From a process perspective, paid and organic search are two unique beasts. They require a different set of resources and skills. Search integration is crucial for providing a clear message to customers and to ensure proper resource allocation.
A dedicated search marketing team is necessary whether search is being managed in-house or outsourced to an agency. Coordination of campaign timing and messaging strategies across both channels is crucial. Results should be compared to determine effectiveness gaps. Keyword performance should be evaluated across both disciplines. For example, analytics may determine that a certain bucket of keywords is not effective with paid search, so the focus on those particular topic areas may shift to organic search instead. Strategy and budget integration between the two channels is necessary to find the ideal balance of
paid and organic search efforts.
Some major companies are beginning to understand the inherent value to this type of approach. Companies like Dell, Rogers and Microsoft have all focused efforts not only on the immediacy of paid search but also the combined value and ROI potential of combined efforts. These companies use shared real estate on a search results page to create increased exposure. Likewise, they are able to use complimentary and divergent messaging tactics to ensure a broad reach and enable the capture of more desired audience segments.
