Do you have a business website? If yes, then you are undoubtedly aware of SEO as well as PPC (Pay Per Click) advertising. It has been years that people have debated the benefits of paid search advertisements against organic search marketing. The question is which one do the SEO, and digital marketers think function better? And which one should a business owner opt into? The honest answer – business owners, need a fair share of both.
However, still, this debate of “PPC or SEO” comes up from time to time, especially when you are planning your SEO and online marketing strategy. Here you need expert and professional guidance. Log online and type ” SEO help near me” and you will find the best SEO agencies to join hands.
Before you do that, it is essential some crucial truths concerning the age-old PPC and SEO debate.
1. The Paid Search Is Not a Substitute For Organic Research
Search engine marketing and paid search are two different concepts. And both can’t replace one another, and both have its weaknesses and strengths. For instance, paid search is perfect for generating non-branded organic traffic to a website. And when it comes to the PPC scenario , the user is unaware of the brand.
They look for a service or product they want to opt-in for. Your product ad gets showcased above the search page outcome, that makes the user click to check-out your ad and what your brand can provide him/her. And this, in turn, makes them know your brand, products and services better. It also forwards them to the conversion channel.
Are you wondering whether organic search can do this? It perhaps can. And it is essential to know that the organic search outcome having the highest rank too won’t get showcased above the page.
You can probably find it at the center of the page. Sometimes, it might appear a few pages away. However, organic search is excellent for generating branded web traffic to the site.
When it comes to SEO, the users are aware of the brand, and they look at your brand information. Your website pops up high in the organic search outcomes, which makes the user click on the listing and land into the website. Are you wondering if PPC can do this or not? The answer is yes.
That is the reason why business owners should count on PPC along with SEO.
There can be a situation when only your brand gets showcased and not any organic listing. It can result in the user to inquire your brand authenticity.
Hence, both are important. Both SEO and PPC combine to give rise to a powerful online brand presence. It’s a wise decision to invest in both and get the best of both worlds.
2. PPC and SEO Isn’t Free
Typically, people think that PPC is costly. People think they need to pay each time a person clicks on their online ad. Also, if you have a professional account, you must pay a certain amount.
When it comes to SEO, the experts will tell you that it takes time for SEO to show results.
And if you want good results, it’s essential to pay for the same, irrespective of paying a third-party SEO agency or an SEO professional in-house.
3. PPC and SEO isn’t the Zero-Sum Calculation
There are times people mistake PPC and SEO debate to be the zero-sum game. They feel when they stop investing in any one tool, the other invariably improve the slack.
It doesn’t work that way. PPC and SEO will never cannibalize one another. What it does instead, is to channel in the outcome from multiple sources. It is essential for business owners to know that when you have a strong SEO strategy, it will help to make your PPC function better and vice versa.
Both complement each other when both the tools get exercised well. There are times when business owners insist on slowing down or pause all PPC activities in particular markets.
They probably want to boost the organic initiatives in a couple of locations that don’t perform in an optimum way. When they implement the correct mix of SEO and PPC, they get the best lead conversions and expand their customer base and online business profits.
4. Statistics Might Not Reveal The Truth
In the age-old debate between PPC and SEO, the promoter of a side or the other will generally trot the findings for backing up their case.
However, you must consult all these statistics attentively before you conclude anything. For instance, there are business owners who deploy SEO consultants and want them to put an end to all the PPC advertising completely.
Sometimes, business owners think that PPC suffers from unfavorable site engagement when it gets compared to SEO. It made them focus all the marketing cash there.
It’s challenging to find out the source of such data, as SEO and PPC experts have a different perspective.
It is essential to know that the organic traffic that gets generated by such campaigns doesn’t get directly to the business owner’s website in any way.
And that would justify the cause of low site engagement. Hence, this suggestion could have had a good intention, but based on incomplete information. That’s why there’s a good chance of that working against a business owner. Ironically, an essential metric that most business owners and few SEO consultants miss out on completely are the new visitors.
Think for a while what will the new visitors generated by PPC do, when you completely stop the paid search ads. Chances are you are going to lose them, and that would translate to losing out on potential business opportunities and customer base.
Hence, think twice before implementing such a strategy based on half-furnished information.
Hence, when you find business owners or SEO consultant arguing against or for SEO and PPC, it is essential that they consider all the essential aspects.
It is a wise decision to opt-in for both and never substitute one for the other. You can use both in varying degrees in different phases in SEO and PPC. It is good to assess the outcome and adjust the strategy accordingly.