It seems as if we live within a digital world rife with an “alphabet soup” of marketing acronyms. SEO (search engine optimisation) and PPC (pay-per-click advertising) are perhaps two of the most common examples. Both can be used to increase the online exposure of a website and yet, each tends to be used separately. This is just as relevant when referring to spas and salons as it is when discussing other industries. The main issue here is that the beauty sector is now facing an inordinate amount of competition. Companies, therefore, need to be able to reach their target audience in a much more efficient manner than in the past.
So, how do SEO and PPC come into play? What strategies are associated with each and how can they be used in synergy? These are some of the questions that we will address throughout this article.
What are the Differences Between SEO and PPC?
Search engine optimisation is defined as a means to increase the amount of traffic to a website through greater degrees of visibility and by developing an authoritative approach. For instance, articles created around the topic of acne can be linked to relevant product pages within a website or authoritative outbound sources (such as a medical journal). Other facets of SEO include keywords and using the proper HTML coding.
Pay-per-click strategies are designed to generate a greater degree of traffic through targeted third-party advertisements and by linking with well-known sources. To use another example, let’s imagine that your salon has begun focusing upon treatments for brittle or thinning hair. In this case, you may choose to place banner advertisements throughout third-party websites which specialise in health and natural beauty treatments. You will pay a small amount each time an individual clicks on these ads and yet, the inbound leads tend to be of a much higher quality.
Surprising Similarities
Now that we have looked at the differences between SEO and PPC strategies, what are some of their most striking similarities? Of course, one noticeable trait involves the simple fact that both are intended to increase the amount of inbound traffic to your website (thus generating sales and a higher return on investment). Furthermore, spas and beauty centres will often research the appropriate keywords within their content so that their products and services are easy to find. Examples may include:
- Beauty
- Facials
- Hair, skin and nails
- Massage
- Aromatherapy
Another important takeaway point is that both will help your website to rank higher within search engine results. It has been shown that portals that can fall within the top ten displayed results enjoy the lion’s share of inbound traffic.
It should now be clear that either strategy can be extremely useful if you have been less than satisfied with the performance of your spa or beauty salon. The final question involves how both can be used in synergy.
Leveraging the Combined Power of SEO and PPC to Your Advantage
We mentioned search engine results in the previous section and this topic should be addressed further. SERP (search engine results page) results will depend upon which keywords are chosen (a primary goal of SEO) as well as the authoritative nature of advertisements (a fundamental PPC strategy).
Another interesting feature involves how you discover the most relevant keywords for your beauty business. One advantage of PPC is that the advertisements themselves will provide immediate results. You can therefore experiment with different keywords to discover which ones are the most suited for your needs.
We also need to mention brand awareness in this sense. Let us imagine that an individual happens to come across an advertisement for your spa while browsing a website dedicated to holistic health. There are two possibilities in this case:
- He or she will click on your advertisement to be redirected to the website.
- He or she will continue browsing.
Even in the second case, the fact that your advertisement was seen dramatically increases the chances that your spa or salon will be remembered in the future if a user once again comes across its name. This helps to generate online brand awareness.
A final benefit involves your ability to track the progress of a specific marketing campaign by analysing what is known as KPIs (key performance indicators) such as inbound traffic, the time spent on specific pages and which beauty products are proving to be the most popular. Using SEO and PPC in synergy will be able to provide you with a great deal of in-depth analytical information so that you can make changes at the appropriate times.
Birds of a Feather Flock Together
We can now clearly see that SEO and PPC have a great deal in common. Whether you have recently started a beauty business or you are hoping to expand into an entirely new demographic, using these tried-and-test methods is a great way to remain on top while catering to the needs of your clients.
Author Bio:
Paula O’ Gorman is the Design & Marketing Manager at Promotive, a marketing agency that has helped numerous salons and spas with their PPC needs.
