Ways to Take a More Holistic Approach to Paid Search

Paid search marketing, also referred to as PPC or search engine marketing (SEM), has been a mainstay of digital channel marketing for many years, owing to its potential efficacy, scalability, and breadth of targeting possibilities. SEM may target audiences via keyword targeting and gather mountains of data through paid search. The paid search benefits from a comprehensive strategy that can take various forms. This article discusses five ways to develop a complete marketing strategy that can elevate your SEM and the rest of your marketing efforts. 

Align your Budget with your product’s or service’s Seasonal Patterns

While implementing the methods already establishes a strong image, there is always more to guarantee that your brand receives the most significant amount of accessible exposure.

It is critical to ask yourself: Are there any seasonal, yearly, or weekly patterns in my data that we might profit from? Certain goods or services (e.g., education, farming, etc.) are more valued in the spring or autumn, while others may need some time over the holidays. It’s beneficial to extract data from year to year to better understand the critical times for your company. With this information, you may adjust your budget to increase during the most valuable periods and decrease during the quietest periods.

You can maximize sponsored search effectiveness by gaining a better knowledge of your brand’s purpose. Budgeting for seasonal trends may be accomplished in various methods but often includes examining marketing expenditures over a year and then adding or removing a percentage from the 12 months to replicate the patterns seen in the data.

Divide the Analysis into Device Types

With mobile traffic quickly increasing share, it’s essential to segment any sponsored vs. organic data by device.

Mobile is or is rapidly becoming the primary source of traffic in a wide variety of verticals. However, site engagement on mobile is often lower than on desktop or even tablets.

With mobile search advertising costing much more than organic results in the near term, SEO is compelling to take the lead.

Engines are becoming more adept at structuring mobile SERPs around micro-moments. Mobile results are becoming distinct from desktops, where many previously concentrated their study on organic versus natural search.

With mobile-first search nearing its tipping point, it’s worthwhile to move away from desktop-centric analyses.

Evaluation & Optimization

Incorporating SEO and PPC into a holistic plan may require more rigorous testing and optimization. For instance, your SEO approach may influence your PPC strategy. SEO data may assist you in identifying keywords for your next sponsored campaign. Then you can utilize PPC campaigns to evaluate the efficacy of these keywords and the effectiveness of various creative and message methods.

After testing, you may evaluate user engagement and clicks to identify the most engaging creative message. Finally, you may compare paid and organic outcomes to decide if you should increase or decrease your investment in PPC in the future. Without synergy, all these trials would take much longer to conclude, implement improvements, and benefit your company.

• Is your inability to combine SEO and PPC negatively impacting your users’ search experience with your brand?

Users often see disagreement, uncertainty, and sometimes contradictory messaging on SERPs from the same brand/domain across organic and sponsored results for specific keywords. Consider going along Fifth Avenue in search of a particular product. You come upon a shop that seems to sell the item you’re searching for. However, each of their window displays conveys distinct and contradictory signals about the goods or why you should purchase them. Would you enter? The same is true for search engine users.

• Are your marketing expenses increasing because of your inability to combine SEO and PPC?

It’s straightforward. If you already control the SERPs via a high position for a particular term, do you need to spend more on PPC to acquire the same search traffic you would otherwise win? This is particularly true for brand-related keyword searches.

Conclusion