by Knowing you have finite resources, should you invest in SEO or PPC? Should you invest in the manpower for a successful SEO campaign or deal with the upfront costs of Google Adwords?
It's easy to see this as a black and white SEO vs PPC comparison where it's one choice against the other. Keep in mind that if you want to start to know how to start an effective SEO campaign, you need to learn its differences from PPC marketing.
This determines whether the former or the latter is effective for you.
Not sure where to start? Uncertain about the choices or if you should invest in both?
Read further for an in-depth dissection of both PPC and SEO and what they can do for you:
What's the Difference between SEO and PPC?
There are two main comparisons when between PPC vs SEO. The first difference is that the paid ads will pop up at the top of the results page. This appears above the listings that SEO influence in an organic manner.
The second main difference is the fact that PPC has a set price for each click. SEO's traffic comes free of charge since it's organic. In most cases, both can work side-by-side in the same campaign as long as it's aligned properly.
What Does SEO Stand For?
SEO stands for Search Engine Optimization. It has a lot of methods that can help improve your business's online presence. This isn't an option for businesses since it's a requirement to increase visibility at least.
Here are some of the pros of using SEO for your business:
1. Awareness
Gaining visibility in the search engine results page for your targeted keywords is important. If your website gets to the front page of Google, your business gets recognized more by potential customers. This is pretty much like offline advertising since the goal is to make people more aware of your brand.
2. Branding
You can get positive branding benefits from relevant search terms. You gain visibility since most of these queries will be within your relevant business area. What this means for your business is that it increases the likelihood of becoming more trusted by consumers.
SEO can help people asking questions while leading them to make purchases. When people do research, having a positive SEO rank means you become an authority. They listen to your voice when it comes to your specific industry.
3. Credibility and Trust
Your site's credibility can increase since people that find you in organic searches tend to trust you more. A lot of users opt not to click on ads and trust the organic results they find in search engines. Visibility in major search engines will affect whether your users approve of you more.
Using SEO methods can also help in getting strong positive reviews. It helps increase reputation to drive more benefits to your company. It's especially important since Google holds 90% of the global search engine market.
4. More Organic Clicks
The click-through rate (CTR) through organic results is much higher than PPCs. Having both means that you maximize the visibility search engines offer for you. You need to do some keyword-level experimentation to check if the free ones you use can drive more website traffic.
Tracking your results will ensure that you get the best number of clicks for your intended keywords.
5. Strategic Advantages
Gaining visibility in organic search results takes time to do. It isn't easy either, which can both be a good and bad thing. It's good since your competitors can't buy their way to the top once you secure a firm place in the organic search results.
This only happens when you do it right. Once you achieve this result, you'll have the strategic advantage over your competitors. They'll suffer the most if they rely more on paid ads.
What Does PPC Stand For?
PPC stands for Pay Per Click search. It might look like a bad deal at first glance, but it has its own set of benefits. Here are some:
1. Page Positioning
Using paid search means your website dominates the above-the-fold content. In a typical setting, there are four ads on the desktop version of the search engine results. What this means is that users will always see paid search ads even if they scroll past them instead.
2. Improved Ads
PPC ads are simple advertisements that come with all the relevant features. It allows you to have a finer means of controlling the space where you deliver your marketing message. The most common elements used to dominate the page include locations, site links, pricing, and other bullet points.
3. Visual Product Ads
When you sell products, Google gives you the option to display visual shopping ads. This helps users to see the product before they click on the page. This is the type of feature no organic search can hope to do.
When your business offers exclusive features through ads, you'll see an increase in click-through rates.
4. Fast and Agile
Developing organic visibility takes a lot of time and effort. In contrast, you can launch PPC campaigns in a matter of days and ramp it up within weeks. This is the fastest way to get to customers when they need to buy something they need at the moment.
It also allows you to test out new products or new branding messages. PPC campaigns ensure that you get feedback as soon as possible. This allows you to test out the consumer climate before you start committing to your product.
SEO vs PPC: Use Both Today!
In an ideal situation, it's not SEO vs PPC--it's SEO and PPC working together.
Both have their own sets of benefits and drawbacks that support each other if you use it side-by-side. Once you get SEO and PPC working together, you'll get better results.
A lot of successful businesses use an integrated strategy involving both SEO and PPC. It isn't for all businesses. It works best if you want high growth rates and aggressive marketing strategies.
Do you need help with your search campaign? You can contact us today and we'll help you get started. We have the right experience in inbound marketing strategies that can help develop your business.
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