Which Form of Marketing is more Effective, SEO or PPC?

A comparison between Search Engine Optimization (SEO) and Pay-Per-Click (PPC)

Internet has become the new form of marketing and with its growing use; business owners should consider this median in order to have a competitive advantage in the industry.    For business owners who are not very aware, implementing an internet marketing strategy will provide you with a competitive advantage in this industry.  If this is you these are things you should be aware of.  Internet promotions can be divided into two major categories, Search Engine Optimization (SEO) and Pay-Per-Click (PPC).    

Search Engine Optimization

First, let’s define SEO to have a better understanding.  SEO is the process of tweaking (optimizing) the content of your website to ensure that it can properly be navigated by the search engines.  Optimizing should be performed to a range of components about your website, not just your home page.  Once this is properly done, your main goal is to bring as much traffic to your site as possible.  This can be done by ensuring that your site in found within the first page of results provided by the search engine.  Also, ensuring that your business website is listed in all the major directories such as Google.com, Bing and Yahoo.  Though organic search results are free, it takes time to reach the optimal levels.  Keep in mind that SEO is a very important part of your website’s success and require constant maintenance.

Pay-Per-Click

Pay-Per-Click or PPC is defined as an online technique where the advertiser pays for every click that results in a visit to their website, hence the term “Pay-Per-Click”.  Google AdWords is a popular PPC advertising program.  PPC is beneficial to websites that offer product sales, mainly because they are seeking a return on investment.  Keep in mind that as a business owner you’re paying for every click, therefore it would not be beneficial for those websites that are just informative.  In other words, while their goal is to sell a given product, they are also paying for every click they receive.  Basically, PPC allows you to pay your way to the top.  

SEO or PPC?

Choosing the right one depends of your business needs.  If your focus is to improve the amount of traffic to your website as soon as possible then PPC is right for you.  The biggest benefit of PPC is that it yields immediate results with leads and sales, often within a couple of days.  On a different note, if your goal is to improve brand recognition with no monetary investment then SEO is right for you.  Most often, searchers click on organic results rather than the PPC results, therefore you will receive a lot more traffic.   

To sum it up, SEO takes time and maintenance while PPC allows you to pay your way to the top.  PPC provides you with a clear advantage over SEO but with one major disadvantage, cost.  So basically, if your goal is to achieve maximum results then PPC is right for you.  But keep in mind that the profit margins will be smaller as a result. 

If you want expert help with Search Engine Optimization, contact our experienced consultants at Hudson Horizons.