Are you planning a digital marketing campaign but don’t know where to start? Our in-house SEO team members are experts at developing marketing strategies that get results! We work to combine traditional marketing elements with digital tools meant to increase online traffic, engagement, and conversions.
Marketers and business owners often wonder whether SEO vs Google Ads is the most effective strategy for growing an online presence. We’ll explore this debate and share ways to expand your brand using an SEO Ad approach.
What is SEO?
You’ve likely heard of SEO and have considered how it can benefit your marketing campaigns. The purpose of SEO is to optimize your online presence so that online content ranks higher in search engines, including Google. This strategy requires the use of various optimization tools like keyword integration and linking. When these techniques are applied effectively to a website, visitor traffic increases as well as conversions and sales. This is how Google determines your online ranking:
- Keywords — For your business to rank in the right search engines, you need to select relevant keywords. Google rankings are based on the keywords selected so they should be directly related to the topics on your website. Using the appropriate keywords will ensure that you reach your intended audience.
- Content — Google will intuitively connect users to high-quality content that will provide relevant information they are looking for during a search session. Long and informative content generally ranks higher on search engines. High-quality and lengthy content will keep users on your website longer and increase engagement. This helps to communicate positive signals to Google that your content should be one of the first to be seen.
- Security — Since online security has become a significant concern, encrypting information on your website with an SSL certificate has been a game-changer. Google ranks secure websites higher with an SSL certificate than those that do not have one.
- UX — A positive user experience keeps internet browsers engaged. By enhancing your website’s user experience, visitors will stay longer and improve your search engine rankings. Simple ways to do this begin with including bullets and headings in your content and adding interesting videos and images.
- Mobile friendly — A growing number of people are finding businesses using mobile browsers. Implementing a responsive design will allow potential customers to find you on any device, including mobile. Since Google continues to push for the use of responsive design while using the mobile-first indexing system, your website should be mobile-friendly to increase your internet rankings.
- Page loading — Have you visited a website that loaded too slow and lost interest? Customers looking for your product want to reach what they need quickly. That means your website should load fast to avoid high bounce rates. Needless to say, websites that load slowly are likely to rank lower.
What is a Google Ad?
Also referred to as SEO Google Ads, these digital tools are used on what is known as a pay-per-click advertising platform that helps marketers reach their target audience. You’ve likely seen them while searching for an item online or using a social media platform. A PPC ad can appear in various ways including:
- Search ads — You may have noticed an SEO ad that appears at the top of search engine results pages or SERPs. While they look like an organic listing, they usually include the tag “ad” to differentiate them.
- Shopping ads — These SEO Google Ads appear in a carousel format at the top of SERPs and include images and prices of various products.
- Local service ads - When searching for local information, you may find SEO Google ads displaying local electricians, contractors, or plumbers looking to attract more leads. They are similar to shopping ads with the same carousel format but include business information as well.
SEO vs Google: Which is the Best for Business?
If you’re conflicted on whether SEO vs Google is best for your business, you should consider your business goals first. Understanding how each can be used to accomplish business objectives is key to developing effective marketing strategies. Here’s how each one is beneficial:
- Google ads — For businesses looking to focus on generating leads and sales with immediate results, Google Ads is the perfect platform. This PPC solution allows you to bid on ads that can put your product directly in front of potential customers. You only need to pay when a potential customer clicks on your ad. This tool widens your target audience while giving you the flexibility to make changes to your ads as needed. It is the ideal digital marketing tool for small businesses that are not able to routinely make changes or updates to their SEO to reflect new business promotions. Although this solution will not increase your organic rankings or generate similar results as SEO, PPC will reach your target customers at the moment they need your offering.
- SEO — For businesses looking to focus on generating consistent traffic over the long run and increasing brand awareness, SEO is perfect. All content that is included on your website must be descriptive, clear, informative, and robust. It should be written in easy-to-read language with the target words tailored to your reader. Backlinks from other blogs, industry publications, customers, colleagues, and leaders in your field can also help raise your SERP rankings. Lastly, small changes made to your website can make a big impact on website traffic and visibility in search results.
SEO Google Ads are the Best of Both Worlds
The topic of SEO vs Google Ads will surely continue to generate heated debates. As digital marketing experts, we recommend using a strategic blend of the two tools. Using both methods to enhance your online presence in SERPs allows you to reach your target audience quicker. Here are specific advantages of incorporating SEO Google Ads into your digital marketing strategy:
- Raise brand visibility — Combining these online tools will double the amount of search visibility your business receives. The increase in Organic results and PPC ads will amplify the number of chances that your target audience will find your business page and make a purchase.
- Increase website traffic — When you want the odds of website traffic to skyrocket in your favor, SEO Google Ads will get the results you’re looking for. You will generate both long and short-term website traffic quickly.
- Use Google Ads to optimize SEO — SEO Adwords can increase your business exposure exponentially. By using the same targeted keywords in both Google Ads and SEO, you’ll have the best of both worlds. When testing targeted keywords with Google Ads, you will find out whether they will be effective in an SEO Google Ads campaign.
SEO Adwords Strategy
Investing in both PPC and SEO tools will help you reach potential customers looking for your products and services online. Google Ads connects your business to customers immediately regardless of the size of your business. SEO is a traditional digital marketing technique that makes this connection over time. Even if the optimization takes a while, it will eventually get it right.
The key to effective SEO is avoiding the urge to trick the algorithm by creating fake pages or spamming with the use of too many search terms in your content. Including text images for titles, links, or content are unrecognizable by a Google bot. These techniques will have the opposite effect on your SEO rankings by encouraging Google to ignore your website. The best way to implement SEO Adwords into a digital marketing campaign is to consider easy ways for potential customers to navigate and understand your online presence.
We Can Help with SEO Google Ads
As an award-winning and integrated marketing agency, we continue to evolve with the use of cutting-edge digital tools meant to enhance our client’s online visibility. Our focus and commitment to high-quality SEO Ad campaigns make us a leader in the digital marketing industry. We provide tailored and comprehensive solutions to business owners and marketers who are looking to outsource their SEO campaigns with these solutions:
- Multimedia — We curate online experiences by combining social, digital, and mobile media that connect your target audience to your products and services. Our in-house media team consistently delivers high-impact campaigns with high-impact results.
- SEO — As SEO Google Ads experts, we know how to drive traffic through creative design and conversion rate optimization. We generate positive returns on ad spend for both B2B and B2C websites while properly communicating your brand message.
- Web development — Positioning yourself with a mobile-friendly website is the first step in building a successful digital marketing campaign. We create customized corporate and e‑commerce websites.
Are you ready to grow your business with digital marketing? Give us a call today for a free marketing audit.