The SEO vs. PPC debate has been ongoing for years. Do you invest more into cultivating your organic ranking strategy through Search Engine Optimisation, or do you bid your way to the top of search engines through Pay-Per-Click campaigns?
Web traffic is mainly generated via two avenues: SEO and PPC. Your success in generating said traffic boils down to smartly choosing between the two. Or does it? Let us divulge each of these strategies to find out.
SEO – Search Engine Optimisation
SEO is the practice of increasing your websites visibility to search engines and its users through a range of different methods and strategies. In a nutshell, it can help your website show up in more relevant searches, more often.
Organically, SEO consists of ensuring that search engine bots (or spiders) can understand what is on your webpage in order to rank you higher than your competitors. That said, SEO is constantly changing, thanks to industry trends and algorithm updates. But, amidst the change, the core concept remains the same – providing quality, optimised content that helps human visitors while ticking the boxes of Google search crawlers.
SEO demonstrates the following advantages:
- Long-lasting
- Cost effective
- Optimises User Experience
- Improves credibility and trust
Now that we understand SEO’s place in the digital marketing world, let us take a look at the other side of the coin.
PPC – Pay-Per-Click Advertising
Pay-per-click advertising allows businesses to bid on the chance to show ads on Google’s search engine results pages. As the title assumes, you only pay when someone clicks on your ad to visit your site, call your business or whatever objective you put in place.
This form of advertising enables you to quickly and effectively leverage off search engine traffic through the means of bidding for keywords that relate to your product or service. Google Ads also give you the option of promoting your business outside of Google search by showing your ads on sites within the Google Display Network, which is made up of thousands of sites across the web.
PPC is advantageous in the following ways:
- Fast results
- Drives warm leads
- Scalable and controllable
- Multi-layered targeting options
Which Is Better for My Business: SEO or PPC?
While SEO is a traditional cornerstone of successful digital marketing because it gives your business the chance of being found, PPC enables you to reach customers more immediately, regardless of how small or large your business is. So, which should you choose?
In order to holistically get the most out of your digital marketing strategy and give your business the chance of success, it shouldn’t be either Search Engine Optimisation or Pay-Per-Click advertising. It should be a synergetic integration of the two, working together to increase visibility, drive traffic, generate leads and provide a better experience overall.
Although these two strategies are different sides of the coin, together, they constitute the value of the coin.
