Zac Harris 4 October 2019

Categories Advertising

The Right Marketing Choice for Your Website: SEO or PPC?

SEO and PPC are effective strategies for boosting your website traffic and in generating awareness and sales. But do you know how to choose one over the other?

This is a situation you are either currently in or have been in.

You are launching your marketing campaign and you are expecting results.

But more importantly, you want value for the money you spend.

You want to make sure that the amount of time, money, and resources you are investing will result in a large volume of ready-to-convert high-quality traffic. In other words, you want a great ROI.

There are a lot of solutions to get those results, but it often comes down to two main choices: SEO or PPC. The trouble lies in deciding which one is the better choice.

The Difference Between SEO and PPC

Search engine optimization has one main difference from pay per click advertising. Traffic that comes through SEO is organic and free while the traffic from PPC (pay per click) is not free, as the name suggests.

SEO and PPC are huge parts of search engine marketing (SEM) which is an essential element in your overall digital marketing campaign.

Both of these strategies present you with great results but have different approaches. SEO is a long-term investment that delivers results surely but gradually. It will ensure that your brand is positioned well and that you gain favorable rankings in the search engine results pages.

In contrast, PPC is all about short-term gains. It requires a significant investment but has immediate results. With PPC, you can go from a startup with zero sales to a PPC success overnight. The catch is that you stop seeing the results the moment you stop paying.

Which is the Right Choice?

SEO is essential for brands across all verticals, but PPC isn’t necessarily the best tactic for every single business.

When choosing between the two, it is necessary to consider different variables and your specific marketing goals. You need to keep in mind the pros and cons and the best strategy that suits your needs.  

Here’s an infographic by SpyFu that will help you get a good idea of which strategy will be most suitable for your brand.

Image Courtesy: SpyFu