28 February 2013

SEO Search Engine Optimisation

SEO & PPC – A Winning Combination

SEO ensures longevity – a solid foundation and online presence that lasts.

And, most importantly…

PPC requires SEO in order to convert effectively by increasing quality score.

Quality score (1 to 10) is the means by which Google determines where your PPC advert shall be placed. With over 55% of paid clicks made on the top result, it is clear to see how fruitful a strategic campaign can be for conversions.

The fundamental component of PPC is proper search engine optimisation both on-site and off-site

For a high quality score on Adwords for each individual advert, it is imperative that your on-site content is valued, relevant, and has the correct proportion of keywords included. Google will take into account the structure of your site (layout, robots.txt file, xml sitemap), headings, title, meta and image alt tags, and all other content throughout the entire site. With vast experience optimising many high-paying client sites, we will deliver expectations to the tune of the graph below…

Our client was advised to implement a complete re-design to assist in conversion. Following the launch, we can see the worthy increases in organic visits, essentially generating the greatest possible chances of conversion.

The domain authority of your site will affect quality score

A high domain authority is the result of rich inbound links on external sites pointing to your site. This must be a steady, constant and gradual process whereby quality produces far greater impact than quantity. We will ensure that your campaign is continuous and not simply a stab in the dark. We know the places to build links and publish articles which will bump your website higher in the rankings – we use only the most trusted sites, forums and blogs which Google identifies as superior.

Age of domain will impact quality score

Simply because if your website has only recently been launched, it has significantly less presence on the web than a website which is firmly established after a life of 10 years. As SEO takes effect over time, Google learns to trust the domain with the integrity of authoritative inbound links and content on external sites which is informative and structured. Our team of in-house copywriters provide rich, unique content to place externally, and with Google constantly gearing towards this approach, it is crucial to facilitate such strategies.

The following graph shows the same client’s increase of PPC clicks following the re-design:

The position of your PPC ad will be dependent on the structure of the ad itself

If your ad doesn’t match the content on your site and landing page, Google won’t class it as relevant and will consequently debunk your score. To effectively match your ad, we will research and implement the most appropriate ad content and landing page content.

Organic rankings will impact PPC positions for targeted ads

Google will take into account how your site organically ranks for the chosen key terms when deciding on placement of paid ads. This makes sense because if your site has no quality material but you have plenty of finance to inject, you could in theory attempt to ‘buy’ that top spot by bidding a very high amount for that particular market, regardless of content. Google will however, recognise this when matching your ad and penalise as necessary.

The above information reflects our stance regarding the combination of both SEO and PPC to fulfil a penetrating stratagem. The main points to remember are:

- PPC relies on approved SEO
- SEO ensures permanency
- Together, BOTH will result in targeted traffic, maximising the potential to convert

Without a solid foundation, paid ads won’t bring you clicks, lessening your chances of converting and essentially wasting your injection of spend.

By Sam Hurley