Do I Need SEO If I’m Already Running Google/Facebook Ads?

Many businesses invest heavily in paid search and social media advertising on platforms like Google and Facebook. So it’s reasonable to wonder whether you also need organic search optimization (SEO) if pay-per-click ads are already driving results.

The short answer - yes, SEO still provides immense value, even for PPC advertisers. The two strategies can work synergistically to expand visibility, traffic, and conversions further than either could alone.

Let's examine the unique benefits SEO contributes beyond paid ads and why brands should leverage both.

SEO Drives More Qualified Organic Traffic

The most obvious advantage of SEO is increasing website visits without paying per click. Ranking highly for valuable keywords earns impression share as users scroll organic listings.

Unlike the interruptive nature of ads, this free organic traffic means searchers are specifically seeking your products, services or information. So visitors cost nothing to acquire and convert at higher rates.

Without ads, brands relying solely on SEO could still theoretically drive thousands of targeted prospects monthly. Plus organic visitors carry more trust, perceiving earned placements as endorsements.

Surveys show over 50% of searchers click organic results first. And positions gain credibility - people inherently trust Google to display the best answers highest.

So for businesses spending thousands on ads, investing in SEO to capture unpaid traffic still makes sense. You expand visibility beyond just paid keywords too.

SEO Targets More Relevant Keywords

The core of effective SEO is optimizing pages around searcher intent - creating content that answers user questions and meets needs. This requires extensive keyword research to discover relevant topics.

But paid search tends to focus on a smaller group of commercial terms aligned to promotions. Marketers typically target branded and volume purchase keywords through PPC.

With SEO you can tap into thousands more mid-to-long tail queries ideal for pulling visitors into your sales funnel. Think earlier-stage questions containing “review”, “vs”, “how to”, etc.

Ranking organically for these informational, research-based terms brings remarkably relevant traffic. Visitors arriving from fragmented long-tail keywords convert better too.

You simply can’t cost-effectively buy ads for the full spectrum of possible searcher questions. SEO fills this gap by continually landing relevant neighborhoods of keywords.

SEO Boosts Paid Search Performance

While their tactics differ, SEO and paid search strengthen one another when combined. Traffic from high-converting organic terms, for example, informs smarter paid keyword buys.

Running pay-per-click ads also lends SEO power. Ad iterations help identify winning keywords and ad copy. This learning transfers to optimizing organic landing pages.

Moreover, ads increase visibility for target keywords, which indirectly signals search engines about relevance. Appearing prominently across both listings establishes credibility.

Technically, paid search can also boost domain authority and keyword relevance with fresh backlinks. Most PPC analytics platforms attribute values to these earned placements.

So not only do ads and organic rankings work better together - failing to do SEO may actively hurt paid performance long term. Rankings influence ad display position and cost-per-click pricing.

SEO Provides Ongoing Returns

The benefits of SEO compound over months and years in a way pay-per-click can’t match. Consistent optimization across thousands of pages pays continuous dividends.

Unlike pausing ad campaigns, letting SEO efforts slip once rankings improve is often shortsighted. Google doesn’t stop crawling, indexing, and evaluating websites when you cease focus.

This means competitors can eventually bypass inactive sites as machine learning finds their content more relevant over time. Maintaining positions requires ongoing work.

Plus previously-optimized content will inevitably need updated or risk getting stale. What attracted clicks last year might not adequately satisfy user intent changes next year.

SEO specialists help ensure brands produce the right content to stay visible. So smart investment maintains returns and prevents sites from going cold.

SEO Lasts After Ad Budget Ends

The most underappreciated yet obvious SEO advantage is earned rankings endure long after advertising stops. There’s no ongoing cost associated with organic visibility.

Sadly, brands often view organic search as dispensable - temporarily cutting SEO budget to reinvest in ads during cash crunches. This leaves no safety net if paid funds later dry up.

Once paused for budget reasons, recovering lost SEO traction can take months. Competitors eagerly claimed abandoned keyword terrain and links. Restarting from scratch is demoralizing.

Maintaining active SEO through all business cycles keeps websites visible even when paid ads go dark. You effectively future-proof traffic sources and sales pipelines for when marketing budgets rebound.

Smart brands always keep SEO initiatives running to hedge budgets risks. Why leave website visibility to chance or choices potentially made under financial duress?

SEO Success Can’t Be Bought

Some executives understand the value SEO holds but still ask whether extra budget wouldn’t be better spent buying more ad impressions immediately. Investing in rankings seems slower by comparison.

This thinking misses why organic optimization works in the first place - earned SEO authority takes time and can’t be paid for. Search algorithms purposefully discount attempts to spend your way to better placements.

In fact, Google and Bing actively demote sites clearly trying to “buy” rankings rather than win organically through merit. There are no shortcuts to sustained success.

Great content, thoughtful keyword targeting, and natural links from industry sources are what ultimately convince search bots your brand deserves attention. And these signals require strategy over months or years of inputs.

Start SEO Now For Future Returns

Given its unique benefits and sustainability, brands shouldn’t view SEO as optional just because paid ads are already driving conversions. The two can and should coexist as pillar marketing strategies.

Refusing to invest anything in organic visibility due to short term PPC results risks leaving future traffic and sales to chance. It essentially makes websites dependent on advertising budgets to maintain visibility.

Plus since rankings algorithmically react to ongoing optimizations over months or years, delaying efforts now delays future-proofing overall visibility too.

SEO and paid search combined provide the best chance for brands to cost-effectively capture their full potential traffic.Coordinate initiatives early to start accelerating website growth for the long haul.