How SEO Works With Paid Social To Drive More Revenue
As an ecommerce founder, the only thing you have less of than time… is cash! So when marketing your business, you might want to simplify and pick a single tactic or two.
Usually it’s a toss up between social, SEO (search engine optimisation), and email. And while you should be using all three in harmony, many see it as an either/or exercise.
What if I told you that SEO works with paid social to create a crescendo effect that has a lasting impact?
Using these two marketing tactics with your ecommerce brand can help find, capture and convert new clients in a way you can’t if you run just one of them.
Let’s explore how SEO works with paid social to drive more revenue and better retention.
Why do many ecommerce founders only rely on paid social?
Using social media ads to drive new customers to your brand can be a cost-effective marketing tactic. They work well if you’re DTC (direct to consumer) or a retailer. You can easily run ads on Meta (Facebook and Instagram), Pinterest, and Twitter.
Even with the mess caused by the iOS 14 update and other privacy measures, tracking your ROAS (return on ad spend) on social ads is fairly straightforward. And I have to admit, begrudgingly, that social networks are sexy.
They can be a superb direct line to your loyal customers. And depending on your audience, socials could be where it’s at. They might not have time for emails or SMS!
However, social media marketing (both paid and organic) is just one tactic we can use with our ecommerce brand.
Is SEO unsexy or a mystical art?
In the other corner, we have SEO. While many think of it as unsexy, it’s a channel you can slowly build visibility on and drive revenue over the long term. Many founders believe it’s a mystical thing that few have mastered.
The good news is, SEO has three main components: Content, Links, and User Experience. Sounds simple?! Hope so.
In short, you need to target words and phrases that people are searching for, which you can find out by talking to your customers.
Next, you need to write compelling copy and content that creates an emotional reaction.
For search engines to trust your website, you need some backlinks. So ask other websites to link back to you. You can beg, pay, or earn backlinks.
Finally, focus on user experience or UX. There are two questions you need to answer. Does your website load fast (under 3 seconds)? Is it easy to find things?
It doesn’t matter if you’re using Shopify, Magento or Woocommerce – you need a fast loading website that is easy to navigate.
Building a marketing plan with multiple tactics
A big mistake I see when helping clients with their ecommerce marketing strategy is they pick one or two tactics and pray they work.
Understand that SEO works with paid social and email marketing to create multiple touch points leading to greater conversion. So you need a plan that includes them all.
So how does paid social help to boost your SEO efforts?
In the last decade, we’ve moved from having a single marketing channel (direct mail) to countless options. As the game has changed, our strategy must evolve too.
It takes more touchpoints to make a sale and delight a customer. By using multiple marketing tactics, we can capture interest and convert it.
Optimising for search engines is the gateway to an exciting world of new customers. Each day, 8.5 billion Google searches take place. Even if only a fraction of these relate to what you sell, it could amount to a 7-figure turnover.
Social media is great for engaging your audience and retention. As a consumer, you might find a product on Google. When it arrives, you post about it on Instagram and tag the brand. You get a rush when they like or comment on your post!
If you’re not generating awareness with SEO and converting visitors to customers with paid social, you’re missing out on a ton of revenue.
Using paid social to retarget your search traffic
My favourite paid social tactic is retargeting. It’s a cost-effective way to keep the conversation going and follow your potential customer around the web. Imagine doing the same with a sandwich board!
Retargeting on social also allows you to build data on who buys from you. You can then use this data to create new social ads and content for organic social and SEO.
Paid social and SEO are the dream team!
If you’re sold on the idea that SEO works with paid social, you might want to know the first step. For each tactic, you should write a step by step plan with KPIs.
Your SEO plan could be as simple as create content for a list of keywords that includes both products and questions from your audience. The KPIs might be daily revenue of £100 and 50% of keywords ranking in the top 3.
For paid social, your plan might be to retarget website visitors’ ads to increase the conversion rate. You might measure revenue per day and ROAS.
As you explore both marketing channels and gather data, you should create more detailed plans. That’s great. Your marketing plan shouldn’t be static.
My final piece of advice is to record what you learn into a best practice document. This way, you’ll have a wealth of information to draw on to help you scale and enable others in your team to understand how you think about ecommerce marketing. You can’t put a price on that!
About AJ Saunders
With nearly a decade of digital marketing experience, AJ has started an ebook publishing company, an ecommerce store, and an ecommerce marketing agency. He spends his days helping businesses sell more online by understanding how to market more effectively and efficiently. If you’re looking for a holistic marketing agency, he’d love to talk to you.
