Paid marketing through advertising is commonly at odds with organic search results. They’re seen as opposite sides of the same coin or something else entirely. However, some digital media agencies are noticing the benefit of a more integrated approach to marketing that combines the two and avoids keeping them separate where one hand doesn’t know what the other is doing. 

Is it foreseeable that paid advertising will continue to see organic search results in Google fall lower down the page? Does this mean the end of organic search as we know it? In this article, we explore organic search vs. PPC, and whether online advertising will ever eliminate organic search entirely. 

Mixing Organic & Paid Advertising Together

Gorilla Marketing is an agency in Manchester that mixes traditional white-hat SEO with a strong paid advertising skillset. Normally they do Google AdWords – being the UK’s top Premier partner, but Gorilla SEO does have a penchant for the organic aspect.

Why do they choose both approaches instead of sticking to just the one?

The answer is that their team sees benefits in both approaches; sometimes, it’s better to invest time into organic search too. 

Ad Rates Fluctuate

Ad rates have kept climbing for years now, and it hadn’t shown much sign of slowing down until the recent steep decline due to less advertiser interest. Three months later, ad rates in July have rebounded by climbing up significantly from their April 2020 lows.

Just like with the stock market, sometimes a company is worth buying when the price indicates it offers good value. Other times, a good company is priced dearly, and they’re not a bargain at all. And, so it is for PPC ad campaigns. 

When ad rates are unsustainably high, the ROI on an ad campaign narrows. At which point, there’s less potential profit when funding a well-managed series of online ads and a greater risk of only breaking even on the investment.

Investing in SEO for better organic search results is an excellent counterplay at that stage. 

Will Advertising Make Organic Results Disappear?

It may appear that organic results will eventually disappear as Google continually adds more elements to the SERPs. 

From quick answers to common questions to videos, images, and other inclusions – it’s become harder and harder to find the Top 10 search results in this menagerie.

However, one must consider that searchers are beginning to feel the same way too. Should they begin to use alternative search engines like DuckDuckGo or Bing out of frustration – or by installing an ad blocker – Google will surely realise they’ve gone too far. 

There are many search companies that would love just a small piece of that juicy Google Pie. Some ad-free search engines even specialize in presenting an adless results page for users. But user behaviour is very hard to change. Once a user base becomes accustomed to “Googling” everything, those habits can die hard. Google knows this and is banking on it. You can be sure they will work hard to fully monetize the tolerance of their established user base when it comes to ad space.

While it’s true that the click-through rates have been falling for organic search results, it’s also a reality that long-tail search results continually expand too. Less attention is being paid to the top searches with interest spreading deeper to lesser-seen topics too. Organic search is growing separate to advertising – after all, not everyone clicks on an online advertisement. 

It’s a good strategy to blend PPC advertising with a strong organic search game. It avoids ignoring one opportunity for another that’s currently performing well but could later disappoint. Ultimately, diversification in digital media strategy is just as useful as it is with other forms of investing.