SEO vs PPC: The Differences to Remember
Are you struggling to reach customers online? You’re not alone. About 65% of marketers are struggling to attract website traffic and leads.
With search engine optimization (SEO) and pay-per-click (PPC) advertising, you can accomplish both.
What are SEO and PPC, exactly? Which one is best for your business? Keep reading to find out.
In this SEO vs PPC guide, we’ll help you recognize the benefits of both strategies. Then, you can use the one that’s best for your business!
Read on to discover the difference between SEO and PPC today.
Table of Contents
Before we compare SEO vs PPC, let’s look at each one individually.
What is search engine optimization, exactly?
SEO helps website content appear on search engines like Google. When someone searches for your product or service, your website could appear. You can use keyword research to determine which keywords your customers use in a search.
Then, you can appeal to their search intent to appear for more searches.
Almost 70% of online experiences start with a search engine. Meanwhile, only 0.78% of Google searches check the second page. In fact, 53% of all website traffic comes from organic searches.
To reach customers, you need to boost your SEO ranking.
It’s important to develop a strong SEO strategy that considers the latest algorithm update. Google changes its algorithm throughout the year. If you’re not up-to-date, your ranking could drop.
Here are a few ways search engine optimization could benefit your business.
Reaching the top of a search engine results page (SERP) will help you appear in front of more customers. Each time someone researches your product, your site could appear.
The more often you appear, the more brand awareness and recognition you’ll develop. Consumers will start remembering your brand on-sight. They’ll begin associating you with the product or service you offer.
The next time they need your product or service, they’ll visit your website directly.
A strong SEO strategy relies on helpful, informative content. You can answer the consumer’s questions and show them you can help.
Consumers who read your content will start relying on you for answers. They’ll see your industry-specific experience and expertise. Brand trust can begin to grow as a result.
Meanwhile, ranking ahead of the competition will help you appear as a credible resource in the industry.
Ranking ahead of your competitors could give your business a competitive edge. Consumers will see your website before anyone else’s. They’ll choose your business as the go-to in the industry.
In order to improve your ranking, you’ll need a strong link-building strategy. Link-building can take a lot of time and effort. It helps to work with an experienced team that can help boost your ranking.
SEO will help you improve your organic traffic. In other words, you won’t have to pay each time someone clicks on a link to your website. Since search engine optimization is free, most people consider it the more cost-effective option.
You won’t have to pay for each impression or click you receive. Instead, you can boost your brand awareness and generate free site traffic.
Meanwhile, you’ll focus your time and attention on people who already have an interest in your brand. Understanding the search intent is essential. You can appear in front of people who are on the edge of making a purchase.
Your high-quality, informative content can encourage website visitors to convert into leads. Then, you can generate more leads and sales, improving your ROI.
If you lack experience with SEO, however, you’ll need to work with an experienced SEO consultant like http://sonder.com.au/seo-brisbane. They can help you boost your ranking and visibility.
It’s also important to note that SEO can take time. You’ll need to create high-quality content on a schedule. You’ll need to cover a range of keywords, too.
As more people click on your website, your ranking will improve. You’ll need to remain patient, especially if you’re in a competitive industry, though. Working with an experienced SEO company can speed up the process.
With SEO, you can cover a range of different topics and appear for different searches. Diversifying your keyword strategy can help you appear in front of more customers.
Once you improve your SEO ranking, it can take time before someone knocks you down. SEO is a long-term marketing strategy. The efforts you make today can pay you back in the years to come.
A higher ranking will help you attract more website traffic, too. As you continue receiving traffic, your ranking can further improve!
What is PPC, then?
Pay-per-click advertising is exactly as it sounds. You’ll pay for each click on your ads. You can create ads using Google Ads, Bing, Facebook, and other platforms.
Your ads can either appear on search engines or a social media app.
These ads will appear based on keywords or audience demographics. For example, you could decide to have your ads appear in front of every 25-year-old in the city.
You can create different ad formats, including text, still images, animations, and videos. You can also create remarketing ads. These ads will reappear in front of people who recently visited your website.
When someone clicks on your ad, they’ll arrive at your website.
Like SEO, PPC can help you boost brand awareness. You can make a higher bid for your keywords to appear at the top of the page. People who want your product or service will see your ads.
They’ll become more aware of your business, helping you draw in new customers.
Keyword and audience targeting will ensure the right people see your ads, too. You can use PPC to create visual shopping ads as well. People will become more aware of your products as a result.
Unfortunately, PPC can get costly, especially if you don’t know what you’re doing. Remember, you’ll pay when people click on your ads. The costs can quickly add up.
You can create a PPC ad campaign budget to limit your daily spending.
As you continue with your campaigns, you can gather information to learn more about your ad performance. You can determine which ads generate leads and sales, as well as their ROI. Then, you can make more informed decisions when updating your campaigns.
With SEO, you’ll have to wait for your ranking to improve. With PPC, you can appear on search pages the same day you make your ads. PPC campaigns are ideal if you want to start marketing a new product right away.
You’ll have immediate access to the results, too. That way, you can make changes before running through your budget.
PPC allows you to become more precise with your targeting. You can choose who your ads will appear in front of. You could avoid wasting money with precision targeting.
Now that you know more about each strategy, let’s talk about SEO vs PPC.
The biggest difference between the two is the cost. Remember, SEO is an organic strategy. You won’t pay when someone clicks on your organic listings.
PPC, however, is a paid advertising strategy. You’ll pay when someone clicks on (or in some cases, when someone sees) your ads. The costs can start to add up.
With PPC, however, you can start generating immediate results. You won’t have to wait for your ranking to rise. Instead, you can use a bidding strategy to improve your ranking.
SEO, on the other hand, can take time. You’ll also need to create content, which can become time-consuming. If you’re not creating high-quality content, your ranking might not improve.
SEO tactics change as Google’s search algorithm changes, too. With PPC, you won’t have to worry about adapting to the algorithm. The search algorithm doesn’t normally impact PPC.
You don’t have to choose between SEO vs PPC, though. Instead, consider using these two strategies in tandem.
As you start creating PPC ads, you can see which keywords people search to find your ads. You can use that keyword to inform your SEO strategy.
As more people click on your PPC ads, you’ll attract more traffic to your website. Google will take notice. Google determines rankings based on dwell time, clickthrough rates, and other factors.
As people dwell on your PPC landing pages and click around, your SEO ranking could improve.
You can also use A/B testing with your PPC campaigns. Testing will help you determine what ad copy best appeals to customers. Then, you can use the same language in your organic content.
Working together, both strategies will boost your brand awareness and website traffic. You can remain competitive and start boosting your business online!
To recap, what’s the difference between SEO vs PPC? SEO is organic while PPC is paid. Regardless, you can use both SEO and PPC to boost your business.
Together, these strategies can help you reach more customers and generate more traffic to your website.
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