This technology has shaken up the world of digital marketing by allowing advertisers to purchase and optimize ads in real-time through a process called programmatic advertising. It is so effective in quickly and cost-effectively reaching your target audiences that it is not only a great strategy for driving conversions but can also help influence SEO performance. Here, we are going to highlight ways that programmatic advertising could help improve your site’s SEO strategy.
- Increased Brand Visibility and Traffic
By placing your ads in the programmatic marketplace, you are guaranteeing that they will be seen by the right people at the right point in time. By targeting a larger and more qualified audience via real-time bidding (RTB), there is an increased likelihood of attracting people to your website. More traffic, especially from specific users, tells search engines that your site is reputable and relevant, which contributes to increased organic search rankings.
How it helps SEO:
- More traffic — both in volume and duration — at your website signals search engines that you are offering quality content.
- Ads can result in more visibility, which will source more branded searches for the website.
- Personal Information of the User
Data-driven insights power targeted audience reach, which is one of the most significant benefits of programmatic advertising. Targeting interested individuals with super-relevant ads lets you entice people that are more likely to hang around your site and engage with the content.
How it helps SEO:
- Lower bounce rates: By attracting the correct audience, users tend to stick around your website, browse more pages, and lower your bounce rate, leading to increased SEO.
- Longer dwell time: The longer users spend on your site, the more it tells search engines that your content is of great value.
- Retargeting for More Brand Visibility
Retargeting: A crucial aspect of programmatic advertising, retargeting allows you to track people who visited your site but have not converted. Serving ads to these users does not end on your website, and they are usually targeted on other websites or social platforms.
How it helps SEO:
- For e-commerce businesses, retargeting results in more returning traffic, which adds to the volume of existing traffic and engagement metrics. These are pivotal ranking factors for search engines.
- Regular visitors generally will be more receptive to your website, meaning better conversion rates and good signals to search engines like Google.
- Faster Content Discovery
Programmatic ads can be used to promote a specific piece of content (like a blog, whitepaper, or landing page) for targeted traffic. If implemented strategically, it can give a boost to SERP visibility and get your content indexed faster, as search engines can discover the URLs during the time of visitor onslaught or through backlinks.
How it helps SEO:
- Programmatic campaigns can be seen and clicked on by millions of potential viewers, leading to better quality backlinks, which improve your site’s domain authority.
- Getting new content indexed quicker than competitors gives you an edge in search engine ranking.
- Drive Engagement with Videos Used as Ads
By running programmatic advertising with engaging formats like video, you can create a more engaged audience. Videos are more likely to keep users engaged than static ads, and using such engaging video ads can funnel users into your website, raising metrics like time-on-page and click-through rates.
How it helps SEO:
- Video content creates the desired User Experience, a very important criterion for SEO. Landing page videos lower bounce rates and increase dwell time, which are positive ranking indicators for search engines.
- Video shares can help build actual social sharing on top of backlinks from your copy — increasing the authority and relevance factors Google uses for search rankings.
- Without Real-Time Performance Data, You Have No Continuous SEO Improvement
You will receive up-to-the-minute data on how the ads are performing from programmatic advertising platforms. This information can help you refine your SEO strategy based on the data gathered. For instance, if a certain ad or keyword is converting well with paid campaigns, you can focus your organic SEO on similar keywords or topics.
How it helps SEO:
- Analyzing your ad performance can pinpoint your highest-converting keywords that you could be using for content ideas.
- It also enables you to make quick changes, keeping you competitive and relevant in search engine results.
- Cross-Channel Consistency
Unlike traditional display ads, programmatic advertising is highly flexible, delivering ads across all platforms and devices. This keeps your brand visible on search engines, social media, and publisher websites, providing a consistent user experience and supporting your brand messaging. Over time, this can build search engine authority.
How it helps SEO:
- A stable brand presence online has a much better chance of obtaining social signals, backlinks, and user engagement — all of which impact SEO.
- Cross-channel advertising can help improve direct traffic, another important ranking factor.
The two tactics — programmatic advertising and SEO — are not mutually exclusive but a winning combination when used together.
Programmatic advertising helps drive relevant traffic, increase engagement metrics, and provide data-based insights that boost SEO performance. Optimizing your website for search involves more than just adding keywords. In the competitive digital landscape, both organic and paid tactics are essential to making a difference.