Search Engine Optimization (SEO) versus Pay-Per-Click (PPC)...
The approaches may be different, but the desired outcome is very similar. Keep reading to learn which option is the best for you.
Are you looking to take your digital marketing to the next level?
Are you ready to up your game and tweak your approach to make sure you get the most out of your advertising budget?
For a long time SEO has been the reigning king of the content marketing world, but now, there are other options. More specifically, PPC advertising. However, if you were to boil it down to a case of SEO vs PPC advertising, which one is the best choice for you?
Let's take a look now at the two styles and see how you can choose the best fit for your business needs.
Understanding the Fundamentals of SEO vs PPC Advertising
Before you can choose the marketing strategy that will work best for your business - thus answering the question of SEO vs PPC - we first need to look at what each option offers you.
The Best Uses of SEO in Digital Content Marketing
Search engine optimization is the process of creating website content directed towards specific keywords.
The current trend is long-tail keywords. These are keywords that are more sentences and questions than single words or basic word combinations. For example - a common keyword search term is "edmonton home builder". A good long-tail variation would be "edmonton home builder review list" or "best home builders in edmonton". There are slightly longer and more specific.
Now, SEO offers a strong return on investment. It is one of the best options around. It takes hard work and a specific knowledge base to make it work, but with the right investment in a good agency, it can make all the difference.
A solid SEO strategy is one that keeps on giving. Articles are forever. Your content will continue to drive traffic to your site, even after you upgrade your approach to something else. You don't need to spend a lot of time continually tweaking and reworking your content. Leave it there, and let the SEO take care of itself and drive people toward your site.
Using SEO to drive your site traffic gives you a certain degree of flexibility with regards to how people find your site. By having the SEO focus changed from content piece to content piece, you are able to 'herd' traffic to specific parts of your site.
This means you can spread attention over all your content, driving up the page visits using a good internal linking strategy.
The better your site does with this, the better ranking you will get on search engines, and as a result, the more visibility your site will have.
The bonus of this?
More traffic.
SEO is the central point of a cycle which, after some time, gains a momentum of its own.
The Benefits of PPC Advertising for Your Business
If you decide to invest in paid advertising, then investing in a Pay Per Click strategy could be the thing for you.
One of the core benefits of PPC is that while it does come with an associated cost, it is only incurred when people with a genuine interest click the link. This means that you are only paying for the work that truly benefits you and your business
While an SEO campaign should be affordable, it comes with a slow build. It takes time to build up content and drives the wheel. With PPC, you get results a lot quicker. You are out there, targeting specific segments and driving people through advertising.
The added bonus of this is that PPC can be implemented with multiple objectives in mind. You could want to use it to drive traffic to your site, while also directing people to potential new products or new designs you are planning to implement.
You can get quick and direct feedback, for minimal cost.
While thinking about cost, a PPC campaign comes with an associated budget, set by you. You control your budget and are informed when that limit is reached.
The choice to either continue or stop is up to you, which gives you a level of control that similar options don't always have.
One of the core benefits of running a PPC program is that while Google continues to enhance their SEO algorithms, a PPC campaign will continue to run unaffected by such changes and updates.
But there are a couple of catches when it comes to PPC...
When you stop paying, the traffic stops too. Your ads go away and the lead generation is gone. You also need to take into account that certain keywords can have inflated costs.
Going back to our example from earlier, the term "edmonton home builder" has a suggested cost of $5.24 while "best home builders in edmonton" is only $4.20. So, depending on the terms you want to use, you could pay a lot more for your campaign. *
Weighing Up the Facts of SEO vs PPC Marketing Strategies
While there is no single right or wrong approach, there are different mindsets behind the two.
SEO is a slow build process, climbing the Google rankings by producing high-quality content that can raise the visibility of your site, and eventually, maybe even get you that number one spot that everybody covets.
PPC, however, is a 'quickfire' way to get yourself to the top, by paying for your ads to appear on the Google ranking pages.
The higher amount you are willing to pay per click, then the higher on the Google ranking pages. It's pretty simple, but that comes with a choice. Do you want to:
a) Pay more for better visibility (as long as you keep shelling out), or
b) Do you want to make your way there, with a solid base that will always be working for you?
When it comes to SEO vs PPC, the answer is, in part, driven by money, but also by the turnaround time you are looking for.
SEO is a slow build that keeps on going even if you direct your 'active' attention elsewhere. PPC is a quick response approach, but as soon as you direct your efforts elsewhere, you lose the results.
The Statistics Never Lie
When it comes to the statistics behind SEO versus PPC campaigns, the results are interesting.
The conversion rate seen for paid adverts as opposed to the organic reach created by SEO is 1:8. Meaning for every one click on a paid ad, there are 8 clicks on an organic ad.
Of course, the clicks for paid ads are far more targeted than those of organic reaching articles. This is seen in the deeper level statistics that show SEO earns 1/45th compared to paid results.
That is a pretty interesting result and it's one of the reasons why we recommend PPC for an event, like a show home opening, or another promotional campaign. Something that doesn't need long-term investment, and has a short time frame.
Why Choose SEO or PPC? You Can Have the Best of Both Worlds
People talk about SEO vs PPC as if it's a single choice. One or the other.
The beauty of online marketing is you do not have to limit yourself to a single-minded approach to things.
Identify the different markets and niches for your business, and select a marketing strategy for each. If you implement your marketing from the standpoint of multiple smaller projects, then you can leverage the best of both worlds.
Under those circumstances, it no longer has to be a case of SEO versus PPC but rather, SEO and PPC. The presents an entirely different dynamic.
PPC works best for a targeted, product-oriented site, while SEO is great forcontent marketing and informational services.
If you have a blog and a product page for your business, then you can use an SEO agency for your blog content. This would drive up your long-term brand and company recognition. Then, use PPC tactics for your products, to ensure you are getting the right people looking at and investing in your business.
At the End of the Day, a Split Approach Works Best
It doesn't matter if you are a small business, a national brand, or an internationally recognized powerhouse, marketing is going to be a key concern for your company.
Understanding the benefits of both SEO and PPC, and how to use them correctly, is the difference between a good campaign and a great one.
When you understand the process behind short-term, quick wins versus the long-term strategy, you will see your business thrive.
PPC is not going to be the lynchpin behind your long-term company vision, but a stepping stone in that direction.
This is how we see SEO vs PPC; long-term and short-term.
There is a time and a place for both in business, and the key to success is identifying those moments and implementing the best fit.
When all is said and done, both SEO and PPC are beneficial to your business because both offer different benefits.
Both require a skill that can be held by different individuals, meaning your marketing department can grow, allowing you to develop a division that dives deep into your strategies and refines the process to an even greater granularity.
Leverage the two techniques for the best marketing results and see your business explode.
You Are Not Alone in Your Quest for Better Digital Content
If you are struggling with the SEO vs PPC decision, and can only implement one at a time, then please get in touch. We are here to ease your SEO woes.
Talk with us today and we can help you take control of your sites' digital content structure, making it bigger, stronger, and better than ever before.
The world is changing, and digital content marketing is only growing in its level of importance within a modern business. With the right level of input today, we can help you move ahead of the crowd tomorrow.
* costs here were calculated at the time of original posting.Photo credits: decision, scale, stats
