Keyword research is arguably the most import aspect of SEO. Selecting the most appropriate keyword phrases a website should be optimised for is ultimately the key to successful search engine marketing.

After all, if you’re not targeting the right keywords and phrases, then even the best rankings are of little value!

Selecting keywords is a balance of choosing phrases that are:

• relevant to your web site and target audience (this is essential)
• sufficiently popular search phrases to warrant targeting (i.e. people are actually using these search phrases)
• and, where possible, have a low number of competing sites.

The ideal scenario is finding a keyword phrase that is relevant to your site, often searched on, but for which there are few competing web sites.

To illustrate how to go about keyword selection, let’s look at the keyword “SEO“. This is an acronym for “search engine optimisation” if you use British spelling, as we do in New Zealand, or “search engine optimization” using the US spelling (z instead of s).

All versions are relevant to our website – so which should we target?

Whilst there’s a range of keyword research tools available but to keeps this simple we’ll limit ourselves here to the very useful Google Insights for Search tool. The great thing about this tool is that it allows you to see keyword trends over time, with the option of segmenting by country & category. This is a big advantage over many keyword research tools which generally are US centric & so don’t always provide information relevant to other English speaking markets, like New Zealand.

This difference in keyword usage is reflected below in the Google Insights for Search screen grabs. The first shows the relative popularity on a global basis of “seo”; “search engine optimisation”, & “search engine optimization”.

As you can see the keyword “seo” is the most popular by a significant margin, whereas “search engine optimisation” trails way back in 3′rd place.

Based on this it’s clear that “SEO” is a term well worth targeting. However before discounting “search engine optimisation” as a keyword to target, take a look at the Regional Interest breakdown below the main chart. As you’ll see in UK, Australia, New Zealand & Ireland the UK spelling “search engine optimisation” (blue coloured bar) is more popular than the US spelling “search engine optimization” (red coloured bar).

This is difference is further apparent when Google Insights for Search is re-run with results filtered just for New Zealand, as shown below. (Note, due to the limited NZ data for NZ the “All categories” filter has to be applied because Google doesn’t have enough data when the “Internet” category is applied).

As you can see, whilst “SEO” is still the most popular keyword, its lead is not as dominant & “search engine optimisation” is more popular than “search engine optimization”. So does this mean an SEO firm targeting a New Zealand audience should ignore “search engine optimization” & just focus trying to rank well for “SEO” & “search engine optimisation”?

No!

It’s clear that Kiwi’s are using all 3 terms & as the “Rising Searches” report shows that both “SEO” & “search engine optimization” are fast growing in popularity. (Rising searches highlight searches that have experienced significant growth in a given time period, with respect to the preceding time period). In time I wouldn’t be at all surprised if “search engine optimization” becomes more used than “search engine optimisation” by New Zealanders searching on Google.

So in this case the smart move is to do SEO optimisation for all 3 keywords with the goal of ranking well in Google for SEO, search engine optimisation, & search engine optimization.

We’re in the throes of doing SEO on our own website, so let’s see how our rankings for these keywords improve over time. Currently whilst we rank well for these terms when appended with “New Zealand”, our rankings in Google NZ for these keywords by themselves is less than stellar. As at 13 July we only rank #17 for “SEO”; #19 for “search engine optimisation” & we’re not even in the top 30 results for “search engine optimization”. 

That will change. Watch this space…

Welcome to part 2 of this article which examines the relative benefits of both SEO and paid search. In Part 1 we looked at the pros & cons of paid search and saw there are some very compelling reasons for using it.

Time now to switch gears and look at Search Engine Optimisation (commonly abbreviated to SEO).

SEO is relatively ‘geeky’ and so many marketers struggle getting their heads around it compared to paid search (commonly abbreviated to PPC). However to ignore SEO is a mistake because it’s a great way of driving additional customers to your website. Having said that we’ll start with looking at the cons.

Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) Cons:

The first thing to understand is that, contrary to popular misconceptions SEO is NOT ‘Free’. Whereas PPC is a ‘pay as you go’ model, SEO has front loaded costs and is, arguably, more expensive then PPC in the shorter term. The analogy to renting versus owning a house has been made.

SEO, especially in competitive areas, involves a lot more time & hard work than most people anticipate. Invariably changes to the website are required. This involves not only changes to site architecture & structure, but also changes to the content. Then the hard work really starts with link building…

Other negatives of SEO compared to paid search are:

• Limited keywords – as previously noted a page can usually only be optimised properly for 1 or 2 related search terms (keywords) which limits the number of keywords you can target compared to paid search.
• Lack of control over position – SEO is all about trying to influence search engines so they recognise your page as being highly relevant for a certain keyword phrase and thus rank it in the first page or two of organic search results. In SEO there are no guarantees in terms of ranking positions, despite what some con artists may state. The reality is you can’t guarantee what you don’t control & SEO is about influence, not control. So unlike paid search you can’t readily change where your listing is positioned in the search results. In contrast with PPC you can actively modify bids & preferred ad rank positions to test if, say, position 3 works better than position 1.
• Lack of control over landing pages - for the same reasons you do not have the same level of control with SEO determining which pages Google selects to include in its organic results compared to the high level of control paid search offers.
• Results take time – for people used to the relatively instantaneous results seen from paid search this is one of SEO’s biggest drawbacks. The plain simple fact is that SEO takes time before it shows results – and the more competitive the keywords you want to rank for the longer the wait. Generally it takes 3 – 6 + months before a site starts to rank for the primary keywords being targeted. If you need results yesterday, SEO is not the answer!

The time before results get seen combined with the limited level of control means that for most marketers SEO requires a ‘leap of faith’. For this reason we find most are far more comfortable starting off their search marketing efforts on a limited scale with paid search, then based on its success scaling that up and then later adding in SEO.

SEO Pros:

Having read about the cons you may well be wondering why you’d bother with SEO. Hang in there, the reasons are very, very compelling. Essentially it comes down to performance & cost.

1. More traffic – 70 – 75% of all search traffic is organic, rather than from paid search advertisements. The reason for this relates to the buying cycle. When people are in the early stages of information gathering & research they are far more inclined to focus on organic search results rather than paid ads. So if your SEO efforts get you ranking well in the organic results your chances of prospective buyers going to your website are enhanced.
2. Higher conversion rates – conversion rates from organic results are often higher than paid search traffic.
3. Lower cost over time – whilst SEO is definitely not free and takes more time, money & effort upfront than paid search the cost over the longer term is much lower because you’re not paying per click. For this reason getting good SEO work done on your website is a smart long lasting investment.

So which is better, SEO or PPC?

Really it depends on your objectives & situation. However we usually recommend running an integrated search marketing campaign with both to exploit complementary strengths of SEO & PPC. A typical SEO/PPC mix for a new website is often:

1. Start with PPC campaign
2. Implement SEO campaign
3. Progressively reduce PPC when SEO kicks in
4. Continue SEO with tactical PPC if needed

Do you need both SEO & PPC?

This debate frequently comes up when a client who has been using paid search for a particular keyword starts to rank well organically for it. “Great, we’re ranking organically so now we can ditch paying for this traffic using PPC”. That’s a reasonable conclusion to draw, especially for your brand name, however there are several reasons to stick with PPC even when you’re ranking well organically.

• Increased chances of being clicked on. With organic listings Google & other search engines normally will only show a maximum of 2 listings for any one website. So even if you are in the enviable position of having 2 results on page 1 of Google, by also having a PPC paid ad you increase your presence on the page by 50% & thus chance of being clicked on. Whilst you’d prefer they click your organic listing, as long as you’re bidding a sensible amount for paid search you still win.
• Paid & Natural Search Performance Synergy. There is evidence that having high organic & paid search results for a keyword leads to an uplift in performance for both – effectively a 1+1=3 effect.
• A study in March 2007 by iCrossing (Search Synergy: Natural and Paid Search Symbiosis) concluded that “Running natural and paid search campaigns in an integrated manner leads to superior online performance versus running either of them alone.”

  

• As the chart shows online performance for a range of key metrics improved significantly when natural & paid search were integrated. Why this happens is not clear – some speculate that having top results in both organic and PPC listings can help build the credibility of the site (Customer: “Hey, these guys are all over this page! They must be the industry leader” or something along those lines.)
• Other reasons for running both SEO & paid search include:
  • You have control over your brand message
  • Prevent competitor brand squatting in PPC search space (Prevent “Broad Matching” algorithms, and unscrupulous practices from putting your competitor’s ads above your natural search link for brand searches)
  • It’s insurance. If you slip from the organic rankings for a day or two, your paid ranking will maintain your presence.

Conclusion

1. SEO & Paid Search are each very effective ways of driving additional traffic to your website.
2. For maximum search marketing performance use both together & leverage their complementary strengths.

Mark Sceats

What’s Best – SEO or Paid Search? This is a very common question we get to hear from marketers and is a subject I spoke on recently when the New Zealand Marketing Association ran one of their bi-monthly ‘Brainy Breakfast’ seminars. The seminar was about Search Marketing and a sell out. Despite an antisocial 7am start more than 230 marketing professionals from a wide range of NZ organisations attended, demonstrating the intense interest in search marketing. Is search marketing taking off in New Zealand? Absolutely!

I was one of the six presenters on the panel which also included Google New Zealand, Yahoo! Australia, plus several other search marketing specialists. (That’s me, 3rd from the left).

We all spoke about different aspects of search marketing & the specific topic I covered was “What’s Best – SEO or Paid Search?” Because of the interest I’ve decided I to cover off the presentation here.

The short answer to the question is…it depends on your objectives & situation. Both SEO & Paid Search are
incredibly effective methods for driving more customers to your website. Like all things they each have their pros & cons and understanding these will help you decide which to use.

It’s easiest to start off looking at Paid Search. That’s because fundamentally it’s media buying, so most marketers find it easier to grasp than search engine optimisation.

Paid Search (PPC) Pros:

1. Performance based – a key aspect about paid search marketing which makes it so appealing to marketers is that, unlike almost all other advertising, it’s performance based. With PPC if people don’t click on your ads you don’t pay. And not only that, when people do click on your ad they’re actively seeking you out. What a contrast to traditional interruption based media! No wonder so much advertising spend is being switched to paid search.
2. Speed of implementation – compared to SEO it’s much quicker to implement a paid search campaign and few, if any, site changes are needed (at least initially). This makes it much easier for marketers to commit to because they can comfortably put a toe in the water & retain control without it becoming a major project involving IT etc.
3. High Control – this is another appealing aspect of paid search.

• On demand. Campaigns can be turned on & off as desired (ideal for tactical purposes)
• Landing pages – you control which specific page your ad links to.
• Specific audiences can be targeted using geo-targeting so your ads are not viewed & clicked on by audiences you can’t serve
• Compared to organic search results the advertiser controls the message presented in the search results i.e. the ad copy messaging (within editorial bounds)
• The keywords triggering your ads (if you’re selling widgets & don’t want a particular keyword to trigger your ads, such as ‘free widgets’ then you simply don’t include that in the keywords being bid on &/or make it a negative keyword)

This control is illustrated here (Ferrit is NZ’s biggest online shopping site with over 80 retailers):

In addition, less obvious benefits that paid search offers is testing.

With paid search you can & should test all of the following:

1. Keywords – with SEO a page can only be effectively optimised for 1 or 2 closely related keywords. However with paid search you can literally target thousands of different keywords in a campaign. So one of the things we always recommend is using paid search as a keyword validation tool to quickly identify the most effective keywords (i.e. the ‘money’ keywords that bring traffic that converts). Those are the keywords that the site should then be optimised for.
2. Ad copy – with paid search it’s easy to split test ads to find out which generate the greatest response from both a click through rate & more importantly, conversion rate. If you’re a company renting out motorhomes should your ad headline be “New Zealand Motorhomes” or “New Zealand Campervans’? With split testing you’ll know with certainty which appeals to your prospective audience, rather than guessing. (By the way, depending on the market being targeted one of those terms way out performs the other).
3. Landing page testing – again as with ad copy split testing you can test different landing pages to see which has the greatest impact on conversions. Simply A/B split testing can be done, as well as sophisticated multi-variate testing where a range of different factors get tested (eg 3 different headlines + 2 guarantees + 2 different prices + 3 different ‘buy now’ buttons). With most websites having dismal conversion rates in the 2% region using conversion optimisation to improve conversion rates can have a massively positive impact on your bottom line.

As you can see there are many compelling reason for using paid search. But it’s not all upside, there are a few cons.

Paid Search Cons:

The biggest negative is that paid search only works whilst you’re able to keep putting money in the PPC machine. Stop, and of course your ads stop running.

Fundamentally PPC is an auction and with increasing competition as more advertisers enter the market bid costs are increasing. NZ still an immature market with low competition but ‘keyword inflation’ is begining to happen which is a reason to get in early now. In the US paid search growth is starting to slow as many smaller to medium sized advertisers are having to cut back on PPC because bid prices are getting too expensive. This means it’s critically important to understand what you can afford to spend and having smart bid management strategies becomes increasingly important as CPC increases.

OK, to avoid this being too long an article we’ll take a break here. Tomorrow we’ll switch gears and look at the pros & cons of Search Engine Optimisation.

See you then.

Mark Sceats