Jason ParksAccording to Forbes, many businesses are torn between search engine optimization (SEO) and pay-per-click (PPC) advertising. Instead of debating whether to invest in organic or paid search, why not leverage the two different forms of online marketing for your benefit?
Implementing a PPC campaign can actually help you put together the perfect SEO strategy! By creating different PPC campaigns which target specific keywords, you will be able to not only gauge which keywords receive the most search volume, if tracked properly, you can also determine which keywords lead to the most conversions and the lowest cost per acquisition.
Google has a useful tool called the keyword planner; if you are a paid advertiser, this is an instrument that you are certainly familiar with. It allows you to obtain search volume for a list of keywords and can help group keywords into different ad groups.
These findings can also be used for SEO initiatives.
Let’s examine how several different businesses implemented a PPC strategy to gauge data for their SEO campaign. A company that owns and operates Charlotte apartments targeted the following keywords with similar search volume looking for a conclusive winner as the “top keyword.”
- Apartments Near UNCC
- UNCC Apartments
- UNC Charlotte Apartments
Not only were they able to determine that Apartments Near UNCC received the highest search volume and click through rate; they were able to gauge other important factors. The click to conversion rate for that keyword was nearly double the other two keywords as was the call volume.
A law firm was able to determine through PPC that while the keyword “divorce lawyer” received more search volume than “divorce attorney,” the later keyword converted at a higher percentage. Additionally, it was less competitive and made more sense to attack from an SEO perspective.
The beauty of PPC advertising is that within a 2-3 week time span you can start to obtain data, which will prove the most valuable keywords for your business. If you are generating conversions at a high percentage and a profitable cost per acquisition, the PPC campaign will likely be worth continuing. Regardless, the information you obtained from the PPC campaign can be utilized for your SEO strategy.
The next time your department is gathered around the conference table debating which keyword should be the primary focus for your SEO campaign, stop the argument right there. Speak up and tell your coworkers that implementing a PPC campaign will let the data speak for itself.
Pam Neely
