Home / Considering Turning Off Paid Advertising When SEO Starts Ranking?
Are you considering choosing your winner in the ultimate showdown of search engine advertising (SEA) vs search engine optimisation (SEO)? It’s time to dispel the myth that these two powerful marketing strategies are at odds. Being a full-service Digital Marketing Agency, we have the luxury of covering these two acquisition channels as well as many more…Don’t fall for the notion that paid advertising like Google Adss or PPC is just a temporary fix while you wait for your SEO efforts to bear fruit. Maximise your online presence and drive results with a balanced approach between SEA and SEO efforts.
Time perhaps to unleash the Power of Paid and Organic Marketing: Ditch the Rivalry, Embrace the Partnership!
Are you tired of hearing the age-old myth that Paid and Organic Marketing are in a constant battle for supremacy? It’s no wonder that many business owners fall for this misconception, with marketing agencies often perpetuating this fallacy.
“Just give it a few months and let the SEO do its magic. No need to waste money on paid ads, right?” Sound familiar? Unfortunately, this is just poor advice. The truth is that millions of people click on ads every day, and without these clicks, Google and other advertising platforms wouldn’t be able to thrive.
It’s time to cast aside the notion that SEO and PPC are in competition and embrace the reality that they are powerful partners. By aligning these two strategies, you’ll achieve a stronger, more comprehensive online presence that drives results. Don’t get left behind – the future of internet marketing lies in the harmonious marriage of Paid and Organic.
The truth you should hear from any Search Agency that covers Paid Search and Organic Search is “Say Goodbye to “Number One” Pipe Dreams and Hello to Real Results with Paid and Organic Marketing!”
We know you love hearing the promise of reaching the top of the search engines with SEO, but the truth is, there are no guarantees in this ever-changing landscape. Algorithms shift, updates disrupt your rankings, and personalised search results can render your hard-won position irrelevant. Quick wins, silver bullets and what used to work in the 90’s and naughties won’t work today and beyond as Google wants to make it better by challenging how we publish our websites to gain authority.
Why stake your entire business strategy on something you can’t control? It’s time to embrace the power of a balanced approach to Paid and Organic Marketing. While you may achieve that coveted “number one” spot organically, there’s no guarantee that potential customers will see or click on your result amidst the sea of ads that often take priority. And then there is the fact that mobile real estate brings in a different window when someone searches. Google is already inserting adverts into Organic Search Results.
Our take is that, don’t settle for pipe dreams – invest in a comprehensive marketing strategy that leverages the strengths of both Paid and Organic. Drive real results and reach your target audience in the most effective way possible. Become an authority, stick at it and it will protect your revenue all around.
Have you seen the current state of a SERP lately? Being number one organically on Google rarely means you are actually the first thing that is seen on the page. With the introduction of the Search Generative Experience and the number of people running ads, you could scroll down half the page before your organic result even shows up. That’s without taking Google My Business profiles, YouTube videos and People Also Ask questions into account.
Running ads can help you cut through all of that noise and show higher up the page, even if you are position one.
Organic rankings certainly garner clicks and quite a lot of them. However, search ads do too. Some website owners hold the belief that if they cease running ads, then organic rankings will receive more clicks. Unfortunately, this is not always the case. Suppose you are running an advertisement for a keyword where you also rank number one organically. The thought of spending money on a click that should come to you for free seems redundant, so you pause your ads. But surely, you’ll still receive that click anyway?
Not so quick with that thinking… According to a study conducted by Google, only 50% of ad clicks would be replaced by organic clicks in such a scenario. While pausing your ads would result in more organic clicks, you wouldn’t receive all of the ad clicks and thus would end up losing a considerable number of potential customers. And this is assuming you are at the top of organic results. Ranking 2-4 sees a loss of 82% of clicks while ranking 5 or further back leads to a loss of 96% of ad clicks. Are you still sure you want to pause those ads?
It is worth bearing in mind that these numbers should be taken with caution, as they come from Google (who have a vested interest in the advertising of course), and are average figures which may not apply to your industry. This is why an experienced marketing agency handling both paid and organic campaigns will see the true results. Google even acknowledges within the conclusion of the study that results may vary.
The real conclusion of the study is that paying for ads will result in more clicks. Of course, clicks do not equate to leads or sales, but without traffic to your site, you cannot expect to see leads or sales. If ad clicks and organic clicks are both attracting targeted traffic to your site, why limit yourself by eliminating one of these sources?
Because some individuals don’t click on ads or your budget might be tight, having your site appear multiple times is far better than once.
SEO is often considered a slow burner, and in many cases this is true. But if your site is relevant, and you’re producing informative, helpful content, you’ll rank.
It’s a great way to target the lower search volume terms relevant to your brand, without high spend. You can target the entire marketing funnel, building up authority, while your ads are focused on the higher competition terms.
It’s not about selecting one over the other, but about establishing a relationship between both. You may not be fond of the notion of paying for clicks, but as long as it’s delivering results for your business, it’s a wise approach. This doesn’t mean every website requires both paid advertisements and SEO, but it should never be a matter of choosing just one strategy – that’s not how business operates.
Internet marketing (real marketing) encompasses much more than just SEO. It’s not a single solution for all your growth ambitions, rather it’s a piece of the larger puzzle. Internet marketing involves a combination of SEO, paid advertising, email marketing, content creation, social media advertising, conversion optimisation (CRO), and other elements that work in tandem to drive leads, customers and revenue to your business. If you’ve read as far as this line then you’re already engaged and starting to hopefully understand that what online website owners need is marketing not just one of the above tasks. A bit like opening up a brick-and-mortar business – you need, power, water, heating, security, insurance, telephones, CCTV, signage, parking, refuse collection, adverts, leaflets etc etc etc – don’t think that an online store is any different.
Think of this scenario: you’ve just launched a brand new website and while you wait for your SEO to pick up, you decide to run search ads. three-six months down the line, you start to see your site climb in the organic search results, even ranking in the top three for some of your major keywords (it could happen – no guarantee!). Your paid ads have also proven successful, with a return on ad spend of 200%. However, you decide to shut off your ads as you believe you’ll now receive all those organic clicks or hope so as you think the trajectory of SEO is heading in the right direction. While you do receive some organic clicks, your orders and revenue drop. This is because you’ve cut off a source of revenue that was working for you.
As long as your ads are generating a return on investment, there’s absolutely no reason to stop them. In business, it’s not wise to discontinue an activity that is proving effective. This puts the sales funnel at risk and can allow the competition to steal market share and potentially a customer who would have ordinarily been a long-term value customer.
You might argue that you can only afford one, either SEO or paid advertising. However, this would only be true if your campaigns are not optimised or if you’re not investing the resources required to grow your business. It’s never a good idea to sacrifice one aspect of your business to save another.
No element of marketing should be considered in isolation, and no single approach should be adopted with an “either/or” mentality. Instead, the various elements of Internet marketing should function in a mutually beneficial relationship. You can enjoy the benefits of both SEA and SEO efforts you’re making.
What you might not consider is how SEO, particularly on-page SEO such as keyword optimisations, metadata and internal links all play a role in the quality score of your ads, which is a key metric to consider with PPC. Without these optimisations, you might find that you’re paying more for the clicks you’re getting and running out of budget sooner rather than later. As mentioned above, it’s less about one channel vs another and more about how they can work simultaneously to bring in the traffic you need.
Of course, if the return on investment isn’t satisfactory, a fresh approach should be considered. However, in most cases, paid ads and SEO work well in conjunction, almost as if they were made for one another.
Brave Agency is an experienced eCommerce marketing agency that not only aids businesses to increase their visibility. Moreover, we ensure to integrate growth strategies for our clients. We cater to a diverse clientele, working to enhance their eCommerce marketing initiatives, with the aim of maximising impressions, and conversions, and achieving long-term brand objectives. Our dedicated content team also provides exceptional content marketing services, aimed at boosting your brand’s reputation in the long run.
Get in touch with us today and discover what your beauty company can achieve with the support of a top-notch eCommerce marketing agency.
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