We talk a lot about the power of pay-per-click (PPC) advertising around here. But while PPC is an immensely effective tool for many businesses, it’s that much more impressive when it’s paired with additional marketing strategies.

Take, for example, search engine optimization (SEO). In many ways, SEO and PPC are perfectly complementary to one another. And by including both of them in your marketing plans, you’ll typically improve a client’s position in search results.

Let’s take a closer look at why SEO and PPC actually work even better together.

Paid + Organic = Double Your Search Visibility

Investing in both paid (PPC) and organic (SEO) search strategies can end up doubling your clients’ visibility in relevant search results pages. That’s because paid and organic search show up in different places within SERPs; paid ads appear at the very top of the page, while most organic results start slightly “below the fold.”

Bidding on the right Google Ads keywords will help your client’s website appear right at eye level. But what happens when a web user continues to scroll through the search results? If your client’s brand can appear again further down the page, that name recognition can subconsciously impact brand awareness and overall perception – which can also make it more likely that their site will be clicked.

There’s an old marketing rule of thumb that claims a customer has to see an ad at least seven times before they’ll actually make a purchase. But if your brand can appear more frequently in search results, it stands to reason that your ads could go further while generating more trust in the process. 

At the very least, you’ll experience more brand visibility – and who doesn’t want that? That translates to more opportunities for customers to visit your site, express their interest, and buy your products or services. 

SEO Succeeds Where PPC May Fall Short

PPC services often yield incredible results within a short period of time. When you’re promoting a new product release or trying to quickly drive traffic to a specific web page, pay-per-click advertising can be an excellent way to go.

That said, PPC can be prone to certain drawbacks. For businesses on an especially tight marketing budget or those operating in highly competitive industries, PPC alone may not be enough to help small business owners achieve their goals. Although it can generate clicks within a matter of minutes, costs can also add up quickly. And if you need to pause your campaign due to financial constraints, your traffic will drop off almost immediately.

That’s why it’s smart to invest in SEO as a supplement to PPC. Search engine optimization is meant to be a long-term marketing solution; in fact, it’s typical for businesses to not see much in the way of results during the first six months of a new campaign. Building your organic presence takes time and effort, but it’s usually well worth it. The work you do on your SEO today can continue to drive traffic and sales for months or even years down the line! And because SEO is a highly affordable marketing strategy, it’s possible for most businesses to invest in it while keeping PPC campaigns running. 

Additionally, SEO is all about providing valuable education and solving problems, allowing you to create a sense of goodwill that paid advertising strategies can’t always capture. Paid ads are perfect for customers who are ready to buy right now – but organic search is usually more aligned with customers still in the information-gathering phase of their journey. By pursuing both strategies, you’ll maintain a more balanced approach to marketing that will be complementary (rather than adversarial) in nature.

Diverse Strategies Will Protect Your Business

You know what they say about putting all your eggs in one basket. Generally speaking, diversification is one of the best ways to protect any type of investment. The same goes for your marketing strategy. 

Although you could certainly spend your entire marketing budget on PPC, that can represent a risk even for the most seasoned of PPC professionals. That’s because none of us are truly in control of the platforms or algorithms we rely on in the digital marketing landscape. We learn as much as we can about them and stay up-to-date on the latest changes. But ultimately, we’re at the mercy of Google, Meta, and other internet giants. If they decide your campaign is of poor quality or a big update is rolled out that impacts websites in your niche, it can take a lot of work to recover. And if your only marketing strategy hinges on one platform, your business could take a huge hit.

Investing in a diverse marketing strategy – say, SEO combined with PPC – can protect your business in the event of these unforeseen complications. If a platform suddenly goes dark or an update renders a go-to strategy effectively useless, you’ll want a “backup generator” of sorts to keep your marketing running. 

When you take a multi-pronged approach to marketing, you’ll have the option of kicking your PPC campaign into high gear while you recover from an organic search algorithm update – or, alternatively, experiencing major gains with SEO while you test out new PPC plans of action. You’ll have a safety net that will keep clients coming to your site, even if something goes awry.

Benefit From the Combined Power of PPC + SEO

When it comes to SEO versus PPC, it’s actually not an either/or. Your strategy will be much stronger with the power of two. To learn more about our white label PPC program and how we can help you get the white label SEO support you need, get in touch with us today.