SEO Results – When to turn off Adwords.

Often a question we are asked by our SEO clients is “how long do you think it will be before I can turn off my Adwords.” This is because many people new to SEO have been using Adwords in the past and want to reduce their long term cost, while still receiving the same or preferably more visitors without this cost.

That is a nice idea on the surface but if you are serious about getting the most visitors to your site as possible, and your Adwords is well managed, should you really be considering turning it off at all?

There is one advantage that Adwords listings have over the majority or organic responses on Google. That advantage is a strong call to action. You can make your Adwords as racey as you like and very specific to the search term being used, so this will always help attract some more people to your website. You can target them with specific info for every product you sell.

Further to this you can bring them directly to the relevant page to the product they are looking for, saving time and clicks. So while I do not argue that organic sites on Google have a higher conversion percentage than from Adwords (depending of course on the quality of your site and its engagement strategies) for the aggressive businessman, this has to be seen as a marketing benefit. Especially when compared to no space on Adwords at all.

Another thing to consder is this. It is impossible for you to rank at the top of Google for every keyphrase relevant to you business. And as the organic market gets more and more competitive, fluctuations in rankings are happening more often. So Adwords can be used to support your Organic rankings for keyphrases you are not found naturally on and as a backup for those you are.

If you want to lead the way on Google in your industry, most often a well optimised SEO campaign running in conjunction with a well managed PPC campaign is the way to go. With every improving tracking and diagnostic tools readily available, it is easier and easier to manage your ROI from both strategies and maximise your profits.

What do you reckon about this?