SEO Paid Media

SEO vs SEM: The Cannibalization Problem

Published on February 2, 2024

Bidding Against Yourself

It’s a common scenario: Your SEO team celebrates a #1 ranking for “Enterprise CRM”, while your Paid Media team celebrates a high CTR on the same term. Meanwhile, your CFO wonders why CAC is increasing.

The Unified SERP Strategy

You need to view the Search Engine Results Page (SERP) as a single battlefield.

  • Brand Terms: Should you bid on your own name? Only if competitors are.
  • High Intent: If you rank #1 organic, test pulling back spend. Does total traffic drop? Or does it just shift?
  • Low Intent: Use paid to test messaging before investing in long-term SEO content.

Alignment Protocol

Weekly syncs between SEO and SEM leads are non-negotiable. Share search query reports and agree on “lanes” for each channel.

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