cache your site, reward your last round of work with ranking improvements before implementing the next round of work. When done correctly, your website is on page one, 24/7 and when people are clicking on your organic link, you are not paying each and every time.

This is where the true partnership kicks in. When you have a keyword ranking organically, and an ad serving in conjunction with it, suddenly you are taking up twice as much space on page one of Google’s first page of search results, doubling your chances of getting the searcher through to your site. AdWords can ensure that you are still found while your SEO is getting you from page 10 (or 99!) of the search results to page one, and for those keywords that aren’t yet ranking, AdWords will fill in the gaps, and allow you to continuously research search trends in preparation for your next round of SEO.

In closing, if you found two ways to drive customers into your store… wouldn’t it be a little crazy to neglect one in favour of the other? More customers mean more sales, so when thinking about how to grow your business online- here’s the obvious answer!

If you want to start taking up as much space as possible on Google’s first Search Engine Results Page, then speak with SponsoredLinX on 0800 004 672 to learn how you can set-up an integrated marketing campaign with both AdWords and SEO to achieve better business outcomes.

---