We all know that Google is constantly updating its algorithm to provide the most relevant search results for a user. We also know that these updates can happen without much notice. One day you’re on page 1 of the search results, the next you’re nowhere to be found. This is the struggle that SEO experts face on a daily basis. What works one day, may not work the next. So what can you do when your SEO starts to fail?
Invest in Pay-Per-Click (PPC)! Now, I’m sure you’re thinking, “I’ve tried PPC before and spent a lot of money with little to no results.” This is a common theme I have heard from some people. Because their PPC was done poorly in the past, they are apprehensive about starting a PPC campaign again. Well, just because it didn’t work in the past, doesn’t mean it won’t work now!
So how do PPC and SEO work together? You have to look at the big picture of your campaign. For example, let’s say you’re just starting your SEO campaign. It is going to take some time for Google and the other search engines to index and rank your page. While this is going on, your competitors are already ranking and collecting leads. Here is where PPC can be useful. While the SEO campaign is ramping up, investing in PPC for the key procedures you want to be found for can bring in leads to your office. You won’t have organic ranking yet, but with a streamlined and strategic approach to PPC, you can be the top paid listing with very little spend on your part (if done strategically and effectively). Once the SEO starts working, you can pause the PPC campaign and let your SEO do its job.
OH NO ANOTHER ALGORITHM UPDATE!
Turn that PPC campaign back on to augment your drop in ranking. As you can see, effectively using PPC to augment your SEO is a good strategy to ensure that users can still find your practice, regardless of updates.
So, what if I want to run PPC and SEO simultaneously? Even better! Running PPC with your SEO is a great way to ensure leads are coming into your office. Now, instead of just one position within the search engine, you have two! It’s double the chances of someone choosing you. Your Google+ listing/website showing up too? Now you have three positions on one page! You’re taking up valuable real estate on the search results page. The image below demonstrates this concept.
The benefits of running a strategic PPC and SEO campaign are obvious: the more times you show up, the more likely a user will click on one of your links.
If you’re still a little wary about running a PPC campaign and are still trying to manipulate the search engines to get the rankings you want, please read Rande’s blog post “Search Engine Manipulation is DEAD.”
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