Posted By
Wesley Picotte on 01/05/2010
A fundamental difference between paid search and search engine optimization is the quantity of keywords employable for each. Paid search advertisers generally compete for a broad (but relevant) array of terms. It is a paid search management best practice, in fact, to have present in a paid search campaign variations on keyword themes, which ensures impression frequency for advertisers as a search process progresses from initial, general queries to more specific and qualified terms.
Search engine optimization, on the other hand, is linked directly to Web site content and constrained to a shorter list of primary terms that exist within it. The length of this list is further affected by site design, as well as the volume and type of content on your site. These realities of search engine optimization create an interesting challenge when site-side conditions are such that you can effectively compete for only a short list of terms – three to five, for example – while the total number of terms with direct relevance to your business is actually greater.
Believe it or not, this isn’t an uncommon situation. Product-orientated microsites are frequently challenged in this fashion, especially when the site’s primary intent is ecommerce or lead capture. With target actions like these, the site needs to make it simple and easy for visitors to take them. This in part means economy in terms of site structure and page content…microsites that offer too many choices or hold too much content typically show high attrition. They don’t convert well, or at least as well as they could. This is true for both well- and lesser-known brands.
This challenge is compounded by the iterative nature of search engine optimization, a process that must consider site code, architecture, content, the competitive environment, and external marketing opportunities in order to fully inform the strategic and tactical planning. Results from changes to site-side elements come via a relatively long feedback cycle when compared to paid search. Fine-tuning a site to the point of “optimal performance” can take weeks to months, and in reality, your work is never really done because the external environment is anything but static.
While the same can be said about paid search regarding this latter point, where it differs from search engine optimization is that paid search offers nearly immediate performance feedback. Within only a few hours, in some cases, an advertiser can win directional data about term quality. For these reasons, White Horse sometimes turns to paid search data to triangulate on the terms that hold the most potential for natural search performance, especially when we need to point and go on a few amongst a longer list of terms with high potential natural search performance.
There is a correlation between visitor qualification and paid search terms that demonstrate good performance metrics – this much is a no-brainer. Using these terms in conjunction with information made available through competitive research and general search engine optimization due diligence, though, we gain good directional insight into term selection rapidly. In essence, we strip a layer of guesswork away from the search engine optimization process and compress what otherwise would be a lengthy wait between implementation and natural search performance results.
This approach to search engine optimization does not preclude the need to do everything else properly, of course. Your site design, architecture, code, and content must all align to your search engine optimization strategy. Search engines will still favor content that refreshes. And inbound, keyword-laden links adhering to your search engine optimization strategy with still add a lot of oomph to your search engine optimization efforts. It will, however, help shorten the timeline on the optimization process when the conditions described above are present.
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