There are so many digital marketing routes you can take, but two of the most commonly confused ones are SEO and Paid Search, or PPC. Here, I’ll explain the difference between the two to help you make a decision about which one, or both, would work best for your business.
Its no surprise that digital marketing is something your business should be doing. We know that Google is the #1 used search engine and we should be utilizing it to get the most traffic to our site; but how?
SEO vs. Paid Search (PPC)
What does SEO mean? SEO stands for Search Engine Optimization, whereas PPC stands for Pay Per Click, meaning you pay every time someone clicks on your ad. SEO encompasses changes that are made on your website, in order to rank higher on the Search Engine Results Page or SERP, without any money being directly spent with Google. With PPC, you’re actually giving money to Google to place an Ad at the top of the SERP.
We’ve all seen the difference between these two results, whether you were aware of it or not.
Paid ads can show up in two different ways.
First:
Here, there is a small marker that says “sponsored” when you click on that, there is a popup that tells you that these ads are given to you because of your recent searches, purchases, or because these companies have put money towards the keywords you used. In this case “phone charger” would be the keyword that the company bid for.
The other type of ad you would see looks like this:
This is most likely how your business’ ads would show up in user’s SERP. These companies bid for the keyword “coffee mug”.
Now, since there is no money placed toward an SEO campaign,how does it work?
Similar to Paid Search, in SEO you have to choose the keywords that you want to show up for. By using these keywords throughout your site, in title tags, and meta descriptions, you will slowly start to see your business appearing in the SERP for these keywords. SEO is a slow, sometimes tedious, process; it can take 3 months to even begin to see benefits! However, the benefits you do see will last a long time. In Paid Search, if you stop paying for ads, you’ll stop seeing your business appear from the SERP immediately, there are no lasting effects.
What should I do?
If you’re looking for immediate growth and business, Paid Search is the way to go, but you have to commit to spending money to gain an audience interested in your goods and services.
If you’re prepared to be patient to see results, and you like the idea of the long-lasting benefits of SEO, then it is a great option for you. If you want to stop your SEO campaign for a bit, all of these investments will still be paying off until you pick back up, unlike if you stop your Paid Search campaign where you will fall off the grid quickly.
What does your budget look like?
If you’re working with a tight budget, you may want to choose SEO. You won’t have to pay every time someone clicks on an ad of yours, and if you’re on the first page of Google, you’re still getting good visibility.
If you have a large marketing budget to work with, choose Paid Search. You’ll get customers quick, and you’ll create tough competition with your competitors.
What will you choose?
It should go without saying that these two products work hand in hand, they really compliment each other and if you’re looking for a great digital marketing strategy, your best bet would be to invest in both. Know that both of these campaigns require knowledge in these areas to run smoothly, so it may be best to hire someone with SEO or Paid Search backgrounds. If you’re looking for an SEO Specialist, I know where you can find one!