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PPC vs SEO, Which is Better?

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When starting in business, sometimes the most difficult decisions are deciding on different online marketing strategies. For most businesses, appearing in search engine searches, such as Google, is essential. I mean, how else will you get your customers? There are ultimately two ways for your website to get noticed by Google. Either through Pay Per Click (PPC) or Search Engine Optimization (SEO). For small businesses, this is often their dilemma. Do I invest in PPC or SEO? Between PCC or SEO, which is better? How do you determine what strategy to use? Which are the benefits of PPC versus SEO? 

Use PPC and SEO Together

Let’s explore this in detail by considering the differences, and eventually considering the overall return on investment (ROI). Having a business in 2020 and not taking advantage of PPC is a huge disadvantage. Like, seriously, you do want to grow your business, right? Be sure to truly step outside your comfort zone and grow your business with PPC and SEO together! 

Power of SEO and PPC

I’ve seen firsthand the power of SEO and PPC for many businesses that I’ve created for Doctorappliance.ca and plumberonthephone.com. It’s incredible how both SEO and PPC’s power can work simultaneously to boost traffic and revenue. However, if you invest too much in one content marketing strategy, and not the other, you will be sorry. 

Don’t Neglect SEO

I learned firsthand from a customer I was working with. He completely neglected SEO and only focused on 

ppc vs seo which is better content marketing strategy kathleen parisien

 

PPC. This client had been in the service industry for over 16 years and only spent money on PPC. While others around him were working on their SEO strategy, he enjoyed the fast, quick returns of PPC campaigns. But, as the years went on, his competition was focusing on SEO and PPC, ended up being able to eventually stop paying for Google campaigns when the SEO tactics would produce free organic traffic. So, in the long run, my client feels exceptionally disgruntled. Had he started with SEO even 5 to 10 years ago, he would today no longer need PPC! Instead, he paid over $1,200 for only three appointments. The lesson here… Start SEO as soon as you can! The earlier your keywords are being indexed, the faster Google will place your website on the first page for your desired keywords!

Organic Traffic

SEO is the strategic process for ranking in search engine result pages (SERP) to generate FREE organic traffic. It is free. However, the process does take time and effort, which of course, is not free. Especially if you are not a good content writer and SEO strategist. While SEO requires an initial investment and the right skills to execute the job, there are no significant fees down the line. Invest now to reap the rewards of the future! That is the bonus with SEO. Once a site is optimized, it will continue to develop domain authority and climb to the top of the SERPs. The key is to get started, and not lose behind your competition because you didn’t have a search engine-friendly website! 

Long gone are the days of just having a website. You need a search engine-friendly website.

On-Page and Off-Page SEO

Many elements determine if your website will rank using SEO strategies. There is on-page SEO and off-page SEO to consider. For On-page optimization to be effective, thorough keyword research needs to be conducted. Proper keyword research looks at precisely what your clients are searching for in Google and ppc vs seo which is better content marketingadding those keywords to your website. It’s essential not to keyword stuff as Google will penalize you for this. Instead, you need high-quality content that is rich in keywords. Like seriously, think about what your audience wants to read about. Write with intention and to serve a purpose. The proper placement of keywords in the title, H2, and H3 tags is essential for SEO to thrive. Also, don’t forget pictures with the right alt-tags. When it comes to on-page optimization, many business owners don’t have the time to write content, blogs and focus on off-page SEO. Off-page SEO focuses on ensuring other websites on the internet communicate with your website. The more other websites point to your website, the better!

 

 

Fun SEO Fact – Google was almost called “BackRub,” as that’s how the search engine’s idea was invented. The idea was to create an internetwork of websites that rub each other’s backs through featuring other website links on one website and having all the links link together using different websites. Websites with the other “backrubs”, aka backlinks, would achieve a greater ranking authority. 

Why Blogging is Great

As a business owner, if you are not currently blogging, you should be! Why’s that? Not only does having blog posts about your services help build customer trust and awareness, but it is also great for google search algorithms. For example, suppose you were to write a keyword-rich blog post with relevant information to your target audience. In that case, Google will see your website as more relevant and rank yours higher than websites that do not blog regularly! Blogging is a great way to outrank your competition while showcasing your goods and services. 

Paid Traffic

PPC can be stressful for some business owners as you are paying for every CLICK. PPC ads are the ads you see at the top of Google searches. They do get right in front of your target audience, but you are paying every single time someone clicks your link and redirects them to your website. Sometimes, the click may not convert into a sale or a call. This is why PPC can be tricky and expensive. Remember the disgruntled client from before? Spending over $1,200 over 2-3 days and achieving just 2-3 booked appointments is horrible. As a business owner, this feeling of losing money will not empower you but leave you doubting yourself and not in a happy, positive place. 

PPC’s strategy is to use strategic budgets per day so that google doesn’t spend your entire budget! PPC is not a get-rich-quick scheme!

seo versus ppc which is better

PPC Advantage

Assuming your website is already SEO optimized, and you want to start a PPC campaign tomorrow, you can! The key to not spending an outrageous amount on PPC is to ensure your bidding keywords are already on your website! That’s the PPC advantage. Start driving traffic to your site to convert into sales or phone calls immediately as soon as you turn on the campaign. Another PPC bonus is that you can pinpoint a specific geographical location. So, if you’re a plumbing business and only wanted to provide services to one side of the city, you could do that with an effective PPC Google campaign.

PPC Tip

For the PPC campaigns that I manage, I always ensure the websites are rich in keyword content before initiating a PPC campaign. That is because Google will burn your budget if you’re bidding for keywords that don’t appear on your website. So, you see how PPC and SEO work together to complement business growth and development.

PPC or SEO, Which is Better?

Eventually, with the right SEO strategy, your website can rank in the #1 position on the first page of Google. Publish frequent blog posts and new website content to rank on the first page for several keywords. This process takes time but eventually will pay off significantly! Finally, spend next to nothing on content marketing because you’ll benefit from free high-quality organic traffic. You’ve designed your ideal client by bidding for those specific keywords; now it’s time to enjoy the success of your SEO techniques. 

PPC and SEO Working Together

When starting in business, the key to boosting your online presence is to have PPC and SEO working simultaneously. Be sure to keep the PPC budget low and have someone with experience setting up your google campaign. There is too much room for spending way too much money, and so ask for help in this process. 

Organic and PPC Return on Investment

One of the most important factors to consider when starting or maintaining a business is what my return on investment is? Will I see more sales from SEO organic searches or PPC? Remember SEO takes time actually to start showing results. Assuming you do everything right, which is 100% flawless keyword research, on-page content optimization, excellent meta descriptions, and publishing weekly, if not daily blog posts, then you can still wait a few months to see results. The process can be time-consuming and financially draining, depending on your budget. If you keep publishing fresh content, Google will start to see your website’s potential and start sending traffic to your site. This has no guaranteed time frame, as it depends on so many factors. 

PPC VS SEO

PPC on the other hand, is much quicker, meaning you can start spending money for clicks to your website. However, does a click guarantee a conversion? Sadly, no. A PPC campaign does not start prosperous. Instead, there is a learning phase that google needs to go through. However, managing your PPC campaign will also need to monitor negative keywords to ensure your ads are being targeted to the right people for your business. 

Keyword Cost

Depending on the size of your budget, you might not get any clicks at all. This is usually the case if your budget is minimal. Each keyword has a cost associated with it. Let’s say one keyword is worth $5.67 per click, and you want to generate at least 400 visitors, then your budget must be at least $2,268. Be sure to focus on low-cost keywords, mostly since a click does not equal a lead or even a sale. 

pay per click versus seo which is better

SEO Vs PPC – What to avoid

When it comes to SEO, there are a few factors to consider. These should be avoided at all times, not to ruin your likelihood of success:

For SEO

  • Don’t write content without keyword research.
  • Even when you think you’ve done the keyword research, please do it again. Try out multiple platforms for keyword research. This includes Google searches, Ubersuggest, and Google keyword planner. 
  • Avoid keyword stuffing. Instead, write relevant and compelling content that your audience cares about. 
  • Do not copy and paste content from one site to another. Make sure all content is original and of high-quality.

For PPC

  • The campaign needs to be managed daily.
  • Track your ads to see if they are successful. Change it up as needed.
  • Always consult your keyword research instead of choosing what you think would be best. Let the data speak for itself.

PPC or SEO, Which is Better?

In essence, make sure your SEO is flawless and start working on this as soon as possible. The sooner you start, the sooner you’ll see free organic results. Start blogging about your services and products as this will help promote your business while also contributing to a successful SEO strategy. If you’re just starting out, consider PPC as well to start generating traffic and sales. 

Are you looking for specific answers to your PPC versus SEO questions? Contact me directly to book a FREE 30-minute consultation.