Should You Target Your SEO Keywords?

If you already have the top spot, or near the top spot in the organic search rankings it may seem a fruitless and futile task to also bid on the same PPC keywords – after all you would, to some degree, be competing with your own website. However, it can actually prove beneficial to target both SEO and PPC top positions because it allows you to completely dominate the top of the search results page. Also, while some surfers prefer to click organic results, others are more inclined towards the PPC ads.

Getting the top position in organic search results can take a lot of time so it is perfectly understandable that you don't want to undermine that position by then competing with yourself and taking the top PPC spot. However, if you don't bid on the top spot and another website subsequently takes it, then you have to consider that rather than losing a lick to yourself you are losing a click to one of your direct competitors.

PPC ads are clearly marked on the search result pages as being Sponsored or Paid Listings. While some surfers will instinctively ignore these listings other surfers will choose them in preference to the organic results, especially those at the very top of the page because they are the most prominent ads displayed on the page. By bidding on those keywords as well as enjoying the fruits of your SEO you can ensure that you have at least a chance of capturing every visitor, regardless of their preference.

For more info, please see the PPC or SEO blog.