Guest Blog: SEO and PPC

Josh Wardini
Co-Founder : Serpwatch

 

Think of it this way: when you need an answer to a burning question or a solution to a nagging problem, who (or in this case, where) do you instantly turn to? That’s right, Google. 

 

We live in a “Google it” era, where a search engine holds the source of all knowledge and information available to mankind. So as a business owner or a marketing manager, should you position your source of useful information and solutions in Google or other search engines? Absolutely. The only question is: how should you do it?

 

SEO and PPC are two of the most widely used techniques for positioning a website on the first page of search engines like Google. It’s a widely known fact that people go past the top 5 search results only 4% of the time, which is the main reason why marketers should aim for the first page of SERPs.

 

So let’s see which technique should be your priority when deciding where to place your money and effort.

 

SEO: SEO takes time to produce results. This is a fact. And to get to those results, you need to optimize on various fields, some of which you may not have the resources or the knowledge to do so. Although there are many SEO companies you can choose from to hire for help, you should consider that it may take an extended period before you get the results you want. 

 

 

SEO: SEO traffic is free, and there is always a potential for more traffic as you optimize and build your site and your online authority

 

PPC: PPC traffic is paid — you pay for each click your ads get. 

SEO: Generally, people prefer to go to organic sources of information. In this case, investing in SEO makes more sense.

 

PPC: Although totally reliable and on-point, people seem to avoid sponsored information sources.

 

SEO: It’s hard to target a specific audience with SEO simply because of the more technical nature of this technique. 

 

PPC: The level of targeting provided in this technique by almost all platforms in existence is impressive, to say the least. It targets geography, location, age, gender or interests — you name it.

 

SEO: All SEO efforts are susceptible to algorithm changes, which happen quite often. 

 

PPC: PPC efforts aren’t susceptible to algorithm changes. 

 

At the end of the day, if you are resourceful enough and your marketing strategy and budget support it, invest in both approaches to get the best results possible.