SEO or PPC? What is better?
SEO and PPC, the debate is always there for digital marketers who want to achieve higher ranking positions for their web tools in google search engines. The truth is, the faster you reach the top-ranking positions for your product pages, and the closer you are to achieving incredible sales results.
But what is the best way to reach your set targets? The process matters the most, and there is the easy and the hard way to go about that. Some of the uncomplicated ways involve having the extra funds that pack the necessary extra punch. However, even after taking the brightly lit pathway of paid advertising, there are many thorny breaks along the way – best come prepared for what comes next.
Strong brands can afford to and are willing to pay for getting closer to the absolute top of search results. Over there, at the very edge of great organic SEO, lies the icing of the cake in advertising. Google’s paid results comprise the layer holding only the highest valued positions in online marketing. Traditionally, organic optimization will require more effort and ingenuity to climb at the top of what some experts dub the immediate attention of online users. It only makes sense that what otherwise is possible only through immense talent can be alternatively achieved through an extra financial boost. What you get from a well-times pay-per-click campaign is a positive result within a few days.
But is it true? Let us see the comparison, and by the end of the article, you will know which prices are the fastest and the best for your project or product.
Search Engine Optimization (SEO)
SEO is operating to generate organic leads naturally, adhering to the searching patterns of potential shoppers. First, the marketers create the content and let search engines soak up all the relevant keywords and ranking factors. Then they push the web pages onto the higher-ranking positions.
For a better understanding of SEO conceptually, please check our comprehensive introduction to SEO. Knowing how content optimization for search engines works, let us review some of the pros and cons of the process.
The Pros of SEO
SEO is a more stable and cost-effective solution for digital marketers compared to conventional methods from applied advertising. Of course, SEO does not come free of charge. You still need the best SEO tools and the best SEO experts to analyze the data coming from these tools.
There are many ranking factors of a web page. Not all page characteristics are qualitatively relevant – we already have the level of user experience and satisfaction as primary elements of Google factors when evaluating a page.
Keeping in mind the versatile nature of proper content evaluation, let us review the three significant advantages of using SEO for your website:
- SEO is operating based on organic search, which is very cost-effective in comparison to PPC.
- SEO is long-lasting and shows the result with a maximum period. Considering the period of influence, SEO is more stable than PPC.
- According to standard bidding techniques, every new PPC tactic must be different than the last. With PPC, your website positions are going to be different every time.
The Cons of SEO
You learned about the longevity of SEO and how time eventually brings promising results. SEO’s most rewarding achievements do not come fast. It is the core reason marketers use to pair it with other techniques suitable for getting quick results.
- In comparison to PPC, SEO is slow but steady. PPC is going to show you the immediate result. To fully appreciate the effects of SEO, you must wait for at least a month after the optimization has taken place.
- SEO is a never-ending process. Every year, Google modifies its search algorithm, and you must adjust your content optimization according to the new rules. Since content optimization is an ever-going process of fine-tuning, your website is never 100% optimized. There is always room for improvement or catching up, no matter your current SEO standings.
- SEO is a stable but time-consuming process. You must monitor the growth of your website closely. It is required for maintaining the positions on the search engines by stepping in when a chance is necessary.
Pay Per Click (PPC)
PPC benefits are enormous when part of carefully orchestrated marketing campaigns. When you want the immediate result, your best bet is to use the power of PPC. PPC allows you to achieve higher ranking positions in search engines that otherwise will stay outside your reach.
When you launch a PPC campaign, you must pay or bid for only the keywords directly related to your services or the products. Like standard SEO practices, PPC comes with different pros and cons. Let us review them so you can gain a piece of better knowledge about the comparison and put you in a better position to decide what is best for your business.
The Pros of PPC
As I mentioned before, most marketers trust PPC for the immediate results it gets. Where good SEO yields definitive results in time no less than several months, PPC comes with flash-like measurable outcomes. PPC is scalable and controllable – let us see its known advantages in a nutshell:
- For immediate lead generations, this is the most active path.
- You must spend some money for the PPC, but after a single ad run, you will come with a better understanding of how to distribute the amount of money you have for the campaign.
- You do need concurrent knowledge on the state of search engine algorithms or their related or pending updates. You only must fix your target then run the PPC for lead generations.
- When you are using the PPC, you only must check the google standard for page rankings. And after you achieve the bar, you can safely run the PPC campaign and get ready for the increased traffic.
The Cons Of PPC
What if you do not get the desired leads after all the multiple PPC tips & tricks that come into play? How is this even possible? For every PPC run, you must be ready with freshly researched keywords and start bidding on them. Eventually, after a few PPC campaigns down the road, your perception and understanding of how they work will increase and deepen. However, although PPC is best for immediate results than SEO and seems less challenging to achieve, it can also turn into time-consuming adventures. Let us see what else can push a rod in the ‘spokes’ of your paid campaigning:
Here are a few disadvantages of PPC:
- Like the SEO techniques for PPC, you are also going to require some specific strategies. Primarily you must understand what the golden keywords are associated with your products. And start bidding on them.
- PPC is a single shot process. Once you stop paying for the bidding, your lead generations are going to stop immediately. All-time keyword research is important, but you must trust the services of a professional PPC expert.
- Conversion is not guaranteed. You do pay for people to click and find your product pages but convincing them to go all the way and help you convert is an entirely different game. Always be away that you get attention with PPC, but keeping that attention is usually part of a broader strategy related to customer engagement and acquisition.
Wrapping It Up
So, which is the best for you? After reviewing the pros and cons for both SEO and PPC, we hope the choice made a choice a little easier.
SEO is a more cost-effective and straightforward process, but it yields results in time. Alternatively, PPC has immediate results, but without carefully considering the leads and keywords, its speediness will not do much good if the attracted traffic has little value to your conversion rates. Sure, you may get the lead you wanted, but did you really want it?
Both strategies require timely and detailed keywords research before any campaign is actually launched. If you desire a stable position in the search engines for your eShop, you should focus on SEO and organic search. First, you need to safely conclude that your store has undergone the optimization it needs to climb to the next level. Only after that can you consider tools and strategies like PPC to maximize the effect of your business website.
