Blending SEO With PPC for Great B2B Marketing Synergy

Should business-to-business (B2B) firms do search engine optimization (SEO) or pay-per-click (PPC)? The answer is both. They deliver faster and better results when combined.

This article tells you more about it:

• Different ways these strategies work together to hit marketing goals.
• Three major factors that synergize both well.
• Best practices that improve their outcomes.

An expert PPC agency also masters SEO because these tactics make good partners. Read below to understand why. Let’s go!

If you want to learn how Digital Authority Partners can increase your PPC effectiveness, watch this video!

What Are SEO and PPC?

Digital Authority Partners (DAP) provides a comprehensive explanation of SEO. It involves optimizing many website elements to improve the pages’ visibility and ranking in search results. A higher position for specific targeted keywords often yields sustainable free traffic that lowers marketing and acquisition costs. 

When done right, SEO also connects B2Bs with qualified leads. It shortens the sales cycle, speeds up return recovery, and effectively manages cash flow.

Good optimization also strengthens brand identity. People often perceive websites appearing on the first page as credible and trustworthy. More than paid ads, these two factors often correlate with higher conversion and retention rates. 

The bottom line is that SEO delivers compound returns on the initial effort and investment. 

How about PPC?

PPC is paid advertising, wherein businesses pay for every click. This online marketing technique usually requires a higher budget and better financial management know-how than SEO. However, it offers many B2B benefits that make it worthwhile:

• It promotes targeted advertising. You have more control over the audience, keywords, and assets, such as links and visuals. 
• PPC delivers faster results. The ads appear immediately if you follow the guidelines, and your keywords have enough search queries. 
• This marketing technique is measurable. Many analytics platforms, including Google Analytics, provide detailed information on vital metrics and key performance indicators (KPIs). These range from impressions to conversions and return on ad spend. 
• Costs are controllable. Optimizing the landing pages, clickthrough rate (CTR), and the ad’s relevance increases the copy’s quality score. This helps lower click costs while enhancing ad rank. 

How Can SEO and PPC Work Together for B2B Marketing? 

SEO and paid ads are effective on their own but combining them supercharges your online presence.

This table shows how these strategies address the most common business challenges in your industry:

Additionally, SEO and PPC support the entire buyer journey. Search optimization is an effective demand-generation technique, especially with top-funnel content. Paid ads are reliable lead-nurturing devices.

Both also support an omnichannel marketing strategy. Suppose you are a B2B software company running educational email campaigns about managing remote teams. 

Here is how the synergy works:

• You link blog posts for ranking keywords, such as “managing remote teams,” to your email series.
• You also show PPC ads to engaged email subscribers when they visit social sites to reinforce messaging. 
• Those who click through emails or paid ads land on lead magnets. These landing pages offer downloadable guides in exchange for an email sign-up. 
• Website visits trigger remarketing ads.
• Analytics reveal the messages that resonate with leads. These insights refine the overall strategy to maximize conversion.

SEO and PPC work to expand reach across channels, eventually influencing the bottom line.

Building a Synergistic Approach to B2B Marketing

The success of the SEO-PPC combination depends on three critical factors:

     1. Alignment

Aligning content with messaging is also another excellent approach. It avoids confusion, builds a cohesive brand, and strengthens a B2B’s value proposition. Businesses can then extend this consistency to their media assets for SEO and PPC.

Alignment also refers to strong stakeholder collaboration. For instance, a PPC agency works with optimization specialists or offers SEO to its clients. The external team shares dashboards, reports, and analytics with internal departments. This move often results in faster executive buy-ins and more strategic business decisions. 

     2. Data

The data from PPC and SEO efforts offers valuable insights that optimize both strategies. For instance, paid ads act as a testing ground. It reveals which keywords demonstrate the highest conversion value. SEO sheds light on phrases driving visits and engagement.

PPC data on low-performing keywords prunes inefficient SEO targeting. Fast feedback on query performance guides keyword expansion. These processes let marketing teams validate high-converting keywords before doing content development. 

With budgeting, search optimization guides PPC management by informing highly commercial, converting keywords. 

     3. Holistic Content

Creating content that works for both SEO and PPC is vital for positive results. This approach has several benefits:

• Efficient use of resources. Using the same SEO and PPC landing pages lets you get the most out of your content creation efforts. 
• Long-term value. Evergreen content, such as how-to guides, remains useful over time. When used as PPC landing pages, these pieces continue to attract and engage audiences, maximizing their lifespan and relevance.
• Increased visibility. Using your best SEO content in targeted PPC campaigns helps to significantly extend its reach. 
• Seamless user experience (UX). Content optimized for organic and paid search creates a smoother customer journey. It bridges the gap between customers discovering your brand through organic search and engaging with them via paid ads. A more seamless UX leads to more robust, more lasting customer relationships.

Nailing these three pillars of the B2B SEO-PPC combination takes time. It also often leads to trial and error when you lack experience in either (or both). You can avoid wasting valuable resources by working with an expert SEO and PPC agency. 

However, it still helps to know the basics of optimizing both B2B marketing tactics. The following section provides you with useful tips. 

Practical Steps in Blending SEO and PPC in B2B Marketing

A client-driven SEO firm customizes the marketing plan, but all B2Bs should get the five fundamental factors right to succeed:

     1. Keyword Research

Comprehensive keyword research is necessary to align organic optimization and search ads, but the B2B buying journey differs from other industries. 

B2B buyers rationalize purchases, analyze alternatives, and consult colleagues. Their sales cycle is long and complex because it involves more stakeholders. 

Sometimes the customers vary from users, such as a chief technology officer (CTO) buying a SaaS product for the marketing team. The CTO knows the team’s job but lacks hands-on experience. The C-suite leader must consult the marketing head to find the right platform. 

The most effective integrated SEO-PPC keyword research considers the unique B2B search behavior. Below is a workflow example:

• Analyze the performance data of existing organic and paid keywords. Identify gaps and optimization opportunities. Assess metrics such as impressions, clicks, conversions, competition, and search volume.  
• Perform “voice of the customer” research through surveys and interviews. It adds context to search queries. 
• Leverage keyword research software to expand scope using root keywords as seeds. Prioritize phrases demonstrating buyer intent and commercial potential.  
• Organize keywords into topic clusters around products, services, and key user tasks. Coordinate with content developers on assets needed to address priority gaps.
• Set initial bid estimates for paid campaigns based on each keyword’s expected conversion.

A deep understanding of the B2B market and a thorough keyword analysis deliver highly qualified traffic for SEO and PPC. 

     2. Landing Pages

Landing pages are vital to conversion for organic and paid searches. When properly optimized, they push free traffic deeper into the sales funnel. They increase the ad quality score to get a better search position and reduce click costs. 

Developing a B2B landing page differs from ecommerce or SaaS tactics. It should persuade different stakeholders and shorten the sales cycle to quickly realize revenue. It must also retain customers well to improve their lifetime value.

How do you achieve these goals? Design a landing page with these three tips:

• Speak to the buyer. The most effective landing page speaks to only a specific group. For instance, focus on cost savings and revenue growth to convert finance officers. 
• Feature trust signals. Many B2B markets spend much time in the consideration and evaluation stages. Include case studies, customer testimonials, earned certifications, and security details to improve credibility and shorten decision-making.
• Write detailed content that guides decisions. Besides dealing with multiple stakeholders, B2B markets must avoid making costly mistakes. Use PPC and SEO content to help them feel confident in their decisions. Provide comprehensive information about your product’s capabilities. Include tools, such as ROI calculators, to facilitate evaluation.

Good B2B landing pages turn visitors into leads by speaking directly to the customers’ needs.

     3. Sales Cycles and Trends

A PPC agency matches your organic and paid search strategies with the B2B sales cycle and industry trends. Doing this significantly improves marketing effectiveness and revenue potential. 

Here are a few good reasons:

• Synchronizing marketing with a B2B sales cycle ensures the message reaches the intended leads, especially at crucial times. These include budget planning or end-of-quarter evaluations.
• Tailoring content and ads to reflect current industry trends makes your marketing efforts more relevant to your target audience. 
• Knowing their customers’ pain points allows you to offer solutions when they are needed. 
• It lets you allocate your budget more wisely. You spend more on PPC and SEO efforts during high-opportunity periods, such as the holidays, and conserve resources when the audience is less likely to engage.
• Timely and relevant marketing gives you a competitive edge. 
• The alignment contributes to a better customer experience. Potential customers see you as trustworthy when your content addresses their current needs.

Paying attention to sales cycles and trends uplifts your SEO and PPC marketing. B2B audiences perceive your efforts as relevant and valuable. It also influences the bottom line by increasing the budget’s value to revenue.

What are the best strategies to align marketing with sales cycles and trends? These ideas help:

• Sync marketing with fiscal calendars. Create content that coincides with your customers’ budget planning and spending times. Use PPC to target these periods to tap into the heightened purchase intent.
• Synchronize content with industry events. Be the first to publish an event-related copy, such as conference summaries. Use PPC to amplify your reach when audience interest is at its peak.
• Target end-of-quarter needs. Support sales teams by providing resources through SEO and PPC. Customize marketing solutions to best assist in closing deals, especially towards the quarter’s end.

     4. Budget Allocation

PPC and SEO are often long-term marketing strategies that need funds to run efficiently. Many B2Bs struggle with finding the right balance. Should it be 50/50? Must they spend more on PPC because they pay per click? How do algorithm changes affect organic search spending?

A PPC agency considers many factors when helping clients budget. These include the following:

• Business-growth stage. Suppose a B2B company is new to online marketing. Usually, they prioritize PPC to quickly generate more leads. Then, divert some funds to SEO as more pages rank and deliver organic traffic. 
• Campaign performance. Data reveals the marketing tactics that provide the highest returns. These strategies often receive the bulk of the budget.
• Market conditions. Economic changes might shift techniques. For instance, an ecommerce B2B might spend less on PPC during a recession and focus more on organic search. 
• Competitor spending. More businesses plan to spend more on advertising, so you should consider doing the same to remain competitive. 

Other helpful tips include the following:

• B2B products are often pricier and have longer sales cycles. Allocate your budget based on the customers’ returns and lifetime.
• Balance branding and lead generation. Spend on SEO to build long-term brand and trust. Increase PPC spending for targeted lead generation and account-based marketing campaigns.
• Dig deeper into your metrics and KPIs. Determine lead quality through conversion and growth rates, not just click-through.
• Use PPC to target specific businesses or decision-makers. Adjust campaigns based on engagement and feedback from targeted accounts.

     5. Metrics for Success

Tracking the metrics and KPIs is the only way to know whether SEO and PPC marketing efforts are in sync. They align with your budget, help you meet goals, and bring targeted traffic. 

A PPC or SEO agency analyzes many elements. Here are some examples:

• Lead quality and conversion rates. Quality trumps quantity, even on leads. Look into the percentage of sales-ready leads, customer lifetime value, and conversion rate.
• Customer acquisition cost. This is the average total sales and marketing spending required to acquire a new customer. This metric sets a target benchmark for acceptable costs to achieve growth. 
• Return on ad spend. This is the revenue per dollar of advertising spending across channels, such as PPC. This shows how much money the paid campaigns are making overall.
• Average deal size. This is the median dollar size of sales contracts or orders. Shifts indicate changes in customer budget levels.
• Customer lifetime value. This is the projected total revenue a client generates over the entire relationship. It is a primary retention metric that optimizes the marketing budget. 
• Sales cycle length. This is the average time taken for prospects to move through the sales funnel to close new business. More nimble cycles increase the urgency and frequency of marketing campaigns.

Knowing the numbers gives you a realistic picture of your marketing efforts, but this is only the first step. The second, which is continuous optimization, is just as essential. In particular, data is critical when doing A/B testing. 

A/B testing compares two or more versions of an element to determine which works better. The experiments can focus on minor details, such as the color of a call to action button. They can also be on more significant site elements. These include keywords, landing pages, and other types of content such as reels. 

The metrics and KPIs are handy in knowing which factors need testing. For instance, the landing page drives less traffic after an algorithm update. Search engines, such as Google, sometimes give possible reasons, but these might be partially true in your situation. A/B testing helps identify the root cause. 

Doing the test also provides other benefits:

• It removes bias from the decision-making process by relying on data to select the optimal version.
• You can roll out small, measured changes to limit the risk before deploying site-wide.
• A/B tests help quantify and add more context to critical metrics such as conversions. 
• More tangible data often results in quicker executive buy-ins.
• Testing results help ensure that cross-functional teams align their goals and strategies. 
• It helps your PPC and SEO strategies become more agile.

Summing Up

Combining SEO and PPC in B2B marketing provides a better return than using them alone. It also reduces the risk of relying on only one channel. Most of all, this alignment supports the entire buyer’s journey.

This article outlines the three foundations and five practical strategies to synergize both strategies. The integrated approach helps you reach and attract more sales-ready leads. It also improves customer retention. 

Looking for more advanced, customized solutions? Contact Digital Authority Partners (DAP), an award-winning PPC agency, to schedule a free consultation.