SEO has always been the hottest topic for decades to discuss for the website owners with intent to improve business performance by strengthening their online presence. As Google is on the unabated spree to deliver ultimate UX, SEO is getting more dimensions to add to its traditional practices. SEO is evolving to address the particular needs of search engines and to meet out the expectations of buyers. On the other hand, PPC (pay per click) is also getting attention of business owners relying the power of digital marketing. Amid the rising of both, the numbers of business owners have questions about SEO vs. PPC.
SEO – What It Is And Why You Need It:
The numbers of businesses often complain for not getting the traffic despite having the decently designed websites. Why? They miss the SEO benefits. What is SEO? Search engine optimization is a set of activities strategically performed to make the website better visible to search engines, as a result, you get more traffic. The key benefits of SEO include-
- Better user experience
- Quality traffic increase
- Leads generation
- Improved Conversion Rate
- Improved digital marketing ROI
- Boosts credibility of brand
- Beneficial for long-term growth goals
- Affordable even for small businesses
When SEO is considered as the must have digital marketing practice for all size and type businesses, it comes with some cons also. Some SEO cons include:
- SEO takes time to deliver
- SEO needs quality content in quantity
- SEO growth can be targeted by more competitors
- SEO strategy needs frequent change with each Google update
- Over doing of SEO may drive in Google penalty
Can you expect an overnight miracle just by hiring a SEO agency when most of your close rivals are equally active at digital marketing landscape? Keywords oriented white hat SEO practices aligned to Google algorithm do miracle if not overnight but surely within couple of months.
PPC (Pay Per Click)- What It Is And Why You Need It:
Pay Per Click is a paid advertising facility offered by Google. During PPC campaign, you pay for each click that you get on your ad irrespective to conversion success. Simply, it is an authentic way of buying the visits by bidding for the particular keywords rather than getting the visits organically. PPC is a financial liability, because, you get its benefits till you pay for the PPC service. The cost varies at large on the basis of varying popularity of targeted keywords. The prime benefits of PPC include:
- Quick leads
- Quick visible entry in digital marketplace
- Brand recognition
- Cost management
- Targeted advertising
- Measurable
PPC delivers quick boost to revenue by generating the leads faster but there are some PPC cons also:
- PPC cost varies unexpectedly
- PPC ads disappear with the end of deposits
- Nor a sure way to get high potential leads
- Serves only short-term marketing goals
- Click fraud’ possibility by competitors
SEO V/s PPC- The Difference:
| SEO | PPC |
| Free marketing practice commenced to serve long-term marketing objectives | Paid marketing practice commenced to serve short-term marketing objectives |
| Delivers long-term effective benefits | Delivers short-term benefits till you pay for Google Adword |
| Prime objective is high ranking in search results through increased organic traffic | Prime objective is getting quick leads through paid traffic |
| Planned to please the search engines and users by serving the best UX | Planned to draw the attention of users through the product/keywords specific paid advertisement |
| Deep impacts of Google’s ranking algorithm updates | Unaffected from Google’s ranking algorithm updates |
When Should I Choose – SEO or PPC?
Which is more beneficial to invest for – SEO or PPC? It is a very common question asked by the business owners planning to improve digital marketing results. Though the selection of SEO and PPC depends upon your marketing objectives but here are some indicators:
- Choose SEO to increase organic traffic
- Choose SEO to improve online brand image
- Choose SEO if you can pay an SEO agency at least 4-5 months to experience ranking benefits
- Choose PPC to create awareness in a particular locality
- Choose PPC to Kick start a product launch, to promote a seasonal event or a start-up business initially
- Choose PPC to get quick leads instead for ranking improvement
SEO is a comprehensive online marketing practice that can be planned for long-term and short-term goals respectively including or excluding PPC. On the long run, SEO proves more powerful than the PPC. Picking one or both simultaneously depends upon your marketing strategy, business plan, nature of services/objectives, and budgets.