Google processes 3.5B+ searches every day. 40,000 per second. How are you going to get your brand noticed? Your website ranking above your competitors? SEO vs PPC – the two best search engine marketing methods to generate sales and increase traffic.
A successful marketing strategy takes time and money. Choosing whether to do both pay-per-click ads and search engine optimization, is not a decision that can be made without fully understanding both.
Search Engine Optimization
Good SEO, and you’ll rank high in search engines, such as Google and Bing. Great SEO, will get you ranking position one, above your competitors. SEO is free, but takes time.
Pay-Per-Click
Google Ads, for instance, is how you would create PPC advertisements which appear above organic content in search engine results pages – SERPs. Above your competitors’ organic content, and your own. PPC costs time and money.
While paid ads in search results are the most common form of PPC, there are other forms. Including display advertising – banner ads, and remarketing.
The difference between SEO and PPC
In a nutshell, SEO is how to drive organic traffic to your website by optimizing web pages, and PPC are ads that you pay for, appearing at the top and foot of search engine results pages – SERPs, or displayed on other websites.
Organic traffic
Search engine optimization – SEO – is how to rank in search engines, organically. Apart from your time, it’s free.
Paid traffic
As soon as your search ad goes live, you’ll see your web page at the top of Google’s search page, above organic results.
SEO basic elements
Search engine optimization means including content on your website that will increase your visibility, credibility, and relevance.
On-page optimization includes:
- H1 tags that include the keyword you’re looking to rank for
- Teasing meta descriptions with the relevant keyword towards the start
- Alt text behind all images, that are descriptive and include your keyword
- Natural inclusion of your keyword in your content
- Titles – H2, H3, H4 – that include your keyword
When a search engine crawls your website, it’ll understand what your site is about, identify whether it’s trustworthy, and recognize it as a valuable source for users performing searches. It will then move up in the ranking.
Off-page optimization – off-page SEO – are methods used away from your website, that will also improve the ranking, and includes:
- Backlinks or inbound links – search engines use backlinks as proof of the quality of a website’s content. The more high-value backlinks, the higher a site will rank. High-value links come from sites with high domain authority and/or domain extensions such as .GOV, .EDU.
- Social media marketing – sharing content on your social media channels.
- Guest blogging
- Influencer marketing
- Business directories – to prove authority and authenticity. posts, reviews, etc.
- Linked and unlinked brand mentions – in articles, press releases, guest posts, reviews, etc.
- Internal linking on website, to help users navigate your site
- Included in listicles
- Links from customer review sites – user-generated content is free marketing that’s considered trustworthy by consumers.
Don’t go mad, though. Include too many search terms, fake pages, irrelevant content, and Google will question your intent.
Word of warning, it might seem obvious, but don’t include important keywords or content as part of an image and expect it to count towards SEO. Search engines won’t recognize it.
SEO pros
SEO is free
When you use SEO, your site will have a great opportunity to reach new customers without you contributing any funds directly to an advertising budget.
The result is essentially free targeted advertising. That means your customers actively search for you, as opposed to you searching for customers, and they can find you in search results on Google.
Then, you can take a few hours each day (or week) to create new pages for your site that focus on keywords that are valuable to your business.
So if you own a pizzeria, you’d want to target a keyword like “best pizza in [your city]” to attract new customers. The more pages that you create, the more chances you have of engaging and attracting new customers so your business can grow.
SEO delivers long-term benefits
Once all the SEO best practices are implemented — like creating quality, keyword-rich content, and a strong linking profile — the results will outlast your efforts.
The return on investment for SEO will continue to climb long after PPC has peaked. That means your site will continue attracting customers indefinitely.
SEO drives relevant, targeted traffic
SEO allows for the use of long-tail keywords, which are three to five-word phrases that refine a search term to be more targeted. For example, someone who is searching for “wedding cakes” probably is just doing some casual browsing or looking for ideas.
Someone who is searching for “wedding cake cost calculator” is someone who is further along in the buying process. With long-tail keywords comes more relevant traffic.
SEO encourages a user-friendly website
The main difference when it comes to SEO vs. PPC is that with PPC, you pay for the visitors, but with advanced SEO, you earn visitors by improving your site and following best practices. It may take a lot of work, but it’s a good thing in the long run because of the improvements to your site’s usability.
SEO cons
The disadvantages of using SEO include:
SEO faces ever-changing Google algorithms
A top complaint about SEO is that all of the work you put into your site to get your website on the first page results could be affected completely if Google releases new algorithm changes (which they do, at a rate of about 1.2 changes per day).
SEO requires ongoing maintenance
Keyword research, content updates, link building, and more are all factors of SEO that need to be regularly monitored and updated in order for your site to maintain rankings or to increase them.
PPC basic elements
Every time someone clicks on your PPC ad, you pay a fee. Your ads can be targeted towards users’ interests, geographical location, gender, age group, profession, etc. They can promote a special deal, event, product, downloadable content.
PPC ads are placed at the top and bottom of search engine result pages. Above and below organic search results. Or display ads and remarketing ads that appear on other appropriate websites.
PPC ads bring immediate results, unlike the waiting game that is SEO. Of course, if you pause your ads, you’ll stop getting clicks.
The most popular platform for PPC ad campaigns is Google Ads. You’ll be able to measure ROI, identify which ads are performing, and those that need work. How many conversions you’re getting, and, how much you’ll need to bid, so you’ll appear at the top of the paid ads on page one.
PPC pros
PPC offers maximum visibility in search results
On most search engines, PPC allows your business to rank above the regular search results so users will see your brand before your competitors.
You can make sure this happens by bidding competitively on keywords that are valuable to your business. To make PPC cost-effective, you can get higher placement and pay less for bids with a strong quality score.
A strong quality score means that a high percentage of people who see your ad click on it and then stay on your page. That tells the search engine that you’re supplying quality information that’s helping your visitors, and search engines want to keep recommending you.
So if you use PPC to provide relevant information to people interested in your business, you’ll gradually pay less and less to achieve the same rankings.
That’s the power of a quality score.
PPC delivers immediate results
If you are first launching a website or even a brand new company, you want to get your new site/name out there as soon as possible.
PPC works a lot faster in the short race of SEO vs. PPC, but faster doesn’t always mean long term. This is also beneficial if you have special promotions or events that need exposure and cannot be planned months in advance.
PPC offers complete control
With PPC ads, you have control over which page the “clicker” is sent to. By having control over the landing page, you are able to make sure that the visitor is seeing the most relevant information to what your ad was displaying.
The ads that are displayed are written by you and you are able to test them to see which ad performs the best, which landing page is better for visitors, etc.
PPC provides flexibility
You have the ability to choose which keywords you want to bid higher on, how much you want to spend in a day, and even the ability to pause your campaign if you are running low on your budget. You are also able to set the placement of your ads and the location where you want your ad to be shown.
PPC cons
PPC requires a constant investment
Once the money stops, the ads stop. While you may gain some branded traffic down the road, that unbranded search traffic will completely disappear when the ads stop running.
It also takes a long time to build a decent quality score, which means you’ll pay a lot more when you’re starting out and continue to pay a lot for months to come.
So even though PPC can affordable, it’s possible that you won’t have the budget for it — especially if you’re a startup or small business.
Essentially, you’re paying money to make sure your company is found online, which can take its toll on your marketing budget if you’re not careful.
PPC deters some users
PPC listings look like ads because of an ad tag and are purposely placed where they are. Many people dislike ads, refuse to click on them, or frankly just have no idea what they are and do not trust them.
PPC costs add up
Even though you have the ability to control your PPC campaign budget, costs do begin to pile up and you may end up spending more money than you originally planned.
Traffic to your site with PPC is completely dependent on the money you pour into it. If the keywords you are targeting are highly competitive, they may be expensive and can drain your budget quickly.
PPC comes with a learning curve
PPC is difficult for a lot of businesses to start because platforms like Google Ads are somewhat complicated. It takes a lot of research and practice to nail down a practical PPC campaign for any business, especially when you’re brand new to it.
Which is better for my brand
It depends on what you want.
- Do you want leads now, for an event, etc.?
- Are you prepared to wait for results?
- What’s your budget?
- Do you have high domain authority?
- How do your competitors rank in organic search?
If you’re a small business or a start up, you may not have the budget for paid advertising.
With little competition, your SEO strategy could increase online visibility in local and organic search results. As a long-term strategy, SEO won’t break the bank, and once you’re ranking, traffic will be constant.
Your market may be niche, which means that you could find a keyword that’s relevant, has low competition, and a good monthly search volume. Get in there fast and develop your SEO strategy to rank for this keyword, before someone else does.
If you’re an ecommerce site, looking to compete with the likes of Amazon, your website is going to struggle to outrank in organic search results. PPC paid ads would kick start your brand awareness campaign.
If your business has a generous advertising budget, get the PPC ads live now. You’ll see results immediately. You can also target specific audiences, unlike handing over big bucks for a billboard, only relevant to 10 out of 100 passers-by.
SEO and PPC are efficient methods of driving traffic to a website. Proven to bring results, working separately or together. But, there are some instances where one wins over the other.
ROI difference
The SEO tortoise
SEO can be a slow burner. After your keyword research, you’ll optimize your website. Write blog posts. Create internal links. Earn backlinks. Post guest blogs, etc. On top of this, you’ll have to wait to rank in SERPs. You could be looking at a few months.
Your site will grow. Quality will improve. Authority will increase. Search engines will recognize the credibility and relevance of your content, and send more traffic to your website.
You can’t wave a magic wand and get page one ranking immediately. You can’t pay for position one. It’s a waiting game. And while you’re waiting, continue updating and improving your website.
It’s free. It takes time. It wins, in the long-term.
The PPC Hare
PPC is quick. You’ll see results almost immediately. But, when you stop paying, search engines will pull your ads. Also, depending on how much you’ve spent, your ad might be shown to a limited audience.
Search engines will judge your ads, as they do with SEO. Which is why monitoring, testing and tweaking your ads and/or budget is crucial, so you don’t waste money.
Define your goals and set your budget accordingly. For instance…
- You want to generate 700 site visitors per month
- The cost-per-click – CPC – of your keyword is $1.50
- Your monthly budget needs to be $1050
If you need to reduce your budget, you can adjust your ads to increase relevancy and find cheaper keywords. As I said, you should monitor continually, otherwise you could waste money.
It costs. It’s fast. It wins, in the short-term.
