SEO vs PPC – What’s Right for Your Business

Spoiler alert: I’m going to say both. Both SEO and PPC are critical to your business. There’s no doubt that search engine marketing is essential for any business that wants to increase traffic and sales. However, it can be tough to decide whether to focus on search engine optimization (SEO) or pay-per-click (PPC) advertising. Both have their pros and cons, and the best choice for your business depends on your unique situation.

The key purpose of both SEO and PPC is to improve your rankings on the “search engine results page,” including Google, Bing or other search engines. There are several components to the search engine results page, including:

• Ads
• Knowledge panel
• Featured snippets
• Maps
• Images
• Videos
• Top stories (news)
• People also ask
• Organic listings
• More ads

SEO vs PPC: Key Differences

While both SEO and PPC are forms of search engine marketing, they differ in a few key ways:

• SEO focuses on driving traffic from organic search results, while PPC focuses on driving traffic from paid ads.
• SEO is a long-term process that requires time and patience, while PPC can deliver results quickly.
• SEO is free (apart from the time it takes to create and optimize content), while PPC costs money in the form of ad bids and management fees.

What Is SEO?

SEO stands for “search engine optimization” and refers to the process of optimizing your website to rank higher in search engine results. This can be done through a variety of techniques, such as keyword research, on-page optimization, off-page optimization, and technical SEO. SEO helps webpages rank higher on non-paid section of the results page. PPC ads will have higher prominence on the search results.

SEO Pros and Cons

SEO offers a number of advantages, but it also comes with some challenges:

Pros:

• It’s a myth that SEO is cheap and easy. It is cost-effective to generate awareness, and the ROI tends to be higher than PPC.
• It can lead to long-term, sustainable traffic.
• You don’t pay per click.
• It can help build credibility and trust for your website.
• It can be a great way to improve the value of your website.

Cons:

• It takes time and patience. Results are not immediate and can take 3 or more months to see gains.
• It can be highly competitive.
• It’s subject to changes in search engine algorithms, which can affect your rankings at any time.
• Link building can be time-intensive.
• Content creation can be tricky and take time and resources.

When to Use SEO

There are a few situations where SEO might be the best choice for your business:

• When you want long-term, consistent results. SEO takes time, but once you rank high in search engines, you can enjoy sustained traffic that can last for months or even years.
• When you want to establish your website as an authority in your niche. The more traffic your website gets through SEO, the more likely it is that people will trust your site and consider it a go-to resource.
• When you’re looking to increase the value of your website. Websites that rank high in search engines are often worth more, so improving your SEO can increase the value of your business.

What Is PPC?

PPC, stands for “pay-per-click” and these ads will have the premium high position. PPC refers to online advertisements that you pay for each time someone clicks on them. Common PPC platforms include Google Ads (formerly known as AdWords), Bing Ads, and Facebook Ads.

PPC Pros and Cons

PPC also has its pros and cons:

Pros:

• It can deliver immediate results which gives you speed to to get feedback on new messaging, product or promotions.
• It allows you to target your audience with precision.
• PPC campaigns can take days to create and ramp up in weeks. It’s much faster than SEO. It can be effective for time-sensitive offers.
• It allows for easier testing for better performance because you control the call to actions, locations, links, and messaging. Google also has responsive ads with built-in split testing, so that your ads are customized to generate more clicks.
• If you sell a product, Google also allows you to have visual shopping ads, called product listing ads.
• It can help you dominate search results for your target keywords.

Cons:

• It can be expensive and requires continued spending.
• It can be highly competitive which then drives up the cost.
• It requires constant management and monitoring.
• It’s easy for competitors to copy your strategy.

When to Use PPC

PPC is a good choice for your business in the following situations:

• When you need immediate results. PPC can deliver traffic within minutes of launching a campaign, making it ideal for short-term offers or product launches.
• When you need highly targeted traffic. PPC allows you to target your audience based on demographic information, interests, location, and more.
• When your website isn’t SEO friendly. If your website doesn’t have a lot of content, or if it’s difficult to optimize for search engines, PPC might be a better option.

Combining SEO and PPC

While you can choose to focus on either SEO or PPC, many businesses opt to use both in tandem. A holistic SEM and SEO strategy allows you to maximize and dominate the search engine results page which then leads to higher leads and sales. Overall, a blended approach will deliver greater results. This approach has a number of benefits:

• It allows you to maximize your visibility in search engines.
• It covers both short-term and long-term goals.
• It lifts all tides – total traffic volume will increase by targeting clicks in paid and organic keywords.
• It allows you to optimize paid programs more strategically, leveraging PPC only for terms that SEO does not dominate.
• It lets you test different keywords and strategies before investing in long-term SEO campaigns.
• It gives you a chance to dominate search results for your target keywords.

In my experience, an integrated strategy that includes both SEO and PPC is critical to business success. My goal for any client is to identify ways to help dominate SERP, gaining optimal placement across the key areas on the page. For some clients we may start with PPC while we wait for organic to build up, then pull back on PPC or shift keywords for expansion opportunities.