Search Engine Optimization (SEO) for your website

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Standouts and Disappointments

The truth is, there are lots of variables that get in the way of comparing PPC to organic

performance. PPC and organic keywords are shown in different screen locations, in dif-

ferent contexts, and with different advertising messages and levels of keyword match-

ing. Since the majority of searchers do not click on PPC results, you’re not getting a

full picture of the search population. But there are some things that PPC cluster data

can

tell you about your organic campaign:

Did you optimize for the right keyphrase variation?

If you weren’t sure whether you

chose to use the right variation of a given keyword (e.g., “silk screen” vs. “silk screen

printing”), this might give you enough data to convince you to make some edits to

your landing pages.

Did you focus on the right user scenario?

As you learned in Chapter 4, personas and

scenarios are just ways to structure your thinking about your targeted audience and

what you want them to do on your site. Looking at the data from the PPC keyword

clusters, you might be surprised to see that one cluster is much more effective than the

others (for example, the “monogram” cluster is getting more clicks or conversions than

the “embroidery” cluster).

Did you miss any goodies?

When you created your PPC keyword list, we asked you to

toss in more than just your top-priority organic terms. Take a look now…are any of

those added terms upstaging your top-priority list?

Next Steps for Your Organic Campaign

Now that you’ve gained some fresh insight on how your PPC keyphrases are perform-

ing, you’ll use it to “close the loop” and adjust your organic campaign accordingly.

Did you find any keyterms outside of your original organic top-priority list that

have any of these characteristics:

• Have a high conversion rate, even though they may have only a moderate num-

ber of impressions so far

• Are slightly more focused (or stemmed) versions of your top-priority keywords,

and are coming through with noteworthy clicks and/or conversions

• Just appear to be logging a promising number of impressions

Conversely, were there any terms from within your original organic top-priority

list with these characteristics:

• Logged few or no impressions

• Had plenty of impressions but no click-throughs

• Brought in lots of clicks but had a low conversion rate

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