SEO or PPC – Which route do you take? Here are some great insights from an expert.
Internet marketing has acquired immense potential in the recent times. The world wide web is not only the most powerful but also the most cost effective avenue to market your business. It can take your business on an international scale and gain you exposure from across the world.
However, with so many means of online marketing, how do you know what would be the best for your business?
Search Engine Optimization (SEO) and Pay Per Click (PPC) are two of the popular means of online marketing. Each has its advantage sand disadvantages and can be used effectively to drive in business revenue. But you need to evaluate the pros and cons of both of them and choose the one that is compatible with your business model and marketing objectives.
Here is a basic comparison between SEO and PPC campaigns:
SEO is the process of optimizing a website such that it ranks highly in organic search results so that when users search for something on Google, they see your website listed among the top slots. PPC is the paid advertising that you see at the top and right hand side of the SERPs.
Return On Investment
ROI is greater as compared to PPC campaigns because the initial and ongoing costs of SEO are almost negligible. Even if you hire a professional SEO company to do the job for your, you can expect a greater ROI. PPC being expensive affairs themselves, provide comparatively lesser ROI.
Trust and Credibility
Since organic results are natural, internet users place more trust in it than PPC campaigns. Since they deem it as more credible, they are more likely to click on these results than sponsored ads.
Performance
Organic results give your consistent performance throughout the buying decision of your consumers, right from the time of initial research to the final purchase of your products or services. SEO campaigns have a prolonged life-cycle! PPC campaigns are active and provide results only till you are paying money. When you withdraw your subscription, they stop appearing on SERPs and you stop getting any benefit whatsoever.
Ease of Rankings
Even though SEO is a challenging arena, it is easier to rank highly in less competitive markets. All you need to make sure is that your website is optimized efficiently. PPC campaigns give you the freedom to choose where and how you want your listing to appear. You can pay for the position that you want.
Time
SEO campaigns can take a long while before you start seeing any visible results. On the other hand, results of PPC campaigns can be seen almost instantly and is therefore great for publicizing short term offers.
Efforts
SEO is not a one-time thing. Rather, you need to diligently carry out various activities. It requires a series of ongoing updates to keep the content fresh and search engines happy. PPC campaigns are a one-time thing. You just need to draft an ad and submit it to Google.
SEO is better for your business if you want to make a long term online presence. However, if you just want a short, sharp burst to promote your offers, then PPC is the way to go!
