Until recently, it was common practice to split your digital marketing between an agency specialising in search engine optimisation (SEO) and one specialising in pay per click advertising (PPC). This approach made sense as agencies often focused on one aspect over the other.
As digital marketing has established itself as an essential facet of business, the lines between these two forms of marketing have blurred and now it is arguably a more sensible choice to keep all aspects of your digital marketing strategy under one agency’s roof. If anything, SEO and PPC are becoming increasingly important to each other.
If you look at a search result page on Google, you will note that the list of results is more often a mixture of both paid and organic listings. Google has announced plans to include paid adverts and pins in local search results and search results on Google Maps so it is fair to assume that integration of SEO and PPC is only going to increase.
Think PPC, Think Google
Google has been the leading name in online advertising for so long that when many people think of Adwords when they think of PPC. This made appearing in targeted search essential, meaning that SEO and PPC could be placed under the umbrella term of ‘search marketing’. Then social media rose in prominence.
With networks such as Facebook and Twitter becoming ever more influential, PPC developed to mean paid search as well as paid social, which muddied the waters as social and content marketing were added to the mixture.
It is now common for your SEO to reference content marketing and your PPC expert to extoll the benefits of social media. Digital marketing is no longer a selection of separate practices managed by different professionals; they work in conjunction with each other. A successful digital marketing campaign will include aspects of SEO, PPC, content and social media marketing.
PPC and SEO go hand in hand
When digital marketing was in its infancy, employing different agencies to cover different roles was commonplace. You would have one on board to handle website design, one for further development and optimisation and a range of others, depending on the number of different marketing channels you pursued. It was unwieldy and difficult to manage.
There was no such thing as a unified marketing campaign; each was only interested in their chosen practice.
By bringing everything under one banner, you cut out any competition that may grow between the agencies you use. Everyone is clear on the aim of the campaign and can work in unison to see to its maximum potential. When PPC needs to take the lead, it can. If those working on the PPC campaign need assistance from the SEO team, they are there ready to help; there is no waiting for returned calls or a lengthy email conversation.
To take control of your company’s digital marketing strategy, bring all facets of your online marketing under one roof. You will not regret it.