Unifying Paid Search & SEO: The Perfect Strategy for Optimal Digital Visibility

Guest post by Jonathan Tattoni, Senior Paid Media Manager, and Sarah Denbigh, Digital Marketing Associate, of Electric Orange Creative.

The digital landscape has always been a battleground for visibility, and it is often a costly one at that. In today's rapidly-evolving world, the need for an integrated, multi-faceted digital strategy has never been more critical. Paid Search and Organic Search are often considered separate entities. However, for brands looking to maximize their digital visibility and diverse online presence, integrating Paid & Organic strategies leads to driving significant value.

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The Differences Between Paid Search and Organic Search

It’s important to understand the nuances of these types of Search strategies individually. Paid Search (PPC) involves advertisers paying a fee each time their ad is clicked by users. The most common platform for this is Google AdWords, where ads appear on Google search engine results pages (SERP) based on keyword targeting.

Compared to when these placements are paid for, Organic Search refers to the unpaid search results that appear in the SERP due to their relevance to the user’s search query. These results are influenced by technical Search Engine Optimization (SEO) which improves a website’s content and structure to increase visibility in search results.

The Synergy Between Paid and Organic Search - An Integrated Approach

So, what is an integrated search strategy? An integrated strategy involves the seamless incorporation of both tactics, which creates a unified and impactful online presence. This enables our teams at Electric Orange to effectively reduce prospecting costs while continuing to expand reach and scale our clients’ businesses. This approach is data-driven and involves gathering insights from the whole, rather than focusing solely on individual channels, in an effort to uncover trends and identify overall user patterns.

Integrating Paid Search and SEO strategies doesn’t simply translate to running them both simultaneously. At Electric Orange, we firmly believe in combining these two powerful marketing tactics by creating a synergy that allows both to complement and bolster each other. Here’s why it is crucial:

Comprehensive Data Analysis

Combining Paid Search and SEO allows for broadened data collection, analysis and a deeper understanding of user behavior. A primary example of this is when keyword data from Paid Search research and keyword analysis helps refine on-site optimizations and SEO efforts. This can also happen the other way around. It is also very common where SEO keyword research can help inform Paid Search ad copy. Obtaining rankings in search is obtained through this core research, one that if not done cohesively will ultimately yield worse results. The key objective should be to obtain rankings across SERPs and maximize market share, and this effort should include both organic and paid strategies to achieve this.  

Maximizing SERP Visibility & Efficiency

When Paid Search and SEO are optimized together, a brand can dominate search across the entire results page. By strategically positioning Paid Search alongside Organic Search results, especially for users searching for branded terms, we achieve maximum brand visibility. This initial visual impact when users search for a brand’s products or services is a very powerful tool to increase visibility and serve as a crucial element in brand protection.

Cost-effective Strategy

An integrated strategy can help to identify high-performing organic keywords that can be optimized further for cost-effective PPC campaigns. Similarly, low-performing organic keywords can be supplemented with PPC to maintain the necessary visibility, making the overall strategy more cost-effective.

Improved User Experience

Both PPC and SEO can greatly contribute to the overall user experience. PPC can offer immediate and relevant solutions to users, while SEO focuses on delivering high-quality content that meets users' needs over time. When integrated effectively, these strategies create a seamless user journey from the search query to conversion.

How to Achieve an Integrated Search Strategy

The first step towards integration is to understand that SEO and PPC are two sides of the same coin – both aimed at driving relevant traffic to your website. Here are a few steps to get you started:

• Shared Insights Across Teams: This idea is absolutely key at Electric Orange, where we ensure that SEO and Paid teams are collaborating and sharing insights. Effective communication between the teams can lead to a wealth of shared data, improving both strategies and most effectively helping our clients grow.
• Keyword Harmonization: Use Paid Search data to understand which keywords bring in the most conversions, and use this insight to optimize your website's SEO.
• Consistent Messaging: Make sure your brand messaging is consistent across both SEO and Paid Search. Keeping consistency not only boosts brand recognition, but it also enhances user trust and engagement.
• Leverage the Power of Remarketing: By using SEO to bring in new traffic and Paid Search for remarketing efforts, you can guide users further down the sales funnel, increasing the chance of conversion.

As most of us know in 2023, the digital marketplace is fiercely competitive – agencies and client partners must help brands leverage every tool at their disposal to ensure visibility and engagement. Integrated Search is a highly efficient, cost-effective, and robust approach to maximizing your digital marketing efforts. By harmonizing these strategies, you can create a comprehensive, data-driven, and powerful digital marketing strategy that drives growth and success.

For more information or to schedule a consultation please reach out to Electric Orange.