PPC and SEO are the two most popular types
of search marketing methods you can find out there. While businesses can use
both methods, there are some cases where one method will be more efficient than
the other and when one of the two options just won’t work. If you’re unfamiliar
with both methods, it can be difficult to make sense of them and see which ones
would be the best depending on your situation. In this article, we’re going to introduce
you to both these options and help you find out which one would be the best for
your business.
What is PPC?
PPC is short for pay per click and is exactly what it sounds like. You pay for clicks on ads displayed on search engine or social media platforms based on certain criteria or keywords. You can look for keywords your potential customers might be looking for, bid on these keywords with other competing businesses, and have your ad displayed whenever someone conducts a search for that term. PPC has many advantages to it, especially the fact that you only pay for results. But it isn’t perfect either. Let’s take a look at some of the positives and negatives of PPC.
The Good about PPC
One of the best things about PPC is how
fast you can start getting results. All you have to do is set your keywords,
put in your bids and daily budget, load your ad with a link, and your ad will
start being displayed on the same day. You could potentially start getting
traffic and sales on your very first day using it, which is one of the fastest
ways to get results through any form of advertising online.
Another great thing about PPC is how
measurable and adjustable it is. You can track how keywords, ads, and ad groups
are performing in real time and make adjustments. You can constantly adjust
your bids based on keywords that work the best. You can easily split test ads
and landing pages and see which ones perform the best. There’s very little
guesswork to PPC and you can control and tweak nearly every aspect of your
campaigns for better results.
Another aspect that makes PPC so great is
the amount of brand exposure you’ll get both on the local and international
level. Some companies use PPC solely to spread brand awareness, even if they’re
not getting a direct return on investment. Having your ad up there with some of
the biggest players in the industry can work wonders in terms of recognition.
The Bad About PPC
However, everything isn’t roses when it
comes to SEO and it does have its drawbacks. For one, sometimes, the
competition is just too ferocious in order for you to get good keywords. If
you’re in a very saturated market, then chances are keywords are just out of
your reach and there’s nothing that can be done.
You can also spend a lot of money on campaigns that are failing and start eating into your budget. Working with a b2b ppc agency can help ensure your ad spend is optimized, minimizing waste and maximizing returns. Unless you have significant knowledge of how it works, you might have to work with an agency, so it takes a significant marketing budget to do it right.
What is SEO?
SEO
stands for search engine optimization. The goal of SEO is to
position your website as high as possible on search engine results. SEO
involves understanding the criteria search engines use to rank websites and
make sure your website meets them. This can be done by creating search engine
friendly content, configuring your website so that it is easily indexable and
looks great both from a coding standpoint and for your audience, and making
sure that you generate high-quality relevant links to your page. Your site’s
performance, mobile experience, and other factors like bounce rates, which is
the rate at which visitors “bounce” out of your site as soon as they visit,
will affect how your site is rated.
The Good with SEO
One of the great things about SEO is that
once you start implementing good SEO, you’ll start getting the benefits for
years to come, as long as you stay on the right track. You can start doing SEO
by yourself, and you’ll start getting some organic traffic free of charge if
everything is done right.
Not to mention that people are much more likely to click on an organic result than an ad. Having your results near the top of the organic results will do a lot for your brand and help you build authority.
However, it is important that you work on the SEO strategies to find out what will deliver the best results. Working with a seo consulting business can help you keep track of all the newer techniques and innovations that can help you rank your brand on search engines. Ranking will boost credibility, get you more clicks and ultimately lead to better sales and revenues.
The Bad with SEO
One of the worst things about SEO is that
it is very unpredictable and you never know if your efforts are going to pay
off. It can be frustrating to spend thousands and thousands on SEO efforts only
for them to fail. Not only that, but you’re at the constant whim of search
engine logarithmic changes and updates, which could send your results
plummeting overnight. SEO is a constant work in progress, and you can never sit
back and let it roll. You constantly have to monitor your efforts and cross
your fingers hoping the big Google ax doesn’t fall on you.
So, Which Method is Better?
Well, there’s no definite answer to this
question. The real question should be, how can you combine each method for your
website? Ideally, you should already have a basic SEO strategy in place. But
there are tons of things that you can do to use both methods together. For
instance, you can use PPC to gauge which keywords would work the best for SEO.
Or it could be used to split test copy and create a website that converts
before starting to send organic traffic to it. If you want more tips on how to
integrate your SEO and PPC efforts, visit this page.
Conclusion
Both SEO and PPC and very powerful methods
that could work wonders for your website if used properly. Make sure that you
learn everything you can about each method and try your hand at both to see
which one works the best to your business.
