Your business needs marketing. But even when we talk solely about digital marketing, there’s a lot to consider and not everything works for everyone.
So, in today’s blog post, we’ll compare SEO and PPC, two of the most common methods of acquiring online reach. Based on your goals, one might be better than the other. Detailed research of each technique’s pros and cons will help you make an informed decision for your marketing efforts. But, before we get into those, let’s go over what these methods are.
What is SEO?
SEO, short for Search Engine Optimization, is a process used to help businesses gain traction across the web. By combining technical SEO and on-page optimization, with quality backlink generation, businesses like yours achieve higher rankings on search engines like Google. As a result, more customers can view your website, reach out to you, and purchase your products or services.
What is PPC?
PPC, an abbreviation for Pay-Per-Click, is another process that leads to increased traffic on your website. The big difference here is that you give money directly to search engines for higher rankings. As evident by the name, you pay for each click the advertisement receives through paid listings. Hence, it provides results way quicker with less work, in comparison to SEO.
Let’s Now Discuss The Differences
This was a basic overview of PPC and SEO. I will now go into more depth about some of the advantages and disadvantages that both possess. This will give you a better idea and understanding of the techniques, so you can go with the one you prefer. Let’s first discuss SEO, then PPC, and in the end, I’ll give my take on the subject.
The Good And The Bad Of SEO
As I mentioned earlier, SEO is a combination of many different techniques. There’s on-page SEO, off-page SEO, technical SEO, and local SEO just to name the major parts of it. That much makes you wonder whether it’s even worth the effort. Yet, many digital marketers favor SEO in contrast to paid marketing like PPC campaigns. But again, it’s not a perfect method to build your search rankings.
So, let’s go over what you achieve compared to what you risk with SEO.
The Benefits of SEO
- When compared between organic marketing channels and paid marketing channels, more than 50% of website traffic is from organic research, i.e. SEO.
- The leads generated through SEO are way more targeted for your brand since people come across your page through organic methods like search results. Hence, if they find your brand appealing after that, there are higher chances of acquiring queries and possibly generating sales.
- The traffic you receive from the organic listing is free. That means the moment you earn high rankings on a search engine like Google,
- Even if you stop focusing on SEO for some time, most of your search rankings remain for some time before Google decides to offer its users newer results. So, with SEO, your traffic potential is long-term.
- People prefer organic results over paid ads when during web searches. Since SEO helps you achieve said organic ranking, it’s a great way to show your niche that you’re a legit business they can trust.
- If you’re not sure how to go about it, you can always consult the best SEO company in St. Petersburg, to help you make the most of organic searches for your brand’s online growth.
The Drawbacks of SEO
- If you want to get results through SEO, you need to be okay with being patient about your goals. It is no piece of cake, and it’s nearly impossible to witness results overnight!
- Though SEO is free, it is also not. That is because for SEO to work, you need to hire specialists, and team members, and acquire tools to help track data. You’d need the same for PPC, but this running cost is unavoidable either way.
- Search engines keep improving and using various techniques to update their system. Consequently, to stay up to speed, you will need to stay on top of every update and adjust your approaches accordingly.
- SEO is more complicated than you think. As I mentioned earlier, you need to focus on various areas like on-page SEO as well as off-page SEO, along with local SEO, desktop and mobile SEO, keyword research, and so on.
The Good And The Bad Of PPC
PPC, is the one thing organic marketers hate. It’s the easy way out. The shortcut. Also, the short term, cause it only lasts till you’re paying. At the same time, if you want quick results, you turn to paying a bit extra to get the business you want. There are many types of ad campaigns when it comes to PPC. For instance, you see sponsored links at the top of web searches. But you also see display ads on websites, and video ads on YouTube. Regardless, you pay to win leads.
So, let’s examine whether it would be worth your investment.
The Benefits of PPC
- With PPC, you need not think about the nitty-gritty of backlinks, domain authority, or on-page optimization. You can simply set up the advertisement and let it do the work.
- Another obvious benefit is that you don’t have to wait months to see results. Through Pay-Per-Click, you start seeing results as soon as your ad goes live.
- For seasonal deals, PPC is the right option to choose as it helps you hype up your offerings on time directly to consumers. This can easily boost your sales more efficiently.
- Moreover, since your pages will be above the SEO ones, you have a higher chance of being more successful in comparison to SEO.
- The best part is that you don’t need a large number of employees to work for you. A web designer and a PPC specialist should be enough to go by. All they have to do is create appealing ad banners and landing pages for customers. If you’re lucky, you may even find someone who can do both.
The Drawbacks of PPC
- PPC requires the right resources and personnel for it to be successful. If you don’t know what you’re doing, you won’t get the right traffic and that would be a waste of money.
- The biggest bummer of PPC is that it’s a paid campaign. So, you pay both for a good team and for running your ads. Plus, in case of increased competition, you may have to pay a lot more than you’d thought for every potential customer’s click.
- The success of paid search services is fully dependent on how many people convert into customers. If the amount isn’t high enough, you’d feel like you paid too much for too little.
- You need to keep an eye on your campaigns. Otherwise, you may lose your targets. You still get results without overseeing your PPC performance, but it wouldn’t necessarily be what you thought you paid for.
- A quarter of the internet population uses ad blockers. This can be a huge disadvantage for you, if your brand’s online marketing relies primarily on PPC. Many people simply won’t see the ads at all.
- Finally, you lose incoming traffic as soon as you stop investing. To get more leads and conversions, you’ll have to pay again. With PPC, that’s the only way.
Conclusion
As you can see, both methods have their ups and downs. So, I’m not going to tell you which one’s better for your goals. But here’s the thing… you don’t have to choose between the two. Sometimes, brands like yours use a combination of both PPC and SEO to gain better results. You just need to be smart enough to deal with the problems efficiently.
Now, if you ask me, I’d suggest investing in PPC only if you have a good budget for paid ads. Trust me, the cost does add up. You can’t keep doing it if you don’t have the funds. Plus, even if you can cover the payments, I’d recommend investing in SEO as well. It’s all organic traffic. The results last longer. You pay way less. Plus, it helps build your brand’s reputation across the web.
That said, if you still guidance, how about getting in touch with an affordable digital marketing agency? We’ll help you understand the best approach for your business goals, and ensure you get the results you expect at the most reasonable rates.
