Many companies have moved to using the web successfully, but are paying high prices for paid advertisements on Google. Yet the same companies are nowhere when it comes to earned placement on Google in organic search.
If you are paying for ad campaigns on Google, improving your organic reach too, can multiply the effectiveness of your Pay Per Click ads. So - if you have a budget for paid search, it makes a lot of sense to take the extra step of making the most of the potential for organic search too.
There is ongoing debate on whether paid links get more clicks than organic links on search, the smart business owner will hedge their bets - and make sure if they are already committed to paying for results, that they also have the free clicks covered too. And if you have paid advertisements on Google AND your business comes up in the organic search - that's peace of mind for the customer and means they have more ways to check out your business and feel confident that your business is trustworthy and reliable.
Paying for ads while basic SEO is not done
When I am reviewing websites for clients, it often happens that the website they have been using for some years is missing vital basic code and features that would make the site perform much better. These basic simple changes don't cost or even require a whole remodel of a site, just the insertion of the right information in the right place. These changes are in the page code and are for Google, not visible on the page by a user.
Other incremental changes to the layout or content of the website on the page for viewers can also dramatically improve the performance of the website. Together, these small changes can give the business a lot more bang for their advertising buck.
To look at it another way, not fixing these basic issues on the website would be like turning on heaters in all the rooms in the house and then leaving all the doors and windows wide open. It can warm the house somewhat, but wastes a lot of money for a poorer result than might be achieved with just closing some of the areas that are letting the heat out.
So your website performance can help your business get found by those searching for what you do. That's pulling people in. Social media on the other hand can push people who were not already looking to see what you have on offer. That Pull + Push element can multiply your traffic to your site again.
Not only does social put your business in front of social contacts you know - it also puts your business in front of people who they know!
Not just what you say but also how you say it
In improving your organic search you will be adding content (which Google loves). You need to have information on the website that informs those searching for what you sell. It should be written in a way that is a match for what customers would search for, makes sense to them, and provides them with useful information to satisfy their query. Your website also needs to have fresh information added regularly so that Google will keep coming back to index the website. A simple way to keep your website both fresh and relevant is to add a blog. Authentic reviews or testimonials reinforce your social standing, and this is becoming the new currency of value. You want to be seen as The Authority on what you do. The go-to guy or gal.
Now it is easy to fall for the spiel of the consultants selling advertising online. Your role as the business owner is to ensure that you get the advice that is good for you - not just the advice that is good for the advertising consultant. With your PPC you want to be paying for the words that you want - and not paying for the words that are not useful to you, as many are. That's a whole other issue though, one for another time.
The internet is such a fantastic tool for business. Use it well, and be successful as you can be!
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