How to combine the power of SEO and Google Ads (PPC)

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Aug 18, 2022 / by
How to combine the power of SEO and Google Ads (PPC)

SEO and PPC advertising are both marketing tactics that are used widely by businesses of all shapes and sizes across the globe. But while most marketing strategies focus on investing more into one of the other depending on the audience, sector and price, we’re here to tell you that it doesn’t have to be an either/or scenario.

Indeed, if used smartly, SEO and PPC can be quite complementary to one another. But before we explain why and how, let’s go over the basics.

The key differences between SEO and PPC

In essence, both SEO and PPC achieve the same thing – bringing more eyes and clicks to your content. They both also work by using keywords and phrases to track and take advantage of consumer intent and target SERPs (search engine results pages) specifically. However, they also differ in a few very important ways.

For example, PPC and SEO vary wildly in terms of how long it takes to achieve a set goal. PPC is all about the short term, whereas SEO is all about the long-term gains. They also require a different set of skills as PPC is, by its nature, more analytical but easier to set up whereas SEO requires constant maintenance and a larger initial investment.

But it’s these differences that make them work so well together.

Two horses are better than one

The best way to get the most out of your marketing strategy is not to put all your eggs in one basket but to use your PPC campaign to improve your SEO campaign and vice versa. For example, during your PPC campaign, you will undoubtedly reveal keywords and phrases that can be brought into your SEO work and create content in real time. One hand washes the other.

Collect the information – Start by sorting all knowledge drawn from both campaigns into one place, such as Google Data Studio (which is completely free to use). The metrics used should include everything from the search quantity of keywords and phrases to the common ROI on each campaign, natural impressions, and conversions. This will allow you to identify patterns and improve both sides of your marketing drive.

Key phrase analysis – The Google Ads “search phrases” report is a genuinely powerful tool that can be used to seek out the phrases that triggered your ads and what phrases are trending. This is obviously a goldmine for SEO.


Formatting your material – Getting the most “bang for your buck” means creating touchdown pages that work equally well for both PPC and SEO. This means headings that are heavily keyword-optimised, answer key questions and cover all conversion elements and an FAQ section with a strong call to action.

Observing and perfecting – It’s not a one-time task, of course. This is something that’s going to take a lot of tweaking and perfecting. Concentrate on keywords and phrases with heavy conversions and those that outrank your competitors. You can also enhance your PPC by aligning advertising with natural search intent – incorporating keywords into your content, for example, that create strong PPC conversions. Also, monitor both campaigns continuously. Because everything can change in a second and you need to be ready to react.