I’m not sure what Kevin Gold is driving at here. He seems to be complaining that PPC advertising is taking on the feel of traditional organic SEO. But I’m not sure that this is a real change. PPC has always involved some element of SEO.
Consider this:
- It’s always been keyword-based
- Relevant landing pages have always mattered
- Getting the click has always meant enticing the searcher to click your ad
OK, admittedly, that last point doesn’t necessarily involve SEO. And it’s true that in the early days of PPC you didn’t have to point searchers to a landing page centered around the same keyword that your ad targeted. Many searchers found those types of ads misleading and those landing pages didn’t convert well. If you wanted to see high conversions from your landing pages then you tried to match the keywords from your ad to your landing page and actually sold a product that your PPC ad advertised.
But Gold does make a substantial point in mentioning load times, aging requirements, and other SEO-related criteria. These measures are in place to improve the search experience and to improve the ads that are offered to searchers. They are an improvement and if you don’t believe me then just go back in time to 1991 and see what kinds of ads matched what kinds of landing pages. There was some obvious deception going on.
Google wants PPC advertisers to give thought to theirs strategies, and I can’t blame them. Is it more difficult? Yes, in some ways. But if you do things by the guidelines, you can see your advertising become more effective. PPC is still PPC at the core.
Hi Nick,
Thanks for the review of my post over at http://www.searchmarketingstandard.com. No “complaining” just some thoughts on how PPC and SEO are converging more now than ever before. As an Internet marketer since the Goto.com/Overture days (1999), I feel that Google AdWords is forcing marketers to develop their technical skills where in the past, a marketer with good direct marketing skills (and little understanding of the technology) could achieve success.
I am personally excited about these developments (it decreases competition and doesn’t favor big budget corporations as much as the old “pure bid auction” environment of Overture.) Yet I sense that small to medium size businesses trying to manage their own PPC campaigns are feeling the performance crunch.
Thanks again Nick. Great blog!