7 Ways CMOs Can Cut Costs While Boosting Growth and Efficiency

As marketing rapidly evolves, CMOs face a formidable challenge in finding effective ways to reduce customer acquisition costs (CAC). With escalating economic uncertainty, the pressure to cut costs has reached unprecedented levels. Whether you helm a Fortune 500 company or a nimble startup, lowering your CAC is a paramount objective.

While paid media spending continues to soar as a viable response, resulting in soaring customer acquisition costs, another simple yet powerful solution exists: Search Engine Optimization (SEO).

You can dramatically slash your CAC by implementing a meticulously designed SEO strategy. Prashant Puri, CEO and Co-Founder of AdLift estimates that a robust SEO strategy can reduce customer acquisition costs by 60%. Elsewhere, a recent study from Econsultancy and DeepCrawl found that 42% of top performers strongly agreed that search results performance is a key indicator of business health, while 89% of marketing leaders agreed that organic search will drive more revenue for their business.

To conquer the challenge of minimizing customer acquisition costs, a comprehensive SEO strategy can serve as your guiding star. Here are seven powerful SEO strategies to significantly reduce your CAC.

1. Unleash the power of People Also Ask (PAA)

A People Also Ask (PAA) Box can be a treasure trove of question-and-answer goodness to help users discover further information about their initial search query. Leaders should craft highly targeted content that enhances organic search visibility by diligently analyzing and addressing user questions. Incorporating relevant keywords and providing comprehensive answers to PAA queries will elevate your SEO rankings and better attract qualified traffic.

2. Invest in User-Generated Content (UGC)

In the era of social proof, user-generated content has emerged as an invaluable tool. By actively encouraging customers to leave reviews, provide feedback, and share their experiences, you can amplify brand credibility, foster engagement, and boost SEO performance. Implementing creative strategies such as contests, social media campaigns, and incentivized reviews will inspire users to generate valuable content to entice new customers and drive down acquisition costs.

3. Create compelling content

The significance of high-quality, informative, and engaging content cannot be overstated in any effective SEO strategy. Captivating content lies at the heart and soul of capturing the attention and loyalty of your target audience.

Brands can bolster their content through meticulous keyword research and seamless integration to ensure prominent placement in search engine results. By consistently updating websites or blogs with fresh, captivating content, you can enhance organic rankings, drive website traffic, and attract potential customers.

4. Elevate your brand with Digital PR

Digital PR and SEO go hand in hand, creating a match made in marketing heaven. While not strictly an SEO strategy, Digital PR complements your SEO efforts by enhancing your brand's E-A-T, or Expertise, Authority, and Trustworthiness.

Increase organic visibility through collaborative efforts such as guest blogs, expert interviews, and share-worthy content. Earn high-quality backlinks with compelling content that establishes your brand's authority in the industry.

5. Leverage synergies between paid media and SEO

Seamlessly integrating your paid media and SEO strategies optimizes your online presence, drives targeted traffic to your website, and boosts search engine rankings, all while keeping costs to a minimum. The synergy between paid media and SEO is a potent combination that unlocks tremendous potential for cost-effective customer acquisition. By aligning messaging keywords and targeting strategies across both channels, you create a unified and powerful marketing force that maximizes online visibility and drives qualified leads.

6. Optimize for featured snippets

Like PAA, optimizing your content for featured snippets can be a game-changer in reducing customer acquisition costs. Providing clear and concise answers to specific queries increases the likelihood of your content being featured prominently in search results.

Appearing in featured snippets enhances online visibility and drives targeted traffic to your website, reducing reliance on paid media channels. By claiming those coveted snippet spots, you establish your brand as a trusted and authoritative source of information, organically attracting potential customers.

7. Target your high-revenue products

Focus on your most profitable products or services to achieve optimal ROI and reduce overall marketing spend. By directing resources towards high-revenue offerings, you can maximize the impact of your marketing campaigns and attract valuable customers who are more likely to convert. This targeted approach allows you to strategically allocate your budget and generate greater returns while keeping acquisition costs in check.

A people-first approach is critical to growth and cost reduction

As business leaders, we must understand the importance of a robust marketing strategy that delivers results while minimizing costs. To achieve this, leaders should prioritize creating content that resonates with their target audience. Building content for people is the cornerstone of any successful marketing strategy. We must invest in understanding our customers' unique needs, preferences, and pain points to build strong relationships and drive engagement.

Many leaders opt to work with an SEO agency that can perform a comprehensive SEO audit to accomplish this most effectively. This step can pave the way for all future SEO strategies. With the right strategies and agency as a foundation, you can better focus on innovatively and engagingly telling your brand's story.

I hope this piece provides some valuable takeaways for CMOs seeking to embrace the power of SEO and create content that connects with their target audience, reduces costs, and helps drive significant business growth.

About the Author

Lomit Patel is the Chief Growth Officer of Tynker, a leading K-12 edtech platform that has helped over 100 million kids learn to code. He has previously scaled startups like Roku, TrustedID, Texture, and IMVU. He is a public speaker, advisor, and author of Lean AI, part of Eric Ries' bestselling "The Lean Startup" series.