Differences Between Keyword Research Methods For SEO and PPC

While SEO and PPC are both effective marketing techniques that can lead to solid conversion rates for a law firm, the methods of performing keyword research differ. What works well in an SEO campaign might not work in a PPC campaign. Understanding the fundamental differences can give your firm the edge and help maximize your conversion rate.

When it comes to SEO, you usually have the freedom to experiment with keywords, which means you can attempt to compete for highly ranked keywords without worrying about losing money. This is because you’re not bidding on keywords and it’s not going to cost you if you fail to rank where you want. If family law attorneys in Delaware County wanted to compete for a broad keyword phrase like “divorce settlements,” they could do so without having to worry about dropping money. The worst case scenario is that you will waste time creating content that barely gets viewed. When this is the case, you can simply learn from your mistakes and narrow your keywords down to long tail keywords that are more specific.

In terms of a PPC campaign, you have much less room for error when choosing keywords. Since you have to bid on keywords, it can end up costing you financially if you make mistakes. For this reason, you have less room for experimentation and need to pick keywords that have the greatest odds of making you money on your investment. You also need to think about your Quality Score, which means that the keywords you use on your landing page, ad copy and ad groups need to correspond with one another. Along with this, it’s smart to include negative keywords within a PPC campaign to prevent wasting money on keywords that are unlikely to result in conversions.