Management of SEO or PPC: Why Not Both? -

Google is always in the process of optimizing its SERPs. The leading search engine is rolling out one update after another, and the SEOs are on their toes to match up their game.

This is the major challenge for all managers looking toward perfecting their PPC campaigns.

How to Integrate SEO and PPC?

You need to start at the grassroots levels, by chalking out plans for your campaigns so each of them take both areas into account jointly. Without local SEO, PPC campaigns will fall flat. It is the only way you can maximize your reach and traffic.

Once your team successfully integrates SEO with PPC, you will be able to identify all the data points you need to better understand consumer behavior and location-based performances.

What are the Rewards of Seamless PPC Management and Integration?

This level of precise integration will enable you to achieve the following –

Adjust your PPC budgets and direct your resources to the most rewarding markets only.
Align your ads with the offline marketing campaigns and build better conversions.
Pick better organic keyword strategies to help you optimize website content for higher natural rankings.

How to Optimize your Integration?

Share Keyword Data

This is a paramount step in the integration process. Your keywords will help you become visible to the right target customers and prospects.

You will be able to dictate the information architecture of your website. Your content strategy will be more refined.

Both teams should conduct their keyword research and then compare their reports for the best results. This will help in aligning your audience’s online behavior, click-thru rates (CTRs), and conversions.

One common aim should be to use more long tailed keywords. Recent research shows that long tailed keywords have higher CTRs.

You can use Google AdWords, SEMRush, and other popular keyword research tools to finalize the selection of keywords for your two teams.

Without proper communication, any integration becomes impaired. Make sure your SEO and PPC teams are communicating via a sharable platform like Basecamp.

Set Common Goals and Share Combined Metrics

Setting goals across the two functions will help imbibe the team spirit among the integrated groups. You need to use information from both teams’ research.

Do not be random about the selection process. Conduct your research to see which results have more bearing.

Once you manage to combine the data from the teams, you will be able to gain a unique insight into the bounce rates, dwell times, and session durations for your website.

The metrics reviewed by your teams for Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) should be almost identical to each other. You can use this information in optimizing other media channels like social, email, and public relations / PR.

Remove the Cubicles to Maximize Production

If your teams always behave as two separate entities, it will be very difficult to maximize your company profits.

It makes no sense in terms of digital marketing to keep these two disciplines in silos.

They have their own methods of collecting actionable data.

Physically placing your SEO and PPC people in the same location will help enable and encourage collaboration, so move them closer together as soon as you can.

Who is a Successful PPC Manager?

After we have harped on about PPC and SEO, it is no secret that anyone who can make these departments work together is a better and more successful PPC manager.

If you want to be one too, let us give you a sneak peek into the lives of a few successful managers we know.

Mandatory Morning Check-ins

All PPC managers should check in on what happens after they left the office the day prior. It pays to face the wins and the losses of yesterday and make quick decisions about the day in hand.

These morning check-ins will help you stay in touch with your ad campaign performances.

Check on Ad Spends

Always keep a tab on how much you are spending on your ad campaigns. If your campaign is not making you at least enough revenue to break even or better, it is time to boost it.

If you have already done everything you can possibly think of to resuscitate the campaign, it very well might be time to terminate it. Or call in a professional in the industry to help.

Check on Relevance of Google Display Network (GDN) Sites

You need to monitor and exclude all irrelevant GDN sites on your Google Display Network. Limit your ads to relevant pages only.

Check on Your Top Spenders

Go to the Google AdWords dashboard. In the Campaigns tab, sort through the highest and lowest campaign spends.

If there are any that stand out markedly, check your search queries to see if it was an unusually busy day. Start adjusting bids or pausing keywords to make sure everything is even.

Verify Your Ad Positions

In the AdWords dashboard, check the Campaigns tab and review your ad positions. We try to avoid ad positions below two.

[Editor’s Note: Test this on your own campaigns – in some sectors, lower ad positions can drive higher ROIs and ROAS metrics.]

Read Your AdWords Alerts

Keep yourself updated on your AdWords alerts. We know how difficult it can be to sort through the hundreds of alerts that you might get every day for the most meaningful messages.

However, this is an easy and rewarding way to derive useful information about your PPC campaign performance.

Check Your PPC Performance

How is your campaign performing against other platforms? Go to Google Analytics.

Then Check Conversions > Goals > Overview > Source/Medium for a direct peek into the analytics.

Watch for New Pings

A new campaign can take up to a month to take off. The first few days are most critical for any campaign.

Keep your eyes on Google Alerts for any recent activity and metrics so you can respond in a timely fashion.

Summary

PPC and SEO are very different, but their future aims are the same. Integrating your teams should give you an upper hand in your chosen market.

Since no two PPC accounts are alike, managing an integrated campaign will never be a textbook project. You will have to rely on your wit, decision-making, and experience to tackle all oncoming challenges.

Featured Image Credit: CC 0; Public Domain. View original image on Wikimedia Commons.

Disclaimer: The views and opinions stated in this post are that of the author, and Return On Now may or may not agree with any or all of the commentary.

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Charlie Brown

Charlie Brown is a freelance content writer. He has written many good and informative articles on different categories such as technology, health, fashion, beauty, education, career, and travel. He is very responsible towards his job and loves to share his knowledge and experience with friends and colleagues. Also he recommends consulting services of top PPC management Company.