PS: If you’re already eager to get started, we’ll spare you the extra reading. Our specialists are ready to help you build a holistic strategy that delivers both short-term gains and long-term, sustainable success. Let’s find the best solution for you, preferably over a cup of coffee. ☕
There. Now that the initial “formalities” are out of the way, it’s time to polish your glasses, grab a coffee, and lean back in your chair. Enjoy the read:
The sprinter and the marathon runner
You can think of SEO and advertising as two very different types of runners:
- SEO is the marathon runner – the persistent, resilient type that builds results over time
- Advertising is the sprinter – the explosive runner that goes all out and delivers fast results
SEO – the marathon runner
SEO is about building visibility and authority over time. It requires a good dose of patience, but once you have built a solid foundation andnot least have a strong plan for how to maintain this visibility, you will benefit from a steadily increasing amount of organic (read: free) traffic to your website.
So, just like a marathon runner maintains a steady pace and works strategically to reach the finish line, SEO will deliver long-term profitability if you are patient enough to see the race through.
Benefits:
- Increases organic visibility and traffic over time
- No cost per click (Free traffic? Yes please!)
Disadvantages:
- It takes time before you see results – there’s no quick fix here!
- Requires ongoing maintenance and optimization to maintain visibility over time
Advertising – the sprinter
Just like a sprinter who gives everything over a short distance, advertising gives you an immediate boost in traffic and exposure – perfect when you want fast results or want to test something new.
Another advantage is that you can target ads to specific customer segments, and continuously test and optimize – so you can invest more in what delivers results and cut what doesn’t work.
Benefits:
- Provides fast visibility and results
- Can be targeted towards specific customer segments and continuously optimized
Disadvantages:
- Requires continuous investment – if you shut off the funding, the results stop
- Can become expensive if you don’t optimize your ads and adjust the strategy regularly
When the marathon runner meets the sprinter: How SEO and advertising can bring out the best in each other
As you may realize, SEO and advertising are not competitors. On the contrary, these are complementary strategies that, with their respective strengths and weaknesses, reinforce each other.
So – what can you do to get the most out of the synergy between SEO and advertising?
Grab your notebook, because here we’ll give you the answer to exactly that:
Data sharing
When we work with keyword analyses in SEO activities, these are often extensive and provide a solid overview of all kinds of variations of search phrases within different topics – both shorttail and longtail. Here we can identify relevant keywords with less competition and lower CPC, which are extremely valuable for advertising. Conversely, advertising provides quick insight into which keywords actually convert, which in turn is highly useful for fine-tuning the SEO strategy.
In short: Use data from both SEO and advertising to continuously adjust and improve your keyword strategy – so you’re always one step ahead.
Effective landing pages
To maximize the effect of the synergies between SEO and paid advertising, it is important to create landing pages that both rank well in organic search and convert efficiently from advertising and SEO.
A/B testing
And now that we’re already talking about data sharing and high-performing landing pages, we’d like to introduce another key concept: A/B testing.
A/B testing is like giving SEO and advertising a joint workout. By testing different ads, landing pages, and keyword combinations, you gain valuable insight into what actually triggers your target audience. With these insights, you can fine-tune both paid campaigns and your SEO strategy for maximum impact.
Let’s say you want to boost sales for a product.
The keyword analysis you conduct reveals that people care about both functionality and price. You therefore run two different ads – one that talks about how brilliant the product is, and one that focuses on the price. After a short time, the numbers clearly show that price wins the battle for clicks.
So what do you do? You optimize the landing page – add clearer pricing information, maybe a discount or an attractive deal. The result? More conversions from advertising because you increase relevance for your visitors, while also improving your organic ranking on price-related searches.
When SEO and advertising work together like this, you leverage both the marathon runner’s endurance and the sprinter’s explosive speed – that’s synergy at its best!
The combination of push and pull marketing
When you combine push marketing (typically ads in social media or display ads) and pull marketing (SEO), you achieve faster results.
For example, you can use ads to promote content that is already optimized for the search engine, giving you double exposure – both organic and paid. In addition, data from your push campaigns provides insights into which keywords and messages perform best, helping you further optimize your SEO strategy.
This combination gives you a marketing strategy that both drives quick traffic and at the same time builds strong brand awareness – a true win-win situation.
Synergy in practice: How Falck increased traffic by 122%
Falck, a leading player in healthcare services, combined SEO and advertising to dominate the search results. After 10 months, they had:
- #1 ranking on Google for “bedriftshelsetjeneste Oslo”
- 17 top 5 rankings
- 122% increase in organic traffic
- 1,340+ conversions from ads
This is simply one of several success stories that proves how a strong strategy for SEO and advertising can drive impressive growth and deliver measurable results. At Solid Media, we are proud to be part of this journey together with Falck – and we look forward to what lies ahead!
Are you ready to leverage the synergies?
SEO and advertising are more powerful together than on their own. By combining them, you can build a marketing strategy that delivers both quick wins and long-term success.
Do you want to learn more about how you can drive growth by using SEO and advertising strategically?
