So you’ve been working on your local SEO and all is going well. Now you are thinking about throwing some PPC ads into the mix. The question is, which keywords should you be targeting?
For example, is it a waste of money to target local (geo-targeted) keywords for a PPC campaign if it is already ranking in the map pack?
Read on and let’s take a closer look…
Is SEO and PPC integration worthwhile?
First things first, is it worth integrating SEO with PPC advertising? The short answer is yes. Both SEO and PPC and incredibly powerful marketing tools that, when used in conjunction, can deliver some impressive results. However, there is a right and a wrong way to integrate them.
In other words, you need a separate strategy for both – but it is absolutely still worth doing.
Should you target the same keywords in SEO and PPC?
As briefly touched on already we have created a scenario where you are already ranking well for local keywords in Google’s Map Pack. Would it be wasteful to go ahead and target local keywords in your PPC as well?
Make no mistake, in some cases you can target the same (or similar) keywords in both your SEO and your PPC Google Ads. However, this isn’t always advisable. For example, targeting the same keywords in both strategies can result in a poor performance on both ends.
Ideally, in SEO you want to use keywords that have high volume but are unprofitable in paid search. And vice versa; use PPC to target profitable terms that otherwise rank poorly in the organic rankings.
Using the Map Pack example, the chances of someone typing a local, ‘geo-targeted’ keyword into Google and then clicking on a sponsored link as opposed to a more detailed map pack is highly unlikely. As such, targeting local keywords in this example would indeed be a waste of money.
Yes, having as much ‘SERP real estate’ as possible isn’t necessarily a bad thing. However, that PPC budget could be spent on other keywords, say for example, a specific product, service, or promotion.
How can PPC complement your SEO?
There are many ways in which PPC and SEO can complement one another. For example:
- Use PPC ads to get fast traffic: this is particularly handy if you want to get fast eyes on some quality content that you have created. The more eyes you get on your content, the greater exposure and indeed the more chance of your work being shared and linked to – thus pushing its organic reach even further. As such, PPC ads can be incredibly useful.
- PPC ads increase authority: the more people encounter your brand, whether it be by simply scrolling past a paid advertisement, the fallout remains. Consumers who view your ads are much more likely to remember you.
- Gather useful insights from PPC data: you can also leverage a lot of data from a PPC campaign and this can help you shape your future content creation strategies.
Conclusion: Keyword research is essential
In conclusion, it is clear that keyword research remains one of the most important digital marketing tasks, whether it be for SEO or PPC.
All in all, when you are doing OK for SEO and targeting local keywords and features in the map packs, you don’t want to draw any attention away from that. Our advice would be to use PPC indeed, but to focus on a whole other aspect, as opposed to your successful local terms.
In any case, if you are having trouble deciding, this marketing agency in Singapore can guide you.
