People are always asking how they can increase their lead volume and how to show up on Google’s first search engine results page. The answer is simple but the implementation isn’t. In this article we will go over Search Engine Optimization (SEO) and Pay-Per-Click (PPC) and how to use them together.
Search Engine Optimization is an organic tactic for being found online from specific keywords and phrases. Pay-Per-Click is the paid tactic for being found online. So, which one is the way to go?
Which Do I Choose?
SEO is like paying for your mortgage. Every time you make a payment, you are gaining equity in your home and will eventually own that space. In terms of internet marketing, when you implement SEO you are telling Google a story of what you do and where you do it. The more relevant your content is to the search query, the higher opportunity you have of showing up on the top of the search engine results page. Having unique content specific to the keywords you want to be found for is significantly important. Too often we come across websites that have a 0% visibility for the services a company is offering because they have not optimized their website to be found for what they are doing.
PPC on the other hand is like renting your home. Every time you make a payment you get to keep living there, but as soon as you stop making payments you no longer have a home. In terms of internet marketing, you bid on certain keywords in certain markets at certain times of day so you show up at the top of the search engine results page but as soon as you stop paying you lose all traction. Because there is no equity in PPC it is critical that the campaign be optimized correctly so that your dollars are working for you and not against you. To simply get started with a PPC campaign for your HVAC or Home Services company, learn more here.
Short and Long Term Strategies
SEO can take some time before you start seeing residual results from that campaign. It could be months or even up to a year before you really start seeing big visibility changes. It takes multiple pages of content and optimization to let search engines know that you are a relevant result for the searches you want to be found for. SEO is also a broad reach tactic meaning it casts a wide net for your audience. This process can take a while to gain momentum, so most companies will pair their SEO campaign with a PPC campaign.
PPC is a faster way of getting your name in the position you want it in vs SEO and it also can get hyper focused for your audience. With PPC you can run ads for specific demographics like married couples in 350k homes that were built 20 years ago in a specific zip code. You can also schedule your ads to run at specified times throughout the day so that you are capitalizing on your type of customer at the times you are operating.
Use Both!
Ideally, what you want to do is create content that is easy to read and uniquely built for the services and locations you offer your services in and pair that with a PPC campaign that is optimized for the specific demographic you are targeting. Doing this will help your organic visibility by driving paid traffic to your website. Search engines recognize this and you will typically start seeing higher organic search engine visibility for your website faster than if you did SEO or PPC separately.