No, PPC doesn’t help your SEO – at least not in a true sense.
The problem is people associate PPC results with organic search potential, which often leads to unmet expectations. To give you an example, some marketers falsely believe that a high PPC click-through rate implies a high potential return on investment using those same keywords in an SEO campaign.
What they don’t consider is the difference in buyer intent. Leads that click on a paid ad are taking more of an impulsive action. The landing page should capture their attention quickly, communicate value propositions, have a clear call-to-action, convert and get out. SEO audiences are different. Search engine visitors like to be informed and make buying decisions based on comparison and research.
While PPC can help you make some SEO-related decisions based around potential targets it does not directly influence your organic search performance.
However, SEO can help improve your PPC results.
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SEO improves your Quality Score
Google’s Quality Score is a rating system that Google uses to determine the relevance and quality of your PPC ads. Google’s advertising algorithm analyzes keywords, landing page content, and ad text relevance to determine your ad rating in the ad auction process. Can you guess what the easiest way to impress the internet giant is? Good search engine optimization.
Good SEO increases content relevance to support your ads, improves mobile-friendliness of the landing page, resulting in a better user experience. Additionally, how long your website takes to load is a factor for Google Ads, as good page speed improves a user’s experience on your website. Slow speed translates to poor user experience, which means less traffic from Google, leaving more money on the table.
Because these factors play a significant role in determining your ad score, don’t be surprised if you get increased visibility in paid ads at a discount if you knock them out.
Good SEO = better content = better ad relevance = better ad score = lower CPC.
A variety of studies suggest more affordable cost-per-click rates are given as an ad’s Quality Score increases. Think of it as Google’s way of rewarding quality ads and making it easier to get better placements for a lower price. When you make Google look good, they make you look good.
SEO lends credibility to your ads
When users search for something on Google, they see paid ads at the top and organic search results underneath. They often click the organic result because the ad feels intrusive or forced.
However, when a visitor sees an organic result featuring the same brand as the one endorsed in the PPC ad next to it, now both links become trustworthy.
It might be because seeing the same company twice improved their perception of it, or it could be that users feel only credible businesses can occupy this much digital real estate in Google SERP. Whatever the reason, organic search engine optimization can help drive more clicks to your ads.