Can We Do PPC & SEO At The Same Time?
Yes, you can do PPC and SEO at the same time—and doing so strategically can amplify your results far beyond what either tactic achieves in isolation. In this guide, you'll learn:
Why combining PPC & SEO gives your brand a competitive edge.
How organic search and paid search work in tandem to dominate the SERP real estate.
The key differences in customer intent, and how to align messaging through both channels.
Tactical strategies for integration, from keyword targeting to remarketing.
How data from Google Ads, Search Console, and Google Analytics can drive your next campaign.
A clear roadmap for building a unified marketing strategy that adapts to both short-term performance and long-term SEO value.
Along the way, we’ll also show how tools like A/B testing, conversion rate optimization (CRO), and integrated campaign tracking make this possible—and profitable.
Doing Both: The Myth, the Misconception, the Missed Opportunity
For many ecommerce marketers, especially in small-to-mid-sized teams, there's an unspoken pressure to pick a side: the fast ROI of PPC (Pay-Per-Click), or the steady compounding benefits of Search Engine Optimization (SEO).
That’s a false choice.
"Treating PPC and SEO as competing strategies is like picking between gasoline and engine oil. One fuels the speed, the other the endurance—but your car needs both to run."
The reality is that SEO and PPC integration isn't just possible—it’s the new standard for smart, modern ecommerce brands. It’s how you maximize ROI, scale quicker, and create multichannel conversion optimization without fragmenting your marketing efforts.
We see this play out every day at Easy Ecommerce Marketing, where businesses shift from siloed strategies to cohesive execution across channels. The results? More visibility, smarter decisions, and less wasted budget.
Why Combining PPC & SEO Works Better Than Running Them Separately
Search marketing lives and dies by your ability to understand intent and show up at the right moment. When you separate PPC from SEO, you’re cutting your ability to track, test, and adjust that intent in real-time.
Here's What Happens When You Combine the Two:
Dominate the search engine results page (SERP)
When your brand shows up in both paid and organic listings, you essentially double your SERP real estate—and push your competitors further down.Use PPC to fill SEO gaps
SEO takes time. With CPC (cost-per-click) advertising, you can show up for high-value keywords today while building your organic strategy underneath.Accelerate testing
Using PPC ads to test messaging and user behavior (think: A/B testing, ad copy testing for SEO) lets you refine your content strategy faster.Unified insights from real data
When you sync Google Ads, Search Console, and Google Analytics, you can see how different keywords convert across both channels—providing mutual keyword insights that shape smarter campaigns.Stronger signals for future ranking
Higher click-through rate (CTR) and improved bounce rate from effective PPC campaigns can signal to Google that your pages deserve better organic visibility.
For instance, our services page illustrates how PPC data can directly inform landing page layouts, messaging, and even offer placement for better CRO.
From Quick Wins to Long-Term Gains: Understanding Your Funnel
One of the most powerful arguments for combining PPC and SEO is that they naturally serve different phases of the customer journey.
Funnel StageStrategyWhy It MattersTop-of-FunnelSEOCapture early interest with educational contentMid-FunnelSEO + PPCRetarget visitors with PPC; build trust with SEO-rich contentBottom-of-FunnelPPCDrive conversions with time-sensitive offers and high-intent keywords
This approach gives you full-funnel digital strategy coverage—from discovery to conversion—and helps align your search parity strategy across campaigns.
If you're unsure where to start, a free audit can highlight current gaps in your organic and paid strategy and show where to merge efforts for the biggest gains.
Build Smarter, Not Busier: Real-Life Integration Tactics
Let’s get specific. Here’s how to bring PPC and SEO together in real, tactical terms:
1. Keyword Targeting That Feeds Both Channels
Start by identifying keyword clusters where both paid and organic listings are possible. Run a PMax campaign for your top-performing products, then analyze which terms generate conversions. Feed those insights back into your SEO roadmap.
Pro tip: If certain paid keywords are converting well, but have low SEO ranking, prioritize them in your next content update.
2. Retargeting to Reinforce Organic Visits
If a visitor lands on your blog via organic search, use retargeting ads to bring them back with a relevant product offer. This cross-channel loop is especially effective for ecommerce—bringing SEO readers back as PPC converters.
Want more tips on combining remarketing and content strategy? Check out our homepage at Easy Ecommerce Marketing.
Aligning Data Streams for Smarter Strategy
One of the biggest wins in SEO and PPC integration is shared visibility. But that only works when your data is aligned.
3. Use UTM Parameters for Unified Tracking
Adding UTM parameters to your PPC URLs helps track user behavior across campaigns. When paired with Search Console and Google Analytics, this setup allows you to monitor:
Which paid ads lead to organic brand searches
How visitors behave after landing on your SEO-optimized content
Which content pieces fuel the conversion funnel alignment best
"Tracking is not about more data—it’s about relevant attribution. Know what’s working, cut what isn’t."
By using UTM tags consistently, you reduce ambiguity around how different channels contribute to the customer journey mapping.
Multichannel Momentum: Structuring Campaigns for Growth
As your traffic grows, your strategies can no longer live in silos. To scale sustainably, you need integrated campaign tracking and budget allocation between channels based on performance, not assumptions.
4. Segment Campaigns by Intent and Funnel Stage
Rather than grouping all keywords together, segment campaigns into:
Brand awareness vs direct response
High-CPC keywords vs long-tail informational searches
Top-of-funnel content (e.g., guides) vs bottom-of-funnel (e.g., product comparisons)
This structure not only gives you clearer performance reporting, it aligns ad creative with the user's search query behavior and intent.
For example, a user searching “best performance compression socks” may be earlier in their journey than someone searching “buy men’s ankle compression socks size large.”
Let your SEO content distribution via ads reflect this nuance—guiding the user with the right message, at the right time.
Real Ecommerce Use Cases: What Synergy Looks Like in Action
At Easy Ecommerce Marketing, we’ve seen firsthand how combining strategies delivers exponential results. Here's how PPC and SEO work together in a typical campaign rollout:
Case Snapshot:
Phase 1: Use Google Ads to launch a new product page, collect impressions and CTR data.
Phase 2: Use top-performing ad copy to craft SEO-optimized page titles and meta descriptions.
Phase 3: Monitor behavior on-site using Google Analytics—improving page speed, layout, and engagement metrics to reduce bounce rate.
Phase 4: Shift budget toward retargeting the most engaged organic visitors with personalized PPC offers.
Result: A steady growth in organic rankings, with PPC filling the gaps during SEO ramp-up.
If this type of omnichannel marketing sounds like what your brand needs, explore how our digital marketing services can tailor this system to your ecommerce store.
Avoiding Pitfalls: Overlap ≠ Redundancy
Running PPC and SEO at the same time doesn’t mean duplicating effort. It means optimizing across touchpoints. Here's how to avoid the most common traps:
Don’t Bid on What You Already Own—Unless It’s Strategic
There’s no need to bid on keywords where you already rank #1 organically, unless:
Competitors are aggressively targeting that term with PPC.
Your ad gives additional call-to-action visibility (e.g., shipping promo, new bundle).
You're testing ad copy vs SEO headlines for engagement.
Use search parity strategy as your guide: aim to complement organic listings, not cannibalize them.
Time-to-Value: How Long Before It Pays Off?
Faster results with PPC are undeniable, but the long-term ROI often comes from organic search. When done right, combining PPC and SEO shortens the time-to-value in digital marketing by:
Testing audience responsiveness fast with paid ads.
Feeding that data into SEO campaigns that convert over months.
Refining funnel alignment for both short- and long-tail keywords.
Your marketing spend becomes a learning engine—one where every click informs a smarter future campaign.
Seasonal Campaigns: Using the Synergy for Timely Impact
Seasonality presents both a challenge and an opportunity. PPC offers the agility to act fast; SEO offers the staying power to build authority. So how do you coordinate them?
5. Pre-Season PPC, Post-Season SEO
Here’s how ecommerce brands can structure seasonal campaign rollouts:
Pre-season: Use PPC campaigns to test copy, offers, and landing pages—especially for time-sensitive promotions.
During the peak: Double down on both paid search and organic content, ensuring SERP domination through ad placement and strong SEO rankings.
Post-season: Leverage retargeting / remarketing campaigns to bring back traffic from seasonal blog posts and product pages.
Example: If you're launching a holiday gifting guide, drive initial traffic with PPC ads, then update and optimize the content based on user engagement for long-term SEO traffic next year.
Done right, this creates content promotion via PPC that eventually transitions into evergreen organic visibility—a powerful loop.
Tools That Make PPC and SEO Work Together (Without Headaches)
Collaboration across channels doesn’t have to mean chaos. Here are a few tools to make integration seamless:
Core Platforms
Google Analytics – For tracking user behavior across channels.
Google Ads – For PPC campaign management and testing.
Google Search Console – For SEO keyword data, rankings, and crawl diagnostics.
Tagging & Tracking
UTM Parameters – Custom URL tags for tracking the origin and performance of each campaign.
Looker Studio (formerly Data Studio) – For building shared dashboards that compare organic vs paid performance.
Optimization Tools
A/B testing platforms (e.g., VWO or Google Optimize) – For testing landing pages across traffic sources.
Keyword research tools (e.g., SEMrush, Ahrefs) – Use shared keyword sets for both SEO content and PPC bidding strategies.
These tools help bring clarity to complex campaigns, enabling cross-channel attribution and smarter decisions.
Budget Allocation Tips for Long-Term Growth
Let’s get tactical. Here’s how to split budgets to maximize ROI without sacrificing long-term gains.
Early Stage: PPC Heavy
New ecommerce stores need traffic fast. Put ~70% into PPC, and use insights to shape SEO content. Think test PPC before SEO.
Growth Stage: Balanced Investment
With SEO pages ranking and traffic growing, shift to a 50/50 model. Use SEO data to inform PPC campaigns, and let PPC fill keyword or content gaps.
Mature Stage: SEO-Led
When SEO dominates search intent mapping, scale back PPC to retargeting, branded terms, and promotions. Focus ~70% on SEO while refining CRO.
Remember: Your SEO investment should compound over time. PPC helps you get there faster, but SEO keeps the gains.
Final Thoughts: What Success Looks Like
So, can we do PPC & SEO at the same time? Absolutely—and smart ecommerce brands aren’t just doing both, they’re optimizing both together.
Here’s what a high-performing, unified marketing strategy looks like:
PPC and SEO working together to own every stage of the funnel.
Omnichannel marketing that feels seamless to the customer.
A feedback loop where data from paid campaigns sharpens organic strategy—and vice versa.
A balance of speed, scalability, and sustainability.
And perhaps most importantly, it's a strategy built for resilience. Whether you're facing rising CPCs, seasonal dips, or algorithm shifts, having both channels in sync means your business stays visible, agile, and profitable.
Ready to Start Combining PPC and SEO?
If you’re ready to build a search strategy that plays the long game while winning the short game, get your free audit and let us show you where your SEO and PPC opportunities lie.
Or explore our full range of ecommerce services to see how we help brands like yours grow smarter—every day.
Frequently Asked Questions: Running PPC and SEO Together
1. Will running PPC ads affect my organic SEO rankings?
No, running PPC ads will not directly influence your organic rankings. Google maintains a strict separation between paid and organic algorithms. However, PPC can indirectly benefit SEO by increasing visibility, traffic, and engagement—signals that may contribute to improved organic performance over time.
2. Should I target the same keywords for both SEO and PPC?
Yes, with strategy. Overlapping high-intent keywords in both channels can reinforce your brand presence. However, avoid wasting budget on keywords where you already rank #1 organically—unless competitors are bidding on them. Also consider using PPC for expensive or competitive keywords while building organic authority for them.
3. How do I prevent cannibalization between PPC and SEO traffic?
Use tools like Google Analytics and Search Console to monitor performance across both channels. If your paid search clicks are eating into organic traffic, consider adjusting bids, dayparting, or targeting different keyword variants. You want synergy, not duplication.
4. Can I run PPC while waiting for SEO to kick in?
Absolutely—and it’s one of the best use cases for combining strategies. SEO can take months to rank, while PPC brings immediate traffic. Use PPC in the short term, then gradually reduce budget on keywords that become profitable organically.
5. Is the landing page the same for both PPC and SEO?
Not necessarily. PPC landing pages often focus on conversion, while SEO pages are optimized for content depth and structure. However, they should be aligned in message and offer to maintain consistency across channels. You can A/B test layout variations and refine based on performance data.
6. How do I budget for PPC and SEO simultaneously?
Start with a campaign-based model. Allocate a flexible PPC budget based on time-sensitive goals (e.g., promotions), and treat SEO as a long-term investment with monthly allocations. Over time, use performance-based rebalancing based on traffic quality and cost per acquisition (CPA).
7. Can retargeting be used for SEO traffic only?
Yes. With tracking tools like Google Ads remarketing tags or Meta Pixels, you can retarget users who first arrived via organic search. This is especially effective for non-converting blog traffic or top-of-funnel content—turning interest into sales over time.
8. What metrics should I track to measure combined performance?
Key metrics include:
Click-through rate (CTR)
Conversion rate
Impressions across channels
Cost per conversion (CPC & CPA)
Engagement metrics (bounce rate, time on site)
Revenue by channel
Integrate data from Google Ads, Search Console, and Analytics into a single dashboard for a holistic view.
9. How often should I review and adjust campaigns?
Weekly or biweekly reviews are ideal for PPC. SEO reviews can happen monthly, unless you’re in a fast-moving niche. Use PPC performance to refine SEO priorities, and vice versa. The goal is continuous iteration, not set-it-and-forget-it.
10. Should I use the same agency or team for both PPC and SEO?
Yes, if possible. A unified team can share data, keyword insights, and audience behavior more efficiently. It avoids misalignment between channels and helps you execute a holistic marketing approach that’s more agile and results-driven.
