Digital channels offer plenty of techniques to help businesses streamline the marketing process, eliminate waste and redundancy, and get better marketing results—and many of them are virtually free.
But there's one particular area where being selective with your resources may end up costing you more than you may realize.
When it comes to search, marketers have long been able to choose whether they would focus their team's efforts and budget on search engine optimization (SEO), or rely on pay-per-click (PPC) campaigns to drive them to the top of the search engine results page (SERP). When done right, each technique can deliver powerful results, helping your business get found by interested consumers. But the truth is that, individually, neither has sufficient power to help you conquer the competition in today's crowded marketplace. Rather, these two arms of search engine marketing (SEM) work best when they are executed hand-in-hand.
As a recent Sitepoint post points out, SEO practices require a consistent, long-term effort, as well as ongoing adjustments to identify the optimal formula for your business's success on search; while PPC offers broader keyword coverage, can produce results immediately, and can be turned off at a moment's notice if it's not performing to expectations. On the other hand, in order for PPC to pay off, it needs to be supported by relevant information and offers—content that must be search-optimized in order to get found by consumers at the precise time and place they need it most.
But, by leveraging both techniques simultaneously, your business can enjoy a search synergy—capable of reaping short-term benefits, building momentum over time, and capitalizing on new opportunities, all at once.
Complementary benefits and other marketing dynamics like these are why every program and campaign we execute at Prove is built on a well-planned matrix of techniques—a strategic formula that is custom-designed to deliver optimal ROI while reducing our clients' costs.
At Prove, our clients have come to rely on our deep understanding of the complex, always-changing search engine algorithm—in fact, our experience at developing sound SEM strategies is one of the founding principles of our practice. Let us know if we can help you strike the right balance among the marketing techniques in your arsenal.