Living in a digital world, the difference can be night and day when your business is shows up on page one of Google. This is where search engine optimization, better known as SEO, comes in. SEO basically means making your website more visible among the search results. But did you know that Google Ads can play a role in boosting your SEO? Although SEO and Google Ads differ in their algorithm and how they work, together they can give your website an edge in the search results of Google.
Let’s explore how Google Ads also help with SEO and how they can be a powerful combination.
Understanding the Difference Between SEO and Google Ads
It is important to understand what SEO and Google Ads are and how they work before going into their benefits.
- SEO stands for search engine optimization. That’s a process in which you optimize your website to rank better in search engines like Google. If all goes well, the result of SEO is organic traffic; this means that people just flow onto your site as it appears in the top positions of the search results.
- Google Ads is the advertising platform of Google. When you pay for Google Ads, your ad shows up at the top of search results. These are paid advertisements and are not organic results. They often show above the organic search results.
SEO is an organic method of bringing visitors in, while Google Ads requires a budget. Both are effective. Each has its own strengths. But when combined, they will surely help your business get noticed quicker than usual.
How Google Ads Boosts Your SEO Efforts
Now that we know what each does, let’s look at how Google Ads can give your SEO a helping hand.
1. Drives Immediate Traffic to Your Site
SEO takes some time. The moment you optimize your website for SEO, its results may not be instantaneous. It may take months until your website starts going upwards on rankings. But Google Ads shortcuts you there. The moment you pay for ads, your website shows up on the top of the page. This brings visitors to your website instantly and you enjoy a head start while you’re waiting for your SEO to kick in.
More traffic sent to your website signals to Google that your site is of value, and this helps with SEO over time.
2. Allows You To Test Your Keywords
Keywords are an enormous part of SEO, and they basically are what words and phrases people punch into Google, per se, whenever they go searching for something. For instance, if you own a bakery business, you might want to rank for keywords like “best bakery near me” or “fresh bread in [your city].”
With Google Ads, you easily test different keywords and find out which ones bring in the most visitors. That helps you, in turn, tune up your ads toward what works for you, therefore giving you an understanding of which keywords are worth focusing on for your SEO. This saves time and effort.
3. Builds Brand Awareness
When your ad appears at the top of Google, people start to remember your brand. Even if they don’t click on your ad, they may remember your name next time they see your site show up naturally in organic search results. That familiarity can build trust. And when people trust your brand, they are more apt to click on your site. With time, more clicks can give improved organic rankings, making a bigger difference in regards to SEO.
4. It Enhances Your CTR
The click-through rate, otherwise known as CTR, is the amount of people that click onto your website link when it comes up in search results. A higher CTR could be a positive ranking factor in SEO, as that indicates to Google that your site is relevant and helpful. By driving more visitors through Google Ads, you may end up having a higher organic search result CTR.
Also, when users click on your ad and like what they see, the chances that they will return to your website are more likely, along with an increased click-through rate in organic results. Those extra clicks will eventually build up and help the SEO rankings improve over time.
5. Provides Useful Data to SEO Strategies
Google Ads gives you a lot of good data: what keywords work best, at what times of the day the most people click, even what devices people use to visit your site. This is SEO gold. You will want to take that information and apply it to tweaking the content, structure, and keywords of your website to better appeal to what people actually want to see.
Example
You then can rework the site to better appeal to mobile visitors if you find out that more of them click on your ads. Similarly, keywords that work well in the ad can be used increasingly in SEO content, and vice-versa. Using Google Ads data gives your SEO strategy a bit of a head start and makes it far easier to reach the top of search results.
6. Helps You Compete with Big Brands
Of course, as a small business, it is tough to be noticed organically when companies with more dominance are ranking high on the SERPs. That is where Google Ads can level the playing field. Even if you are not ranking organically, your ad could show right next to those big brands right at the top of the page. You’ll attract customers that would have only seen the top names otherwise.
This can also result in more organic listing clicks when more and more people start recognizing your brand and clicking on your site, hence boosting SEO performance.
Using Google Ads and SEO Together for Best Results
The best way to get the most out of Google Ads and SEO is by using them in conjunction. Here’s a simple plan to follow:
- Launch with Google Ads: Advertise to get the flow of traffic immediately and test keywords. See what works.
- Data accumulation: Observe which of these keywords, headlines, and landing pages work best as it will give a cue on SEO optimization.
- SEO tweaking: Take the learning from the ads and fix your organic search content.
- Scale up: As the SEO gets better, ad spends can be cut down while organic traffic commences.
Final Words:
While SEO is long-term, Google Ads give an instant boost. They help in getting noticed faster, learning what works, and creating brand awareness. This means you’re setting your business up for long-term success by using Google Ads to supplement your SEO. If your objective is standing out on Google, try combining the powers of Google Ads and SEO to achieve superior results.
With this approach, you’ll see the benefits of both strategies – faster traffic now and higher rankings over time.
