digital marketing christmas strategy

Digital Marketing Tips for Christmas 2020

Christmas will be a little bit different this year, which means your Digital Marketing will need to be adjusted accordingly. An increase in online sales, social media engagement and virtual customer service are all things to look out for this year when revising your digital marketing plan. Here are our top 5 tips for helping your business flourish online this festive season.

 

      1. Start your Campaign Today

The sooner you start your digital marketing campaign – the better. Everyone is in need of something to look forward to at the moment, so let’s look forward to Christmas! People may have mixed feelings about Christmas lights at the end of October, or Santa Claus Gifs been plastered on your social media. But this year, the festive season will be a warm welcome to those in need of some holiday cheer. People will be buying sooner this year as most of us have more time on our hands, and there may be delays in delivery times. It is important for SMEs to keep up with the holiday digital marketing campaigns of larger conglomerates – and starting the campaign early is crucial to competing.

 

      2. Embrace Social Media Marketing

 

It is so important for businesses, now more than ever, to embrace social media as an essential marketing tool and to utilise it to the best of their ability. People are spending more time on their phones, using new platforms such as Tik Tok and engaging much more with brands via their social platforms. Perhaps a 12 Days of Christmas social media campaign would help to get your followers in the festive spirit? Or a video campaign with a Christmas theme? Whichever idea you decide to go with, make it engaging, relevant and uplifting. Whether you’re using social media to pay for ads, collaborate with influencers or to improve the status of your own social accounts, make sure to stay active and have a plan in place. Begin your social media campaign today to be ready for Christmas.

digital marketing christmas 2020 tips

 

        3. Online Shopping – Adjust Your Website Accordingly

 

Online shopping has skyrocketed since the pandemic began, which means that online Christmas shopping will be more popular than ever before. Consumers are becoming increasingly conscious of supporting their local businesses and reports have shown that customers are happy to support local businesses who sell online. This means that you need to make sure your website is fully accessible to online shoppers, as if they experience any issues along the way, they may turn elsewhere. This is where your bailout rate is important – check where along the online purchasing process your customers are dropping out and this can help to improve your strategy and optimise your website. This is also an opportunity for businesses who currently do not sell online to branch into the world of ecommerce or offer a click and collect option – which is becoming increasingly popular with both small and large businesses. Contact Evolution Digital if you are interested in turning your website into ecommerce.

xmas digital marketing strategy

 

      4. Christmas Competitions

 

Competitions are a great way of increasing your social engagement all year round – especially around the holidays. Giveaways can be great for businesses who were particularly affected by the pandemic such as hotels and restaurants. For hotels – offer a weekend away for two. For restaurants – offer vouchers (possibly with long expiration dates due to Covid). Giveaways can be great for retail businesses too. Perhaps give away a necklace to promote a new range of jewellery, or a hamper of Christmas sweets are treats. Whatever you decide to put up for grabs, make sure you conduct the competition in a way that will increase your social media engagement. For example, asking consumers to like, share and comment on an Instagram post in order to participate will increase the amount of exposure your brand is getting and will also improve your SEO ranking. Good quality social media competitions can often go viral, which exposes your brand to many more potential consumers – so make sure to give back to your customers this Christmas with an exciting competition!

 

christmas digital marketing strategy

 

      5. Improve Your Virtual Customer Service

 

While we may not be communicating with clients and customers the way we usually would at the moment, it is still important to offer as much customer support as we can online. Responding to emails, tweets and direct messages is crucial in maintaining good customer service, especially around Christmastime when shoppers can be busy and stressed-out. Answering customer queries promptly and effectively can be done with ease by using social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Other functions such as chatbots or automatic responders on Facebook can be extremely useful to businesses who may not have the capacity to be dealing with a large number of customer queries. Whichever platform you use to communicate with, be sure to be polite and helpful as word gets around quickly about businesses that go the extra mile for their customers!

Christmas 2020 will be different. But don’t let that hinder your success when it comes to marketing your brand. Adjust your strategy, think positively and work with an open mind. With the right approach, anything can be achieved. If you are interested in moving your business online, get in touch with Evolution Digital today.

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tik tok marketing strategy

The Tik Tok Marketing Strategy Your Business Needs

Tik Tok danced, transitioned and lip-synced its way into our lives at the start of 2020. Initially, it just seemed like a place for Gen Z to post their dance moves and new makeup looks, but that changed very quickly. Tik Tok is now the new social media platform that your business needs to integrate into it’s Digital Marketing Strategy.

Tik Tok supports a video format of 15 to 60 seconds and has proved extremely popular due to its ease of use, creativity, fast attention-grabbing content and personalised algorithm. 

As with any social media platform, it’s important to have a marketing strategy and vision for Tik Tok. We’ve broken down our top tips on creating a Tik Tok marketing strategy to help you promote your business online and reach a whole new audience in a unique way.

1.Find Your Niche

tik tok digital marketing strategy

In order to build a following and interest in your business, you will need to have a consistent theme or topic to your tik tok content. This can come in the form of talking about a specific topic related to your business, sharing stories about your business or showcasing your products in use. To decide on your niche, research what content fits best with your businesses’ image, what content you feel you can consistently and comfortably make and what will capture your audience’s attention. Unlike other marketing channels, Tik Tok is less ‘salesy’ and more attention-grabbing and interactive. You have less than 60 seconds to impress viewers, so make it count! Once you have decided on your niche, review the feedback you’re getting on your posts in order to guide your future Tik Tok content.

 

2. Keep An Eye on Trends

tik tok marketing

Trends are huge on Tik Tok. Each week a new song, dance or challenge becomes the must-do video. You’ll know if something is trending if you’re seeing a lot of it on your “For You” page or by looking at the number of people who used a hashtag specific to the trend on the discovery page. Incorporating these trends into your Tik Tok content will require creativity. It will also be important to consider if the trend can benefit your content and if it fits with your niche. For example, an outfit transition trend would be suited to a clothing store but probably not suited to a food business.

 

3. Creativity Content

@keilidhmuaGot to do this with my own palette 🥺 The Secret Treasure collection is now live! @kashbeauty ##makeup ##10secondsvs♬ Put Your Records On – Ritt Momney

If it isn’t already apparent, creativity is a vital skill to have when curating your Tik Tok strategy. You only have 15-60 seconds to impress your audience and with over 800 million Tik Tok users worldwide, you have to stand out from the crowd! The type of content that needs to be produced for Tik Tok will likely be quite different to what you’re already pushing out on the likes of Facebook and Instagram. Instead of just videoing your product range think about your target audience and the type of content they’re currently consuming on Tik Tok. For example, if you’re a beauty brand which has just launched a new eyeshadow palette, how best can you portray the numerous looks which can be created using the palette in less than 60 seconds to your viewers? A montage of carefully executed transitions of various eye makeup looks will be far more creative than simply showing the palette with a list of what users can create. The creative possibilities are endless on Tik Tok, it just requires some thought and time.

 

4. Advertise on Tik Tok

Similar to the more well-known social media platforms, Tik Tok is moving towards a monetised business model where brands can pay to have their advertisements shown. Below are some examples of the types of Tik Tok Advertisements available. 

Infeed native content: This type of advertising is similar to Instagram or Snapchat story ads and play between user content. They can be up to 15 seconds long and support multiple features such as website clicks or app downloads. However, users can choose to scroll past these.

Sponsored hashtag challenges: Hashtags are important on Tik Tok. When there’s a new trend or challenge on the Discover page users can see it and join. Your business can sponsor a hashtag challenge and use a custom banner across the Discover page. When users tap on this they’re taken to videos from your business explaining and showing the challenge all while promoting your brand. Eg.

@tadhgflemingIT’S STAYCATION TIME in IRELAND☘️ Use the ##MakeABreakForItChallenge and let’s see what you bring 🧳 😂🤣 @discoverireland.ie ##discoverireland ##ad♬ VicoRoadbyTheScratch_DiscoverIreland.ie – Discover Ireland

Brand takeovers: These types of ads appear upon opening the app and present a full-screen video to your targeted audience. This type of advertising is one of the best options for mass awareness and driving direct sales.

Branded lenses: Similar to the Snapchat branded lenses. These are filters and effects which users can add to their videos featuring your brand.

 

The type of advertising you choose to use on Tik Tok will depend on your budget and objectives but with Tik Tok featuring more and more advertising as time goes on it will likely become more affordable and mainstream to advertise here.

 

5. Tik Tok Influencer Marketing

@charlidamelioshop morphe2 phase 2 online and in stores now! use code ‘charli’ online for 10% off of some of my favs 💕 @morpheofficial ##morphe2xcharlidixie ##morphe

♬ Space Cadet – Metro Boomin – it’s the✨shadowbanned✨for me

 

Where there’s a social media platform, there’s influencers. Many influencers from other platforms have diversified to Tik Tok while there are also Tik Tok exclusive influencers. If your budget allows, having a Tik Tok Influencer marketing strategy is a great way to generate content and reach even more people. 

 

6. Be Consistent

 

When people discover you on Tik Tok, it is most often through their “For You” page, meaning they will likely only consume that one piece of content from you. If you post consistently, the likelihood of the same person as well as more people discovering your content on their “For You” page gets higher, especially if you use different hashtags and try different trends.

 

Get Your Tik Tok Marketing Strategy ready for 2021

Tik Tok is on the rise and Instagram’s recently added Reels feature proves that it really is disrupting the social media world as other platforms scramble to stay ahead. Adding Tik Tok to your arsenal of social media platforms is a worthwhile investment for your business and something we strongly recommend! If you’d like to learn more about using Implement a Tik Tok Marketing strategy for your business, then get in touch with us here at Evolution Digital today.

 

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10 Best SEO Chrome Extensions

The Google Chrome Store offers a whole host of extensions which can help you with SEO (over 100,000 to be specific). With such a wide range of options, it can be difficult to know which are actually useful! That’s why we’ve compiled a list of the top 10 Google Chrome extensions to help with SEO, which our SEO team have can’t live without!

 

1. MozBar

Moz Bar SEO chrome extension

MozBar is an SEO extension which allows you to obtain SEO insights about websites and SERPs quickly and efficiently while you browse. Some of MozBar’s key features include being able to create custom searches by search engine or region, quick assessment of page/domain authority, and being able to export your SERP analysis to a CSV file. Upgrading to MozBar Premium allows you to analyse keyword difficulty, page optimisation and dig deeper into SERP metrics.

 

2. SEOQuake

seo quake chrome extension

seoquake seo chrome extension

SEOquake is a free SEO extension by SEMrush which displays metrics such as Google and Bing Index for websites. It also provides information about the results in the SERPs such as backlink and traffic information as well as domain age and the number of pages indexed. The great thing about SEOquake is that it is comprised of several tools that you can use depending on your SEO aims.

 

3. Ubersuggest

ubersuggest seo chrome extension

Originally in website format only, this tool created by Neil Patel was recently developed as a Chrome extension and we couldn’t be happier! Ubersuggest allows you to obtain actionable SEO metrics within your Google, YouTube and Amazon search results. It allows you to get strategic competitive advantage on the top 10 results followed by a list of keyword suggestions based on your search term. A must have for anyone looking to conduct competitive research, to improve their SEO or for marketers working with clients to optimise their websites.

 

4. SimilarWeb

similarweb seo chrome extension

SimilarWeb is a fantastic SEO tool for general site analysis. It allows you to gain deep insights into traffic, bounce rates and site time amongst other key metrics. The SimilarWeb extension comes after their hugely popular website and provides you with the same scope of information, but directly to your browser toolbar which is convenient and efficient.

 

5. Google Pagespeed Extension

page speed seo plugin

The impact that page speed has on our SEO is often forgotten about among the myriad of other influences. However, page speed is a direct ranking factor for Google as well as an indirect factor as slow loading pages increase bounce rate and reduce time spent on site. The Google PageSpeed extension allows you to quickly analyse page speed of your own website, your client’s websites or competitor’s websites. You will be given a score out of 100 and suggestions will be provided on how you can boost your speeds. A really useful tool to solve an often forgotten about SEO factor.

 

6. Buzzsumo

The BuzzSumo extension allows you to see how many social shares a specific article has as well as its number of backlinks. This is useful for SEO in that it helps you analyse your own and competitor’s posts. This info will help you to benchmark against competitors and gain an understanding into the most common social media platforms your readers or competitor’s readers are using as well as how many backlinks is the industry norm.

buzzsumo chrome seo plugin

 

7. GrowthBar

growthbar seo extension

It’s easy to get lost sifting through all the data that some SEO plugins offer, luckily GrowthBar focuses on the key information you need and presents it to you while you browse Google. Allowing you to easily explore competitor’s backlinks, keywords that bring them the most traffic, look at their Facebook ads and so much more. This ad on really is ‘The SEO Tool Geared For Growth.’ GrowthBar is free for 5 days but costs $49(€42) per month thereafter.

 

8. SEOInfo

seo info chrome plugin

SEOInfo looks for any SEO issues on webpages and allows you to investigate them further. The issues that SEOInfo looks out for include duplicate meta tags, page speed and structured data errors. Discovering these issues and solving them will ensure that your hours of hard work put into SEO will not be put in jeopardy by having unsolved SEO issues on your website.

 

9. SERP Trends

serp trends chrome extension

SERP Trends is useful for keeping track of your website or competitors websites that you frequently search for. When turned on for the first time, all SERP positions are marked as new. On return searches this SEO tool will show you whether the website has moved up or down in the SERP rankings, if it’s a new result or if its position remains unchanged.

 

10. Screaming Frog

screaming frog seo chrome extension

Screaming Frog is an SEO spider which enables you to crawl websites, analyse SEO and fix any issues. This makes a usually long and difficult process far more simple and efficient. Using this extension will reduce your SEO stress and help to speed up an often time consuming task. The lite version of this add on is free with the paid plan being $160(€135) per year. 

 

10 Best Chrome Plugins for SEO

We hope this list has given you a flavour of the SEO tools available and helped you to choose the best Google Chrome SEO extensions for your needs. However, bear in mind that using too many browser extensions can slow down your computer and clog up your browser bar so choose wisely. If you wish to know more about our SEO services, Get In Touch with Evolution Digital today.

Happy optimising!

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google discovery ads

Google Discovery Ads: Everything You Need to Know

In November 2019 Google Discovery Ads were released in Beta.  Now, in July 2020, they are available to all advertisers and we believe they’re going to change the way we use PPC. Google Discovery Ads provide us with the opportunity to reach potential customers through three of Google’s most popular feeds. Google’s use of AI will also allow you to be one step ahead of your customers at all times. We’ve compiled a quick and convenient breakdown of all the information you need to know about Google Discovery Ads to successfully implement this new strategy.

 

What are Google Discovery Ads?

Google Discovery Ads provide you with a new opportunity to reach potential customers through YouTube, Gmail and the Discover Feed (the new name for the Google Feed). According to Google, Discovery Ads are particularly effective for driving sales, lead generation, customer acquisition and remarketing, and can apparently reach up to 2.8 billion people.

Discovery ads allow you to connect with potential customers as they browse their favourite Google feeds all with a single campaign. Their purpose is to show customers something they want before they even know they want it, making them excellent at generating demand through the use of compelling images and creatives. Their remarketing function also enables you to reach customers who have shown an interest in your website. Google has taken a leaf out of Facebook ads allowing engaging, compelling images of your products or service to be displayed to targeted, interested audiences.

 

What is “Google Discover”?

In order to understand one of the main feeds that Google Discovery Ads use it is important to provide a quick explanation behind “Google Discover”, which is the new name for the Google Feed. The Google Discover feed was introduced to keep up with shifts in search behaviour from queries to query-less and from text-based to visual-based. It allows iPhone and Android users who have the Google app on their devices to personalise their newsfeed. The aim of Google Discover is to provide an answer before the user even asks the question which is very much in contrast to Google Search. As a user interacts more with Google Discovery, Google learns more about them and tailors the news feed to their interests and preferences. This is where Google Discovery Ads fit into the equation as your ads will appear here based on the interests, searches and preferences of your potential customer – all thanks to AI.

Below is an image of what the Google Discover feed looks like:

Google Discovery Ads

 

What do Google Discovery Ads look like?

Google Discovery ads are quite similar to Display Ads. They’re highly visual and engaging. The images you use are a very important consideration to capture your audience’s attention. Discovery Ads are also available in carousel format so multiple images can be used to engage and interact with users. Below is an example of a Google Discovery Ad across YouTube, the Discovery feed and Gmail. Note how multiple image types are used across the three feeds which are colourful and engaging. Discovery campaigns automatically select the best-performing assets so including several image and text options will help drive performance.

discovery ads

 

What is involved in setting up Discovery Ads?

You’ll need to be signed into your Google Ads account. From here you need to select a new campaign and choose your objective. Next, select the “Discovery” campaign type. You will be prompted to enter one landing page URL, at least one image, your logo and up to five headlines and descriptions. Google will then use machine learning to serve the best combinations of your assets across the best performing placements. This is similar to Facebook dynamic creative ads for those familiar with Facebook advertising. Google is automating ad optimisation so you can reach more relevant users, with more relevant creatives and relevant locations.

 

What are the targeting options?

Similar to the Google Display Network, Discovery Ads allow you to target custom, in-market and affinity audiences. Remarketing audiences can also be targeted allowing you to re-engage with your website visitors through additional methods. The core principle behind Discovery Ads targeting is to target people based on their interests or what they have been searching for. For example, if you’re selling women’s rain jackets then you’ll want to be targeting people who are actively interested in and searching for women’s rain jackets. Effective audience targeting as well as compelling creatives are vitally important to the success of Discovery Ads.

 

Should I implement Google Discovery Ads?

 

Discovery Ads mark a new step in advertising, you can now place your ads in front of people before they even know they want your product or service with specific targeting options available and the help of AI to deliver the best combination of your ad. However, Google Discovery Ads are still in their early phase and not as well developed as Google Display Ads or Facebook ads. In order to get the most out of these ads you need to ensure you are placing them in front of the right people, that they’re engaging and that they’re tailored to your audience’s preferences. 

 

Google Discovery Ads with Evolution Digital

Here at Evolution Digital, we believe that Google Discovery Ads provide an excellent opportunity for advertisers to focus on driving sales, generating leads and acquiring customers. If executed well, with engaging content and tactical targeting then Google Discovery Ads will help your business reach a far greater, interested audience. Google Discovery Ads present the future of advertising where we can target potential customers before they even know they want our product or service! 

If you’re interested in learning how Google Discovery Ads or indeed any other digital marketing strategy can work for your business then get in touch with us here at Evolution Digital.

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digital marketing campaigns

Top 10 Creative Marketing Campaigns during Covid-19

With everyone staying at home and life at a standstill due to Covid-19, spending priorities changed. Companies could have sat back and not spent a cent of their digital marketing budget but a few key players did the exact opposite. These brands kept their customers interested and engaged through creative campaigns while others placed an emphasis on supporting charities or healthcare workers.

Now that restrictions are easing and we prepare for the new ‘normal’, these companies will be remembered for their ingenious digital marketing campaigns that brought some joy into our lives when the whole World was at a standstill.

Here are Evolution Digital’s top 10 creative Digital Marketing campaigns during Covid-19…

 

1.McDonalds

mcdonalds digital marketing

With all McDonald’s across Ireland and the UK closed from March 23rd people were beginning to crave their favourite takeaway. McDonald’s released their sausage and egg McMuffin recipe on April 6th to the delight of fans. Although this seems counterintuitive as it provides a replacement for McDonald’s at home – McDonald’s know that no home recipe will compete with their taste and so it actually creates a greater buzz for when they re-add their breakfast option. Ba Da Ba Ba Ba… I’m craving it!

 

2.Guinness

Even though St. Patrick’s Day was cancelled, it is no surprise that Guinness didn’t stay quiet. Their social media pages put out a video message that was heartfelt and inspirational when the World needed it most! This video focused on the past – Guinness’ legacy, the present – Covid 19 and the future. Looking forward to what is to come and really made us all proud to be Irish!

 

3. Nike

nike digital marketing

Nike masterfully struck a balance between creating a new campaign and highlighting its purpose through inspiring people through the power of sport. Their ‘Play for the World’ campaign highlighted how we must all do our bit and ‘play inside’.

 

4. L’Oreal Paris


With hairdressers closed and roots beginning to show, L’Oreal Paris enlisted the help of their brand ambassador Eva Longoria who made a homemade video using their Excellence Crème hair dye. This campaign was effective as often we can be skeptical if celebrities in ads for home dye kits really use the product or not! This was living-proof that indeed they do, increasing trust in L’Oreal Paris and inspiring others to cover up their greys – if its good enough for Eva then its good enough for us!

 

5. Three


Three Mobile launched its latest campaign to highlight its removal of usage limits on all you can eat data! This message combined with the innocent Facetime dialogue between a grandson and grandfather which is all too real for people during this current time really hit the nail on the head between being informative and striking a chord with customers.

 

6. YouTube


During lockdown, who wasn’t watching some type of ‘how-to’ video or “at-home” workout? Well, YouTube decided to remind us of the importance of staying home to save lives and how this time can be spent on their platform doing things you didn’t have time for before! Using the hashtags #StayHome #WithMe. Smart right?!

 

7. Dove


Dove is well known for its campaigns focused on beauty. Their recent campaign entitled ‘Courage is Beautiful’ featured front-line staff showing the marks PPE equipment was leaving on their faces. A truly poignant digital campaign. Dove also donated to Direct Relief and established themselves as a brand concerned with more than just traditional beauty.

 

8. Tik Tok

With extra time on our hands, many of us turned to Tik Tok in an attempt to pass the time and maybe even become a viral sensation!

Tik Tok released their ‘A little brighter inside’ campaign to signify the power the app has to make you feel better during these difficult times. This idea of escapism was exactly what we needed when things were tough in the real world.

 

9. Tourism Ireland

This stunning campaign entitled ‘I will return’ captures some of Ireland’s treasures and focuses on the future and the day that visitors can ‘return into her arms.’ The perfect inspiration for an Irish holiday.

 

10. Cadbury

Cadbury’s Covid-19 campaign focused on the positive spirit that endured during the pandemic. Entitled ‘This doesn’t need to end’ it focuses on all the positives we can take from our time in lockdown and the kindness we showed one another. Celebrating the many acts of kindness that happened during the pandemic resonates with Cadbury’s revitalised brand message, which focuses on this sentiment. Finishing with ‘There’s a glass and a half in everyone’ beautifully sums up the kindness seen during this pandemic.

 

Digital Marketing with Evolution Digital

If you are looking to kickstart your digital marketing again in the second half of 2020, make sure to contact our team at Evolution Digital. Our team of creative marketers would be happy to discuss where we can take your company using varying digital marketing channels. Get in touch with us now on 01 288 5118 or email info@evolutiondigital.ie.

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ppc vs seo

PPC vs SEO: What Are They & How Can They Work Together?

Are you finding it hard to wrap your head around PPC and SEO? Wondering what the pros and cons of both are? Looking for someone to tell you if you should be focusing on PPC or SEO? Well, look no further, we break it all down for you in our PPC vs SEO showdown!

 

what is ppc

What is PPC?

 

PPC is the advertising which features at the top and sides of SERPs on the likes of Google and Bing. It’s called pay-per-click as you pay each time the ad is clicked on. PPC involves bidding on specific words or phrases known as keywords. For example, if you sell women’s shoes you may bid on the keyword ‘Women’s sandals’ to advertise your range of sandals. The amount you pay for a click on this ad will depend on the competition of the keyword (i.e. how many other companies are bidding on it) as well as other factors including seasonality and page quality score. Some keywords are affordable. Other keywords cost much more due to a larger number of companies bidding on them.

ppc ads

 

seo dublin

What is SEO?

 

SEO, or Search Engine Optimisation, encapsulates the many practices to increase the visibility of a website in a search engine’s unpaid results. It helps to increase the quality and quantity of traffic that reaches the website organically. SEO includes creating high-quality content that is appealing to prospective customers and using keywords related to your website in content, headings and tags. It also involves receiving external links to your website and improving technical elements including page speed, website architecture and URLs. Search engines have algorithms that determine the quality and relevance of a webpage which leads it to rank accordingly. It is important to uncover what is deemed important by search engines, keep on top of updates in algorithms and to optimise your website according to this.

SEO IRELAND

The Difference Between SEO & PPC

 

There are some clear differences between SEO & PPC.

 

  • PPC ads appear at the top of SERPs above the organic listings. Traffic from these ads have a cost per click.
  • SEO influences the positioning of organic results. Traffic that reaches your website through these organic results is technically* free. *We say technically as we must consider the cost of the work that has gone into SEO to ensure that the web page ranked high organically so that potential customers would click on the result. The traffic is free but SEO itself is not. However, in simple terms, for SEO you do not pay per click received.

 

What are the Similarities between SEO & PPC

 

Although, PPC and SEO have many differences they also share some common elements.

 

  • Both aim to drive traffic to a website, PPC does so through paid means while SEO does so through a series of practices to increase organic ranking.
  • Both PPC and SEO are driven by keywords. Keyword research is vital in a PPC strategy to identify and bid on words and phrases that have the greatest chance of leading to clicks and ultimately conversions. This is carried out by considering the search volume, competition and intent of keywords. For example ‘women’s sandals for sale’ displays a higher purchase intent than ‘reviews of women’s sandals.’ For SEO, keyword research is important to discover which words and phrases to use in titles, alt text and content to increase organic ranking. What keywords are relevant to the website and which keywords will attract a high quality and quantity of visitors. Keywords selected for both PPC and SEO help to get a targeted audience through the search engine to your website. Both PPC and SEO require careful keyword consideration and penalise ‘keyword stuffing.’

 

So, now you know what PPC and SEO are but what are their pros and cons?

 

The Pros & Cons of PPC

 

PPC Benefits:

 

  • Targeted: You can advertise directly to people who are actively seeking out the products and/or services you offer. You can also target specific languages, locations, devices and audiences through Google Ads & PPC
  • Measurable ROI: PPC has a measurable ROI, with metrics such as impressions, reach, clicks and conversions trackable through the ad platform where the PPC ad was created e.g. Google Ads.
  • Payment: You only pay when people click on the ad, hence the term pay-per-click.
  • Ad extensions: Ad extensions can be added to PPC ads including links to other relevant webpages on your site or to the phone number of your company. These increase click-through-rates, pushes competitors further down the SERPs and provides greater visibility and prominence on the SERPs.
  • Position: PPC ads most often feature above the fold so a user can see the ads at the top or to the right of the SERPs.
  • Budget: With PPC, you can decide how much you want to spend daily on your ads, leading to great budget control.

 

Pitfalls of PPC:

 

  • Expense: PPC can be expensive in some cases, for example when targeting high search volume, high competition keywords or targeting large areas.
  • Time investment: PPC will need considerable investment of time. It’s not just as easy as setting up the campaigns and leaving them to run. Bids, keywords and ad copy will require constant optimisation.
  • Skills required: successful PPC advertising requires practice. Therefore, many companies choose to use a specialist agency.

 

seo services

Pros and Cons of SEO

 

Benefits of Search Engine Optimisation (SEO):

 

  • Brand awareness: SEO practices help improve visibility in search engines for relevant, targeted keywords, increasing brand awareness among potential customers.
  • Credibility: Featuring in the organic results on SERPs can increase your credibility among potential customers. Some searchers skip PPC ads and place greater credibility on organic results.
  • No Cost Per Click: SEO is not entirely free as ranking high organically will require time and effort but there is no cost per click on a result when compared to PPC advertising. This can make SEO more cost-effective for attracting relevant traffic.
  • Customer Centric: SEO is an inbound marketing strategy. It focuses on providing relevant content to customers and considers customer’s intent and needs.

 

Pitfalls of SEO:

 

  • Time: SEO takes time and achieving high organic ranking will not happen overnight. 
  • ROI is more difficult to quantify: ROI is more difficult to calculate for SEO than PPC as the time and effort put into SEO is often not quantifiable as a monetary value.
  • Constant changes: Search engines such as Google constantly release new algorithm updates which change the ways in which they rank organic results. One change in ranking guidelines and a website which was ranking highly one day could be demoted the next day!

 

digital marketing

PPC or SEO: Which one should I use?

 

This is a difficult question to answer and depends on the requirements and situation of a specific business. For example, a newly founded ecommerce store which will be competing with larger, more established retailers will likely struggle if it just relies on organic search initially. In this instance, serious consideration would need to be given to PPC advertising to drive immediate traffic. However, a more local based, small business which is specific to one area may gain greater benefit from SEO. Barrell (2019) found 72% of consumers who conducted a local search went on to visit a store within five miles of them. In order to make the decision if choosing between PPC or SEO, clear goals and a long-term strategy is needed.

 

PPC & SEO Working Together – a Match Made in Heaven!

 

Although PPC ads won’t effect a website’s organic ranking and SEO won’t impact on your PPC ads, there are many ways in which PPC and SEO can work together.

Here at Evolution Digital we would ideally recommend implementing both PPC and SEO. It is clear that both have their pros and cons but where one falls short, the other excels. Utilising PPC and SEO alongside each other allows your website to reach its full potential on the SERPs. By running PPC and implementing SEO efforts, your website will appear at the top of the SERPs as a paid ad being the first or one of the first brands seen by the searcher and then again if a searcher skips the ad section and looks at the organic rankings. Having PPC and SEO efforts running in tandem affords a brand the potential to take up a large section of the SERPs, giving you double the exposure and double the chance of clicks.

As mentioned already, keyword research and optimisation are common elements of both PPC and SEO. If PPC was implemented first, then successful keywords from this can be used for SEO purposes. If a company has been optimising their site through SEO prior to implementing PPC then they will have vast keyword data that can help inform their PPC campaign. High performing PPC ad copy can be used to inform organic content on your website. The combined use of PPC and SEO practices helps increase brand awareness. If a person has previously interacted with your PPC advertisement then they will likely remember this experience, if it was a positive one then they will be more likely to click your organic results for similar products/services they are interested in. Even if a searcher doesn’t interact with the PPC ad the ad still helps to create brand awareness. 

 

ppc and seo

 

Google found that even when companies who utilise PPC appear as the first organic result for a keyword, 50% of the clicks they get on their ads were not replaced by clicks on their organic results when the ads were not present. Showing both a PPC ad and an organic result will double the chances of clicks and conversions (Parker, 2012). 

Finally, PPC and SEO can be combined through the practice of remarketing. If a visitor to your site is gained through SEO where they consume top-of-the-funnel content or browse items but do not make a purchase, then SEO can be combined with a form of PPC advertising – remarketing. Remarketing can bring these visitors back to complete their purchase through advertising on Google’s Display network, Facebook or other third-party advertising service with specific information relevant to their previous visit to your website. As you will be specifically targeting warm leads with these ads, there is a greater chance of gaining revenue from your investment.

 

digital strategy

 

Start Your PPC and SEO with Evolution Digital

An integrated strategy using both PPC and SEO has numerous benefits and is an approach we recommend here at Evolution Digital. However, we acknowledge that the use of both strategies will not be ideal for every business. For those who want high-growth and have optimal time and resources then an integrated approach will provide faster growth and greater exposure than just using PPC or SEO in isolation.

PPC brings immediate results while SEO is a longer term strategy requiring website optimisation and content planning. If you require immediate results then start with PPC but as you scale and grow, SEO is an excellent way to grow even more and capture greater market share. At the end of the day, all digital marketing strategies are focused on what works best for you. 

Why not speak to us today so we can help you discover the digital marketing strategy that works best for your business.

 

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