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PPC vs. SEO: And The Winner is.... There are two major
search engine marketing strategies being employed by
companies/webmasters in the market to date: PPC and
SEO. Learn the pros and cons of each strategy and find out
what works best for your online business
Search engine marketing is undoubtedly the best source of
targeted traffic on the Internet currently. As most people use
the search engines (up to 80% of surfers use a search
engine to find info or products), the battle for search position
only heats up from day-to- day.
There are arguably only two major marketing strategies
being employed by companies/webmasters in the market to
date: PPC and SEO.
Two schools of thought have emerged, an inevitable
process in the continuing evolution of the Internet. SEO has
been there since the beginning of the Internet, while PPC is
the "new kid on the block".
PPC or "Pay Per Click" refers to text-based marketing,
where companies/webmasters get charged by the click
whenever a surfer clicks on their paid ads. Search rankings
are usually based on bidding prices. These are usually
designated on the engines as "sponsored listings".
SEO refers to "Search Engine Optimization". This is search
ranking based on many factors like link popularity, page
rank, etc. The listings for these appear on the main search
results of an engine, also called "natural or organic search
listings".
The main engines offer these as free submissions (though
many smaller engines are finding ways to "charge" website
submissions nowadays).
So, who's better? Let's do some weighing of pros and cons,
and let's see the overall result.
PPC Advantages
• PPC traffic, ranking and results tend to be more stable,
more predictable than SEO.
• PPC is the more popular advertising medium on the
Internet. Because it's popular, you can more easily convince
your employer/boss to spend some ad budget on this, as
the risks of trying out other less popular marketing methods
are higher. Since PPC is more popular than SEO, your boss
will probably play it safe and go PPC first, before SEO.
• Ability to rank high on the search engines, without
having to do tedious work involved in SEO like finding link
partners, posting links, etc. As long as you have the budget,
good to high ranking is yours.
Also, PPC listings get posted much faster, usually a few
days (after editor review).
PPC Disadvantages:
• Unfortunately, popular also means "competitive". You'll
find that costs are usually rising nowadays per click. As
more companies compete, the "law of supply and demand"
naturally will increase bids over time, similar to an auction
in a way.
SEO Advantages
• The primary advantage of SEO is that it can be done
entirely free, without any cash outlay. Who doesn't like free
traffic?
SEO Disadvantages:
• SEO has less stable, more unpredictable traffic and
ranking. This is because search engines tend to vary their
ranking algorithms on "natural search listings"
SEO specialists would have to "guess" and adapt to ever-
changing strategies and tactics to either maintain their
positions or improve their rank. One month could mean
you're out of the top ten with no warning.
• SEO is slower in terms of ranking your site on a lot of
chosen keywords. You would have to make numerous link
requests, multiple pages, press release, etc. Also, it takes a
lot more time for search engines to index new sites' domain
names (it can take months).
So, who wins? It depends on the situation of the
webmaster/company. If they have some cash to spend,
PPC is their first choice (usually because results are faster).
For those on lower budgets, SEO would be their first choice.
The acme of skill is on the advertiser who knows how to
use both methods to his/her advantage, a combination is
the best. Say, use PPC on keywords within your budget
range, and use SEO to target more expensive keywords on
the natural search engine results.
Or use PPC accounts to scout which keywords are
competitive and which are not, using their "keyword search
tool". Just be creative and innovative, and both methods can
be combined to your advantage.
by Alexander Teru
search engine marketing strategies being employed by
companies/webmasters in the market to date: PPC and
SEO. Learn the pros and cons of each strategy and find out
what works best for your online business
Search engine marketing is undoubtedly the best source of
targeted traffic on the Internet currently. As most people use
the search engines (up to 80% of surfers use a search
engine to find info or products), the battle for search position
only heats up from day-to- day.
There are arguably only two major marketing strategies
being employed by companies/webmasters in the market to
date: PPC and SEO.
Two schools of thought have emerged, an inevitable
process in the continuing evolution of the Internet. SEO has
been there since the beginning of the Internet, while PPC is
the "new kid on the block".
PPC or "Pay Per Click" refers to text-based marketing,
where companies/webmasters get charged by the click
whenever a surfer clicks on their paid ads. Search rankings
are usually based on bidding prices. These are usually
designated on the engines as "sponsored listings".
SEO refers to "Search Engine Optimization". This is search
ranking based on many factors like link popularity, page
rank, etc. The listings for these appear on the main search
results of an engine, also called "natural or organic search
listings".
The main engines offer these as free submissions (though
many smaller engines are finding ways to "charge" website
submissions nowadays).
So, who's better? Let's do some weighing of pros and cons,
and let's see the overall result.
PPC Advantages
• PPC traffic, ranking and results tend to be more stable,
more predictable than SEO.
• PPC is the more popular advertising medium on the
Internet. Because it's popular, you can more easily convince
your employer/boss to spend some ad budget on this, as
the risks of trying out other less popular marketing methods
are higher. Since PPC is more popular than SEO, your boss
will probably play it safe and go PPC first, before SEO.
• Ability to rank high on the search engines, without
having to do tedious work involved in SEO like finding link
partners, posting links, etc. As long as you have the budget,
good to high ranking is yours.
Also, PPC listings get posted much faster, usually a few
days (after editor review).
PPC Disadvantages:
• Unfortunately, popular also means "competitive". You'll
find that costs are usually rising nowadays per click. As
more companies compete, the "law of supply and demand"
naturally will increase bids over time, similar to an auction
in a way.
SEO Advantages
• The primary advantage of SEO is that it can be done
entirely free, without any cash outlay. Who doesn't like free
traffic?
SEO Disadvantages:
• SEO has less stable, more unpredictable traffic and
ranking. This is because search engines tend to vary their
ranking algorithms on "natural search listings"
SEO specialists would have to "guess" and adapt to ever-
changing strategies and tactics to either maintain their
positions or improve their rank. One month could mean
you're out of the top ten with no warning.
• SEO is slower in terms of ranking your site on a lot of
chosen keywords. You would have to make numerous link
requests, multiple pages, press release, etc. Also, it takes a
lot more time for search engines to index new sites' domain
names (it can take months).
So, who wins? It depends on the situation of the
webmaster/company. If they have some cash to spend,
PPC is their first choice (usually because results are faster).
For those on lower budgets, SEO would be their first choice.
The acme of skill is on the advertiser who knows how to
use both methods to his/her advantage, a combination is
the best. Say, use PPC on keywords within your budget
range, and use SEO to target more expensive keywords on
the natural search engine results.
Or use PPC accounts to scout which keywords are
competitive and which are not, using their "keyword search
tool". Just be creative and innovative, and both methods can
be combined to your advantage.
by Alexander Teru
Google SEO 101
