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If your CPCs are rising, conversion rates are slipping, and “the algorithm” feels blind, it’s probably not your bids — it’s your website. Signal loss means Google leans harder on what it can still read with confidence: your pages, structure, and content. Weak SEO now taxes every pound you spend on PPC. Strong SEO makes the same spend go further.
Loss‑aversion reality:
The Golden Age of PPC Is Changing
It used to be simple. You had a budget, a message, and a deadline. You ran some PPC ads, got traffic to your event website, and watched the registrations roll in. For many years, pay-per-click was the reliable workhorse of event marketing, especially in those critical final months before the show.
And to be clear: it still works. In fact, Tom McMahon from MCM.click often reminds clients that PPC remains your best tactical tool in the core marketing window. If you need fast website traffic during XPROM or VPROM, paid channels still deliver.
But here’s the catch: they don’t deliver like they used to. Not without help.
With the right foundation in place, SEO can effectively double the value of every pound you spend on paid advertising.” Tom McMahon, CEO of MCM. asp.events
Why Privacy Changes Are Hurting Ad Platforms
A few years ago, platforms like Google and Meta had a wealth of behavioural data to help advertisers target, optimise, and convert. But the tide has turned:
- Cookies are being blocked
- Consent mode is reducing trackable sessions
- iOS updates have limited data sharing
- Walled gardens aren’t talking to each other
All this adds up to what marketers are calling signal loss, the reduced ability for ad platforms to track users and personalise targeting.
It’s like trying to deliver a package to someone’s house, but the street signs are gone, the doorbell doesn’t work, and half the house numbers are missing. The data’s still there somewhere, but the platforms can’t reliably get it.
“As a result, advertisers must increasingly rely on first-party data, invest in privacy-first solutions and adopt flexible budgeting strategies.”
So what happens when Google Ads can’t see who your users are? It starts looking harder at your search engine content.
What Google Ads Need From Your Website Now
This is where search engine optimisation (SEO) steps in. A well-structured, content-rich site does more than attract organic search traffic. It also supports your paid campaigns by providing the context, signals, and user behaviour data that Google and other search engines need to optimise performance.
How SEO Boosts Paid Search Performance
- Landing page experience: SEO ensures your content is relevant to the ad copy, improving Google Ads Quality Scores and reducing cost per click.
If your ad is the shop window, the landing page is the inside of the store. If the sign says ‘Books’ and the shelves are full of garden gnomes, don’t expect Google or visitors to be impressed.
- Structured data: Schema markup allows your content to surface in search engine results pages (SERPs) with enhanced features, aiding both paid and organic visibility.
Structured data is like adding labels to boxes in your attic. It helps search engines quickly understand what’s inside, without opening every lid.
- Keyword targeting: SEO-driven pages help inform PPC keyword performance and avoid duplication or cannibalisation.
- Search engine algorithms: Sites optimised for organic success give Google more confidence in serving your content to your target audience.
Quick Win
SEO and PPC: Better Together
Let’s drop the old rivalry. SEO and PPC aren’t competing for budget. They’re complementing each other more than ever.
We’re seeing a major strategic shift:
- PPC excels during peak campaign season (3 months pre-event)
- SEO builds long-term authority and traffic all year round
- Together, they create a compounding loop: more visitors, better data, stronger results
As privacy rules strip away third-party targeting, Google is shifting more weight onto first-party signals. Your content, site structure, and internal links are now doing some of the work that ads used to do, helping to improve click-through rate, conversion rate, and overall return on investment.
Search engines are acting more like librarians than stalkers these days. They want clear, organised shelves of public info, not background surveillance on everyone who walks in.
Selecting both, with good strategy, often yields the best reach, ROI and presence.
So if your PPC results are stalling, it might not be your bid strategy or display ads. It might be your website.
The Year-Round Engine: SEO’s Hidden Power
While PPC provides rapid exposure, SEO excels in sustaining interest between campaigns. Good SEO attracts Google organic search users to your site through relevant search terms, giving you a larger, more qualified audience that can:
- Subscribe to your newsletter
- Explore archived session content
- Engage with evergreen blog posts
- Re-engage through remarketing ads
This builds brand awareness and community around your event, creating conversion paths that support both future events and your broader digital marketing strategy.
Think of your SEO like a greenhouse. PPC might give you a burst of blooms, but SEO keeps things growing through all seasons.
Example
Quick Wins to Align SEO With PPC Campaigns
Want better ROI from your ad spend? Here are some fast ways to use SEO to power up your PPC:
Real-World Analogy: Fuel and Engine
Think of your event website as a high-performance car.
- PPC is the fuel. It gets you going fast.
- SEO is the engine. It determines how far you can go.
If your engine is underpowered or unstructured, pumping in more fuel won’t improve results. But if your engine is well-optimised with Search Console data, optimised content, and link building, even modest PPC investment can go further.
Running paid ads without good SEO is like bailing water with a hole in the bucket. You're working hard, but losing most of the benefit.
That’s the future of event performance: fast, efficient, collaborative marketing.
Further Reading
- Cut PPC Costs in Half With a Strong SEO Strategy – A practical event-focused guide from ASP and MCM.
- Signal Loss and First-Party Data – Explains how digital marketing is evolving in a privacy-first era.
- SEO vs PPC: Which Is Best? – A balanced view on combining strategies.
Bring Your Channels Together
If your Google Ads aren’t performing like they used to, it might be time to look under the bonnet.
Start by improving your SEO foundations, from Google Search Console setup to content marketing strategy, and let your paid campaigns benefit from better signals, stronger pages, and a more engaged, data-rich audience.
Or as Jon Monk puts it:
Don't think of SEO as replacing PPC. Think of it as reducing what you have to pay per click.
Let’s build websites that support the full marketing cycle, not just the campaign spikes.
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