If you’re part of a marketing agency, you’ve likely faced a common question: SEO or PPC? The truth is that the smartest strategy is to invest in both. SEO (Search Engine Optimisation) and PPC (Pay-Per-Click advertising) each excel in different ways.
If you are looking for reasons why SEO and PPC are important in your overarching marketing, we’ve complied three different reasons for you.
And, most importantly, combining the insights you get from each creates a powerful, data-driven engine that maximises ROI and drives sustainable growth.
But before we dive in, let’s explore what SEO and PPC mean.
What is SEO? SEO Offers Long-Term Value
SEO is the equivalent of planting seeds for your online presence; it takes time to cultivate, but the harvest is well worth it. When your site ranks high on Google, you can attract a steady stream of visitors without paying for each click.
In other words, those clicks are essentially free after your initial investment in creating quality content and optimisation. This makes SEO incredibly cost-effective over the long run. It also builds credibility: users tend to trust organic results, and the traffic generated by strong SEO establishes trust in your brand while bringing a flow of leads over time.
What is PPC? PPC Delivers Immediate Results
PPC, on the other hand, is like turning on a tap; you have control over the flow of traffic by adjusting your ad spend, and you can target your ads to the exact audience you want (by demographics, location, time of day, previous behaviour, interests, etc.).
With PPC advertising (such as Google Ads), you bid to have your website show up as a sponsored result for specific keywords. You pay a fee only when someone clicks your ad and you can control what the ads says, but the major benefit is that you can appear at the top of search results instantly.
Unlike SEO, which may take months to climb rankings, PPC can start driving traffic as soon as your ads are live. This means immediate visibility to potential customers who are searching for terms related to your business.
Furthermore, we see PPC as perfect for generating quick leads, promoting time-sensitive offers, or kicking off a new campaign with almost instant traction.
What is almost a bonus on top of the leads generated is the cache of data that you get back, showing how the ads are performing. PPC provides rich data (click-through rates, conversion rates, cost per conversion) almost in real time. You can quickly see what’s working and what isn’t, allowing you to refine your campaigns on the fly — even those that are not reliant on PPC itself.
Every dollar is accountable, and done right, PPC delivers by putting your message in front of the right people at the right time.
The result is stronger ROI and better marketing performance.
Understanding the Connection Between SEO and Paid Search
From our experience, combining efforts ensures no missed opportunities for high-value keywords.
This approach allows us to capture traffic through both organic and paid means, leading to a more comprehensive and effective digital presence.
Integrating SEO and paid search means agencies can achieve a balanced strategy that optimises both short-term and long-term goals.
So, now for the three reasons why you should invest time and money in SEO and PPC…
Reason 1: Integrating SEO and PPC Lowers CPC and Raises Quality Scores
When you build a strong SEO strategy, it can boost your organic rankings and make your paid search campaigns more efficient. In fact, ranking higher in Google’s organic results often means you can bid more strategically on ads.
Did you know? Securing the #1 spot in Google’s organic results grabs an average 27.6% of all clicks
When you earn the coveted #1 organic spot, you immediately ease the pressure on paid auctions. What this means is fewer ad clicks, which means less competition. In other words, your cost-per-click naturally drops.
Depending on your strategic requirements, you then can pause or scale back paid bids on keywords focusing more on keywords you already dominate organically, freeing up budget to chase new growth.
And because Google (and Bing) rewards relevance, a strong organic presence lifts your Quality Scores. This lets you bid smarter rather than harder.
Reason 2: Paid Search Fuels SEO with Real-Time Keyword Insights
For agencies, paid search becomes a treasure trove of keyword clues.
Here’s how:
When you dig into your PPC reports, you uncover the keywords and messaging that genuinely connect with your audience.
If an ad on “AI-powered CRM for startups” is getting clicks and conversions, treat that phrase as a top SEO priority. Likewise, broad-match campaigns can surprise you by revealing longer, more specific search phrases such as “best marketing automation tools for SaaS” that your other tools might miss.
These niche, high-intent phrases are easier to rank and convert, so weave them into your blogs, FAQs and product pages. In this way, your paid campaigns hand you exactly the words and topics your audience is already searching for.
In a real-world example, we worked with Three Piece Marketing to supercharge their search performance for a core hospitality client using an integrated SEO and PPC approach. We began by auditing the end-client’s site and keyword portfolio, then rolled out on-page optimisations, technical fixes and targeted content that propelled their most valuable pages into top organic positions.
In parallel, our Google Ads and Facebook remarketing campaigns drew directly from those SEO insights; focusing spend on high-intent terms and ad copy proven to convert.
The payoff has been substantial: Three Piece Marketing’s paid campaigns convert for their client at 18.4%, maintain an average CPC below $0.65, and have driven 170,000+ qualified visitors to their site, all while their organic rankings continue to climb. Best of all, they are achieving a ROAS over 10x.
Reason 3: Maximises ROI with a Unified SEO + PPC Strategy
When SEO and PPC teams share data and goals, you can move budget instantly where it will have the greatest impact: investing in paid ads for keywords that need a push, while letting high-performing terms climb organically without extra spend.
This approach makes your marketing budget more responsive and efficient.
SEO and PPC Is Better Together
Our recommendation is that investing in both SEO and PPC isn’t an either/or proposition – it’s a both/and strategy that multiplies your marketing effectiveness. SEO and PPC may operate differently, but they can work hand-in-hand and inform each other for greater overall results.
How you ask?
Sharing insights between the two channels makes each one stronger. Rather than running SEO and PPC in separate silos, an integrated approach lets each channel’s data inform the other’s strategy, resulting in smarter decisions and better performance across the board.
In short, using both channels together also maximises your visibility and credibility on search engine results pages. Dominating more real estate in search results means more opportunities for clicks and brand exposure.
If you need more people to notice (and click) your brand that seems to be “everywhere” on the first page, contact us.
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