This is a pretty big and important question to think about before investing in internet marketing! You may think you already know what you need, but doing more research is never a bad thing. So congratulations on being here, read this article!Before analyzing how to make this decision, let’s look at what exactly SEO and PPC are and what they involve.
SEO: A simple look at the basics
Search engine optimization (SEO) is essentially a set of tactics that are used to bring your site further in the search engine rankings.
These tactics include:
- Conduct keyword research to discover ranking possibilities
- Work with your content on the page to integrate more keywords
- Update the speed and structure of your site to make it as fast and search engine friendly as possible
- Add more content that aligns with your keywords and topics.
- Create more high quality links to your site to tell search engines that your site is trustworthy
Investing in SEO is a great way to ensure a strong future for your website and marketing. Although it takes some time to see the results of an SEO campaign, it can make the difference between a small number of potential customers and a large number every few months.
PPC: A quick look at the possibilities
When you hear “Pay-Per-Click,” you’re probably thinking about ads at the top of Google listings. This is the classic pay-per-click spot in Google search results. These ads have come a long way in the last few years and now include bells and whistles, such as clickable phone number buttons, additional links, addresses, and more.
There are other PPC ad options you should know about. In addition to the traditional ads you see on Google, there are several other advertising options. For example, if you are a home service provider, there are only special ads called local service ads. Another option would be display ads, which can be configured to appear on an entire network of websites, rather than just Google search results. So your ads can appear on sites relevant to your industry, and you can use more interesting images and ads.
Running PPC gives you the opportunity to see results as soon as you start funding your ads. It’s also very scalable – do you need more leads? Spend more on your ads so that you get more clicks. What you enter is what you get (as long as your campaign is well managed by a PPC expert).
Here’s how to decide SEO vs. PPC or both.
This is still a difficult question, even with all the knowledge in the world about these two types of web marketing. Here are some steps you can take to identify what might be best for your campaign right now.
Step one: Identify the main goal of the campaign
It sounds simple, but I want you to take some time and perfect an ultra-focused lens. The more you can focus, the better. Here are some great steps to focus on:
- What do I want from a marketing campaign? Make a list of items.
- What items on the list do I need before I can make some of the others? Limit yourself to 2 or 3 of the most important items.
- Do you see common elements between the remaining elements? Can you classify them as brand awareness, more leads, more site visits, more sales, or something similar?
- From what you have distilled, achieve one or two main objectives.
- Add numbers, if you can.
Step two: Identify your time frame
This is quite simple: take your campaign goal and decide a time frame.
Is this a quarterly goal?
Or maybe you’re launching something new and needing results as soon as possible?
Maybe you hope to get it in just one year? Be specific.
Step three: Compare the benefits of PPC vs. SEO
SEO Vs. PPC: Which is right for your site?
To recap the infographic above, the main differences between PPC and SEO are the amount of time it takes to see results and the longevity of those results.
A PPC campaign will give you instant results, while SEO will take at least a few months to start sending more visitors to your website. However, your SEO work will continue to benefit your site after the work is completed, while PPC benefits will stop as soon as you stop paying for ads.
Step four: Put together a strategy that fits your goals.
As you can see in the infographic above, the timing of your goal will be a major aspect in making a PPC or SEO campaign. If you need immediate results, Pay-Per-Click advertising is a great way to get there.
However, an SEO campaign can be less expensive in the long run and can bring in potential customers naturally, so you won’t be in a rut if you stop your ads.
For many campaigns, running both PPC and SEO at the same time is an excellent solution. Start your campaign by paying for clicks as you work in the background to increase your organic visits. As your organic visits increase, you can reduce your advertising costs.
A master plan: How to run both PPC and SEO at the same time.
