SEO vs. PPC: What You Need to Know

Having trouble getting your business found in an online search? Learn about SEO vs. PPC: What you need to know. One of these two approaches to online marketing is likely the solution to your problem. Search engine optimization (SEO) and pay-per-click (PPC) campaigns are both effective, but which will work best for you?

What is SEO?

SEO is about enhancing the visibility of your website to gain organic traffic from search engines and rank high in search results. Sixty-one percent of marketers say search engine optimization is their primary method to gain marketing success.
It takes time to make SEO work but it’s worth it—and not just because it’s cheaper than PPC. The primary component in SEO is content—but not just any content. It should be content that drives traffic to your website because it ranks in search engine results pages (SERP). With search engine optimization, you don’t have to keep spending money at the rate you do with a PPC campaign. Organic traffic, besides being cost-effective, is scalable.

How SEO Works—Algorithms, Optimizing, and Expertise

SEO strives to work with Google search algorithms, which are parameters that determine which websites will get favor and advance to the top. Monitoring algorithms to make needed adjustments to your marketing approach is necessary to have continued success with organic results.

Optimization involves such things as removing expired links and refreshing old articles. It’s an ongoing process, and optimization makes the site more appealing to visitors. An optimized site will always be up-to-date and have fresh content.
Marketing expertise is invaluable, and you need it to rank organically on search engines. Things like knowing your target audience and link-building are also time-consuming.

What is PPC?

Pay-per-click (PPC) marketing is when you pay a publisher such as Facebook or Google for each click made on an advertisement. With PPC, you pay only when consumers have interacted with your ad. The type of industry you are in and the volume of the keyword being targeted determine the cost of PPC ads.

Advantages of PPC

Compared to SEO, PPC ads take a shortcut in gaining visibility. You get fast results with PPC advertising. Some PPC campaigns provide results in just a few hours. PPC ads place your website above organic search results on the SERP. You may have noticed that advertisements come first, and it’s necessary to scroll down to get organic results.

When you are setting up a PPC campaign, you can target your ads so that they go only to your intended audience. For instance, you can target people of a specific age, geographic area, interest, or marital status. If you run two different ads at the same time, you can easily measure which one produces the best results. This is referred to as an A/B test, and it can help your marketing dollars count.

The Bottom Line

Because it gets quick results, it often makes sense to start with PPC. Then, to save money on marketing, switch to SEO after your website has built up content over time.

Contact Brandtastic if you are tired of getting lackluster results from your online marketing strategies. We are all about SEO vs. PPC: What you need to know—because we know and we keep up with changes for the benefit of our clients. Call Brandtastic today at 813-441-0275 or schedule a free consultation by filling out our online form.