The digital marketing landscape is extensive, covering a variety of channels and techniques including Search Engine Optimisation (SEO), Pay-Per-Click (PPC), and social media marketing.
Whilst each of these elements has a different and specific function, they all share one common aim: to increase digital performance with your desired audience.
Success in today’s competitive digital landscape isn’t just about mastering these individual strategies – it’s about harnessing their collective potential to increase impressions, engagement, and conversions online.
The authority of Search Engine Optimisation (SEO)
The element which should be seen as the starting point for any wider digital marketing strategy is SEO. This involves various techniques including technical SEO, on-page SEO, and off-page SEO to organically optimise your website and its pages for search engines and users.
When used in combination, these three techniques can improve the organic performance of a website, enhancing your brand’s online presence by improving credibility and customer experiences.
Through these optimisations, your website needs to be trustworthy and authoritative, using relevant keywords to elevate your brand’s online visibility. A well optimised website not only attracts organic traffic but also complements PPC campaigns by ensuring that website landing pages align with expectations.
And the best part – it’s for the long term! A strong organic ranking can be maintained.
The precision of Pay-Per-Click (PPC)
PPC is a paid-for strategy that helps you increase visibility of your brand and stand out in the digital marketing landscape. Paid campaigns include search, display, shopping, and social media ads.
What makes PPC advertising shine is the complete control you have over when and how your adverts appear to your audience. While SEO takes time, paid media has an instant impact on results. This is because the prime positions can be bought, immediately putting you in front of your audience at the exact moment they express interest.
While search engine ads are more appropriate for targeting users actively searching for your products, advertising on social media provides a visual way of targeting people based on demographics and interests. For this reason, using a range of channels is most effective for reaching potential customers at all stages of the customer journey.
Additionally, through using SEO and PPC in combination, you can maximise your search engine opportunities and keyword coverage, as well as creating a cost-effective strategy with PPC supplementing your organic traffic.
The connection of organic social media marketing
Social media marketing is one of the most trending strategies within digital marketing, as we have all seen occasions where brands go viral on these platforms. Organic content on platforms such as Instagram, Facebook, X, Snapchat, TikTok or LinkedIn allows brands to present a vibrant and human side of their brand and build a community.
By consistently sharing valuable content on social media platforms, you can build a loyal following that extends beyond transactions; you can create real brand advocates.
However, building a loyal following does not happen overnight. Despite the occasional brand going viral on social media, it is important to consider the time investment in not only creating content relevant to the platforms, but also engaging and interacting with consumers online.
Social media platforms are highly competitive, and each have a distinct purpose, so you should consider which platforms best align with your goals. From this point, you can then create a strategy to ensure consistency and relevancy to your audience.
The art of integration
While each of these areas of digital marketing holds its own strengths, the real magic happens when these strategies work together.
Imagine a user finding your well optimised website through organic search, going on to click on a targeted PPC ad and then engaging with your social media content. This creates a unified brand experience that resonates at every touchpoint. By strategically aligning your efforts, you can ensure that every stage of the customer journey is optimised for success.
| SEO | PPC | Organic Social | |
| Time to take effect | Long | Instant | Medium |
| Result duration | Long term | Short term | Medium term |
| Cost | Free | Paid | Free |
| Control | Limited | Full control | Limited |
| Funnel stage | Awareness | All | Retention |
One of the most significant advantages of integrating these strategies is the wealth of data they generate.
For example, keyword and user behaviour insights from your SEO activities can inform your PPC campaigns, allowing you to target your audience more effectively and bid on keywords that have proven to resonate with your audience organically. Engagement metrics and audience insights from your social media account can highlight your best performing content and help craft compelling ad copy.
Contact AB’s digital marketing experts
If you’re not currently using SEO, PPC and social media marketing together, now is the time to start! Find out more about the digital marketing services we offer.