SEO or PPC Best Practices. Search engine optimization means optimizing your website to improve its position in the SERP and get more traffic organically. PPC or pay per click is an online marketing model where advertisers place their Ads in the search results and pay every time a user clicks the Ads, thereby driving more traffic to the website.
While both are powerful ways to generate traffic, which one is the best for you? Whether you are new to digital marketing or have been in this industry for a while, this question might have come up several times. Here, we’ll provide you with insights into both SEO and PPC to help you decide. So, let’s get started!
SEO or PPC: What is the Difference?
SEO consists of techniques that propel a website towards the first page of the search engine. As Google is the biggest search engine, most SEO prefer to target Google. It utilizes the content on your website that can potentially improve the website’s rank on the search engine.
You don’t have to pay any cost to appear high in the search results. Just make a few tweaks in your content or changes in your website, and it will impact the search rankings over time.
On the flip side, PPC allows brands or website owners to leverage the chance to show their Ads right when someone is searching for the products and services them offer. Whenever a user clicks their Ads, they have to pay some fee to the search engine. When their Ads appear on the SERP, they will likely garner more traffic, improving their brand’s visibility.
Thus, the main differences between these two approaches are-
- The traffic you get on your website via SEO is organic, i.e., free. But, PPC requires you to pay for each click you get on your Ad.
- PPC Ads or paid search Ads appear at the top of the SERP, whereas the organic listings appear below those Ads.
Furthermore, PPC best practices provides you with instant results. But, it may take you a few months or more to see your website ranking organically on the search engine.
SEO Improves Organic Traffic
First and foremost, having your website rank organically helps build credibility and trust with the audience. There are several users who skip Ads and jump to the organic results. Once the credibility increases, it influences your brand’s visibility, which has a positive branding and awareness benefit.
Unlike PPC marketing, organic traffic is more sustainable. When your PPC budget is spent, and you stop paying, the traffic dries up. However, organic traffic is still there when you cut the marketing spend. In fact, with SEO’s organic results, the click-through rates also increase over time with PPC Best Practices.
Thus, SEO is beneficial for the businesses for when they want to-
- See consistent, long-term results.
- Build a credible, authoritative website.
- Add value to their website.
When Do You Choose SEO?
Unless you don’t want to put your brand on social media or give it a face, SEO is for you. You should start doing it as soon as possible, as it takes time to give fruitful results. SEO is more like a planning process that should be started even before having a solid website.
PPC Provides You with Instant Traffic
Though trust and high CTR over time fall in the realm of SEO, PPC also offers several benefits. Since the paid search Ads appear before the organic listings, users will likely see the Ads even if they scroll down. PPC Ads provide you with enough space to deliver the most crucial marketing message, including price, location, call, etc.
You can also create visual shopping Ads, which improves the CTR. PPC is a highly targeted way to put your Ads in front of the right audience. The best part is, you can create a PPC campaign within days and see your Ads going live within weeks. Thus, there is no other faster way to get in front of the right customers.
So, when is it best to use PPC?
- When you want to see instant results.
- When your website isn’t content-rich or isn’t ready for SEO.
- When you want highly targeted traffic in a jiffy.
- When you wish to promote urgency or a limited offer.
When Should You Start PPC?
You can use PPC anytime; however, the best time to use this technique is when you are a little high with a budget. It’s not expensive, but you need to send something to give your business the required boost.
Also, this will help you get more traffic and leads. Think of PPC marketing this way that even if you are a well-established website, you might lack important keywords that you find hard to rank. However, paying for them will help you boost CTR and can bring you in the top positions of SERPs.
Conclusion:
In conclusion, we will say that it is ideal to combine both these approaches. A powerful integrated marketing strategy that focuses on both SEO and PPC is the best bet. When you utilize paid and organic results, it will improve the overall results considerably.
While it is no one-size-fits-all strategy, and it may not work for all types of businesses, it is good to develop a better search engine marketing strategy based on your business requirements, rather than focusing solely on SEO or PPC. So, don’t think in terms of SEO ‘or’ PPC. Just remember, both are great marketing tools in your arsenal, which can be used based on your needs.