Things Paid Ads Can do that SEO Can’t
If you read this blog at all, you know my affinity for SEO. That’s what I do on a daily basis. But, the truth is that SEO can’t do everything. Where it fails, however, paid ads (PPC, social media ads, etc.) can fill in.
Here are a few things that PPC can do, but that SEO either cannot or shouldn’t do:
Give a Kick-Start to a New Website
If you have a website, you probably don’t want to wait to generate traffic for it. While you work on an SEO strategy, paid ads can get you to the top of Google without waiting for the SEO effects to kick in.
Target Loosely-Related Terms
With SEO, you really have to target terms strictly describing what you do. However, with PPC, you can target terms that loosely-relate to your business in order to draw in extra business. For example, if you run a local auto tire shop, you might consider targeting “auto repairs” or “muffler replacement.” You might not do comprehensive auto repair or muffler work, but those Google users might need new tires as well, right?
Target Competition
With SEO, you really have no reason to include competing brands in your meta tags or content. It’s not really too ethical, honest or even worthwhile, since you won’t beat a competitor in organic search for their own brand name. But, with paid ads, you can honestly target competition and include honest descriptions of your product or service to draw the user in.
Keep in mind, you want to veer toward honesty with this approach. Some insurance agencies pay to show up for “Geico” in Google searches, and describe their company as being Geico. Only when you call do you find out that they are not actually the company you sought. As you’d imagine, this could lead to anger. Be as honest as possible up front in order to avoid losing conversions.
Direct Phone Dialing on the Google Page
In mobile paid ads, users can click on your phone number without even visiting your website. In other words, they can convert before having to see your landing page. It’s a streamlined approach to search marketing.
Catered Landing Page
With paid ads, you can design a specific landing page catered to the user who searches for a specific term, or for users who would conceivably search for a set of terms. You could just have them land on your home page, but why not send them to a page describing the exact product for which they searched?
Immediate, Exact RIO Data
SEO takes time and lacks that ability to present accurate details as to true conversions from organic search. Paid search, conversely, allows business owners to see exactly how many calls they received in regards to specific paid ad campaigns. The ability to really measure success really outdoes SEO in this regard.
All of this being said, SEO still matters (or else why would I write about it so much). But, paid ads make for a great addition to your search marketing strategy and allow you to reach users from different angles.
Tags: Buffalo NY SEO, Paid Ads, PPC, Search Engines