Keyword matches have, for years, been the standard method for websites to get traffic; it’s the first thing websites optimize and it’s the one thing they constantly tweak so they also stay ahead of the curve in their industry.
Paid audiences, however, have slowly been gaining prominence over the past few years. In fact, some have gone as far as to say that keywords are dying, bound to be replaced by paid audiences.
Is there any truth to that notion?
Keywords Are Still King – For Now
Keywords remain an integral part of any successful SEO campaign. Long-tail keywords, for one, remain valuable, thanks to their high conversion values, despite getting less search traffic compared to common keywords.
The status quo isn’t likely to change for at least the next few years, but the same probably can’t be said going forward.
While keywords help companies determine consumer interest and intent, they lack customization. In contrast, paid audiences allow interested parties to reach out to the right people at the right time with the specific message that they want them to see.
This alone is good enough of a reason for any business, big or small, to think about investing in reaching out to paid audiences instead of relying fully on SEO.
Of course, it’s not the only reason why paid audiences might just end up displacing keywords down the line.
The Value of Audience Engagement
SEO traffic is good and all, but even with relatively good numbers, they don’t mean anything unless people are actually engaging with your web pages. If they aren’t, then your campaign is a huge failure, despite what the numbers say.
The problem with keywords, no matter how good and optimized they are, is that they only help drive up the number of views and visitors a site receives. However, hand picking a set number of people is different in that they don’t just view your website; they’ll actually communicate with your company (and you directly) and are more likely to do some free marketing by sharing posts about your products or services.
By reaching out to a specific number of people, you increase the likelihood of consumer engagement. Not only that, but your audience are more likely to remain loyal to your brand as well.
Pay Less with Paid Audiences
Did you know that generating leads and securing sales through SEO traffic is much more expensive than paying for a loyal audience?
It’s true. Because loyalty is so valuable that it’s said to cost customers five times less money to retain customers than it is to acquire new ones.
Paid Audiences are the Future
Keywords might not be dead, but the possibility of paid audiences replacing them soon is real.
The customization that paid audiences offer dwarf what’s possible with mere keywords. You can hand pick your audiences by age, location, browsing habits, shopping tendencies, and more. And because keywords can only capture intent, you’re left to play cat and mouse with what your consumers are looking for today as opposed to paying and directly engaging them.
Keywords will be around for as long as search engines are, which pretty much means they’ll be here for a long time. However, times have changed, and keywords no longer are standard for directing any traffic towards websites.
Paid audiences are the future, and the future might come sooner than you think.
