How to Get SEO and Paid Search Working Together

While paid search and search engine optimization (SEO) might seem like very different channels, integrating organic and paid search into a cohesive marketing strategy offers significant benefits to your brand. Today’s zero-click SERP and the impact of LLMs have led to more companies offering integrated SEO and paid media services, an indication of just how important alignment between these two channels has become.

We’ve got a few tips on how SEO and paid search work together to dominate the SERP and create new marketing efficiencies.

It’ll maximize your budget – and your time.

Paid Search vs. SEO: A Metaphor

We’ll use an extended real estate metaphor (apologies) to explain the fundamental differences between organic and paid search.

• Organic search is like building a house. It takes longer to do your research, pull the permits, and build your new digs. Once the home is built, though, it’s yours. You own that valuable beachfront property for good, minor upkeep and property taxes aside.
• Paid search is like renting a house. You whip out your checkbook, meet the landlord, and boom, you’re moved in and sipping Corona from the balcony right away. It’s not yours, however, and once someone else is willing to pay a higher rent (or you can no longer afford to pay), you’re out the door with nothing but the memories you made along the way.

So, what is the difference between paid search and SEO? Paid search drives results with the flip of a switch, but once it’s off, the leads stop, too. Organic is a long-term investment, not a quick fix.

Both channels deliver plenty of unique benefits while requiring different resources.

Aligning paid search and SEO strategies addresses immediate and long-term marketing priorities while also improving efficiency, freeing up budget to double down on your best campaigns or invest in new content creation.

That’s why agencies that combine SEO and paid media deliver superior results with equal or lesser budget compared to siloed, uncoordinated teams. The relationship between organic and paid search is too close to ignore, so it’s important to create systems that track and inform decisions across both channels.

How PPC and SEO Work Together

The inherent difference between paid search and organic search represents an opportunity to cover all your bases. Here are a few ways organic and paid search work together in the real world.

1. Keyword Insights

Using paid keywords to inform organic keyword priorities is proof positive of their symbiotic relationship. SEO takes weeks or months to have a measurable impact on organic traffic. If your team has identified new keywords or seasonal keyword trends, test those keywords with a PPC campaign to gain valuable insight into the value of those queries. You can see which keywords and keyword variations drive the most conversions in days or weeks, then use that data to prioritize keyword optimizations or content creation on the organic side. Running a small PPC campaign may show the keywords aren’t as relevant or valuable as you think – or they’re a gold mine!

2. Algorithm Insurance

Navigating Google’s search algorithm is a bit like playing a board game with a toddler. The rules change constantly, the pieces go missing, and sometimes a part of the board has an unexplainable sticky spot you have to avoid.  

Google updates its algorithm thousands of times per year, including large “Core Algorithm Updates” that cause seismic shifts in search performance. More often, Google doesn’t even announce the changes it’s made, leaving SEOs to conduct post-mortems and adjust on the fly.

The result? Organic keyword volatility can cause a domain to lose position for its most valuable keywords without warning. When it happens, our SEO team quickly makes relevant changes to the impacted pages. But until those positions are restored, we work with our paid media team to protect clicks on “lost” keywords to ensure the client is well-represented on the SERP!

These paid and organic synergies are critical to delivering steady, consistent sales, even during times of high volatility, such as site migrations or new website builds. 

3. Win More SERP Real Estate

The top spot in any search engine is the only place to be. The top organic position of the Google SERP receives 39.8% of all clicks; the second position gets just 18.7%. You can use paid search (or Local Service Ads, if your business qualifies) to own the top ad position for your most valuable branded and non-branded terms to occupy more space on the SERP or strategically position your brand against competitors for terms you don’t currently rank for.

This tactic is even more important as search engines introduce more features and functionality to discourage users from clicking at all.

4. Higher Quality Audiences

Integrating your Google Analytics and Google Ads accounts lets you create specific audiences based on user behaviors. Segmenting site users based on the pages they viewed, how often they’ve accessed the site or certain demographics can help personalize ad creative. With paid search and SEO working together, your ad copy resonates with a bespoke audience in the right place and at the right time.

To learn more about custom solutions for detailed organic and paid search reports, contact our team today.

5. Optimized Ad Spend

As your SEO game improves, you may be able to dial back your paid spend on certain keywords that your domain wins organically. For example, if Hot Air Guitars (our favorite fake company) takes the #1 position for “best air guitar manufacturer,” the paid budget for that high-value query can probably be pared back or reallocated for other keywords.

This provides an added degree of agility to address seasonal demand fluctuations, shifting consumer tastes, or new business priorities.

An important note: All the benefits and tactics listed above rely on consistent content creation and optimization, active paid search management, and reliable reporting. Those services just happen to be our bread and butter.

Do Google Ads Improve SEO?

Google maintains that running Google Ad campaigns will not impact your organic keyword rankings. Google has repeatedly emphasized that its organic results are not affected by Google Ads, stating that it “does not accept payment to rank pages higher” within its organic results listings.

That said, we’ve seen it firsthand that a coordinated paid and organic search strategy will improve performance overall through “brand lift.” This takes consistent, expert work to unlock the measurable benefits of combining SEO and paid search. Pulling one lever and not the other won’t cut it in today’s multichannel marketing environment.

SEO and Paid Media Marketing Services

Integration is our middle name.* As a vertically integrated digital marketing agency, Oneupweb leverages experienced in-house PPC and SEO experts to deliver a multichannel approach to your organization’s goal. Our paid media and SEO solutions are based on research, real-time collaboration, and over 25 years of industry expertise.

See how SEO and paid search integration will drive results for your team. Get in touch or call (231) 922-9977 today to start the conversation. (Tomorrow works, too.)

*Technically, our middle name is “up.”