You’re pouring money into search engine marketing (SEM), but your organic search engine optimization (SEO) seems to be…well, stagnant. Could it be that your paid and organic strategies are working against each other? It’s more common than you think! Most professional advertisers struggle with this on a daily basis. This “cannibalization” happens when your paid ads compete with your organic results for the same keywords, essentially having them fight for the same slice of the pie.
If you need a refresher on the difference between SEO and SEM, click here.
You may be asking, can SEO and SEM coexist? Don’t worry, of course they can! You can stop the infighting and have your SEO and SEM work together beautifully and save a little money in the process. Here’s how:
- Keyword Segmentation is Key
- Different Keywords for Different Purposes: Don’t bid on the exact same keywords you’re targeting organically. Instead, use your SEM budget to go after broader, high-volume keywords or those with strong commercial intent that are highly competitive. Focus your organic efforts on long-tail keywords and informational queries.
- Match Keyword Intent: Align your landing page with the searcher’s intent. If someone clicks on an ad for “buy winter boots online,” they should land on a product page, not a blog post about winter boot care.
- Don’t be Afraid to Remove Paid Keywords: If you are consistently ranking highly for particular keywords, consider removing them from your SEM campaigns.
- Refine Your Ad Targeting
- Location, Location, Location: Use location targeting in your ads to reach new audiences in areas where your organic presence might be weaker.
- Device Targeting: Focus your ads on mobile devices if your organic traffic is predominantly desktop-based, or vice-versa.
- Audience Targeting: Utilize demographic and interest targeting to reach potential customers who might not be actively searching for your keywords.
- Track, Analyze, and Adjust
- Use Analytics Religiously: Monitor your website traffic from both paid and organic sources. Tools like Google Analytics can help you see which keywords are driving traffic and conversions from each channel.
- Regularly Review Your Strategy: The digital landscape is constantly changing. Review your keyword strategy, ad campaigns, and organic content regularly to ensure they’re still aligned and effective.
- Utilize In-Platform tools: regularly check your Search Console as well as the paid and organic report in Google ads. These will give you a great idea of potential overlaps in your campaigns.
- Don’t Forget About Branding
- Build Brand Awareness with Ads: Use SEM to increase brand visibility and drive traffic to your website, even if those clicks don’t immediately result in conversions.
- Reinforce Your Brand Message: Ensure your ad copy and landing pages are consistent with your overall brand messaging and voice.
- Utilize Negative Keywords Effectively
- Refine Your Targeting: Negative keywords are a powerful tool in SEM. Most people know that by excluding irrelevant terms, you can prevent your ads from showing up for searches that are unlikely to convert. But they can also be extremely useful to negate keywords with significant SEO overlap. This can help you focus your budget on the most relevant queries and reduce competition with your organic listings.
By following these tips, you can create a harmonious relationship between your SEO and SEM strategies. This will not only prevent cannibalization but also maximize your online visibility and drive more traffic and conversions to your website.
Key Takeaway on SEM and SEO:
While both SEM and SEO aim to drive traffic, their strengths lie in different areas. SEM excels at capturing immediate attention and reaching specific audiences, while SEO focuses on building long-term organic visibility and authority. By understanding these distinctions and using research to guide your strategy, you can effectively separate your SEM and SEO efforts to maximize your online presence and achieve your marketing goals
