SEO vs PPC
SEO vs. PPC
For every small business or new website on the internet, when it comes to boosting traffic and making ground breaking presence online, there are only two means of achieving it and that is either by SEO or PPC.
SEO can be achieved when done professionally and effectively, and probably not the way every tom, dick and harry want to have it done. A lot of folks are still going after ranking keywords the cheap way, but Google is a bit wiser now, and will only honor keywords from highly engaging and very useful authority contents & articles.
On the other hand PPC i.e. pay per click, may get businesses and keywords ranking on first page of the search engines but the cost may be quite very high and not achievable by a lot still starting out with very low budgets.
PPC advertising can be done via Google Adwords, Bings, MSN, and others, as any of these permits you to display your ads in their sponsored results platform. This is done with a fee, and depends on how competitive your keywords are.
While PPC will bring your business and keywords to the front page of Google for instance and at a cost, research has also shown that a lot of folks prefer to click on links that are naturally ranked on the first page.
So while anyone may be thinking of getting on top quickly with PPC, such firm or business should look into SEO as it tends to pay best in the long run. When a PPC budget is exhausted, the slot for that search engine positioning disappears BUT with SEO done properly, the business continues to thrive with good search results and continuous traffic for months and years ahead.
Building FREE constant and highly engaging traffic in the long run for your business through SEO is achievable through following SEO best practices to get your site or keywords displayed on the front pages more obviously and more often. While this may take some time to reach the top of the organic search results, the FREE long term targeted traffic will undoubtedly prove to be well worth the investment.
So while it may take a huge budget going for your rankings with PPC, you can achieve much more in the long run with SEO on a shoestring budget and it actually makes more sense in chasing high search rankings through SEO.
Spending $10 0r thousands daily via PPC can be hurting, if the business itself lacks the right content and engagement. However with a content well written with relevant keywords showing up in organic search results, the prospect for better engagements and good business is much higher and safer; without one burning fingers or breaking bank.
PPC – however may be best for products or ecommerce sites as search engines hardly bring out organic results for such sites. This doesn’t mean there are no clever ways to make such websites rank naturally; and one of such amazing ways doing so with SEO, is to create well optimized articles and reviews of such goods & services – which the search engines will definitely honor.
Below are benefits of PPC and SEO for your businesses and how each functions to keep you in track:
PPC
PPC advertising can help though at some cost to provide you faster clients/prospects connection. Whether it's selling some goods, signing up email newsletter subscribers & leads, or some other business action, PPC can help you get it done quickly.
PPC can also keep your business going if you have the budget to sustain it, and will protect you from other SEO algorithm updates. Since SEO algorithms change occasionally, websites that may have been ranked tops can easily lose its rankings and prospects overnight; and this has happened several times in the past with Google penguins, pandas and its likes. So with PPC which recognizes that you are paying for your traffic, you're better assured your spot and with your stable stream of traffic, and visitors, no matter what modifications Google and the other search engines introduce now or in the future.
SEO
In overall, without mincing words, SEO still rocks and is as much essential even if you are running a PPC campaign or promotion. This is because it keeps bringing you higher quality traffic and more reliable leads. Obviously, people searching for stuffs online have subconsciously attuned themselves to ignoring paid results from PPC.
With SEO, which provides you organic natural results, prospects and leads to your website are far more in tune to trusting you, your business, products & services. With SEO done effectively, when you rank tops in Google for a keyword or phrase – it proves to searchers that you are a credible source and that you are a chief player in your industry.
The issue of considering whether you should use PPC or SEO is going to rest hugely upon your available time and budget. For most businesses, PPC may only yield results if one can afford to spend at least $30-$100 a day on clicks and when you have a smaller budget, you risk not getting a satisfactory return on your investment. And in case point, not everyone who clicks your ad is going to convert into a lead or a buyer. SEO is very essential when done properly in accordance to the search engine algorithms and though in the early moments of fluctuations in your rankings, variations, and heaps of frustrations, in the long run – you get to enjoy its massive returns on organic results and traffic.
When it comes to the long term sustenance of your online business promotion, the result is clear - SEO offers the better value in search results and though you won't rank number one overnight, it is more affordable and the long term benefits are guaranteed.
Yet, when combined, PPC and SEO can be quite powerful and the choice for implementation still goes down to your budget strengths and to which industry your business thrives.
Written by: Larry Gilbert, www.losangelesseoexperts.net
Lead Generation Solutions
9 年Hi Gregg, well having a landing page that is totally relevant to the keyword being searched is very important. If the searcher finds what they are looking for they are more likely to stay on page. I have found adding a video keeps them engaged longer. There are landing pages now that are dynamic which will change title with the keyword being searched, making it much easier than building several landing pages with relevant titles etc.
President at Kell Web Solutions, Inc.
9 年Thank you, Larry Gilbert, for this clear comparison of the advantages & disadvantages of SEO versus PPC. I particularly agree with the priority of user engagement. Question, Larry: When managing a PPC campaign, how do you manage bounce rate and dwell time? These are some of the many factors influencing quality score. Thanks for your feedback, Gregg.