Pay-per-click advertising campaigns—in particular, Google’s PPC ads—offer a lot of benefits to window and door retailers. Many love the cost-effectiveness, as well as how PPC ads display the company prominently at the top of search engine results pages. The fact that PPC advertisers can tweak ad copy on the fly and make it go live almost immediately is also a plus.
But a question I often hear from my window and door clients is whether pay-per-click ads affect organic (unpaid) search results. Will they help a window and door business leapfrog competitors in the standard rankings for local search? The truth is a little more complicated than a yes/no answer.
Ultimately, a PPC campaign does not directly affect organic search rankings—and Google won't let that happen. Google wants every business to know there’s no simple way to “pay the way” into higher organic rankings. It has an airtight wall between the unpaid rankings side and the paid side. Companies benefit from great real estate on the search engine results page with a paid ad, but its existence isn't going to change rankings in unpaid results.
However, the PPC ad does improve the likelihood of someone clicking on an organic listing. And, it improves the power and effectiveness of that listing in several ways.
-
First, searchers who see a PPC ad for a business are much more inclined to click on that business in an organic listing. The ad creates authority and, even if a person typically avoids clicking on a paid ad, he or she will likely click on an organic link.
-
Paid ad clicks also very often lead to an increase in links, sharing, citations, etc. This activity can improve a site's authority with Google and, thus, its organic ranking.
-
Searchers who have previously encountered a PPC ad for a business site are much more inclined to engage and convert with that site, even when that's through an organic listing.
If your business has the most authority, the best content and the strongest SEO, it will rank the highest for a given keyword in your geographic area—regardless of whether a business relationship between Google and a business exists.
But, a Google AdWords PPC campaign still delivers all sorts of indirect positive effects for your organic listings. In fact, any practice that builds a brand, generates more customers and general revenue, and increases the quantity and quality of online reviews is going to crank up a site's SEO, and thus organic rankings.
PPC advertising does all of that, which is why I strongly encourage any window and door business utilize this tool.
