ClientCurve Marketing Solutions | SEO vs. PPC: Which Is the Best Fit for Your Business?
The success of any online enterprise is measured by how much traffic is directed to that particular website. The key is to draw people to your website, the shop window for your business, and give them enough reason to convert their initial interest into a sale. The question then becomes which form of marketing is best for your business? Two of the most effective forms of generating traffic to your site are PPC (Pay Per Click) Advertising and SEO (Search Engine Optimisation).
Although they ultimately have the same target, to generate traffic to your site, each has different techniques and are more suited to specific marketing strategy.
So Which Is The Best Fit For For B2B Marketers?
Firstly, it is important to understand the difference between SEO & PPC. SEO influences Google’s natural listings, while PPC adverts will appear either at the top or on right hand side of Google’s listings.
The diagram below highlights the positioning on Google’s listings.
Strategies more suited to SEO
SEO is a series of techniques designed to improve a website’s organic position on the search engines like Google, Yahoo & MSN.
There are several marketing strategies which are more suited to SEO:
- To Maintain A Consistent Flow Of Website Traffic
SEO is a timely process and is not something that will produce instant results. Getting your site on the first page of Google takes time and does not happen overnight. Yet, once your site does rise in the organic listings, it becomes easier to maintain this position and you arguably would not need any other form of advertising. Once you have created a highly optimised site, you will command a strong position and with that generate more traffic to your site.
- Creating A More Trusted Resource For Sales
Consumers are naturally sceptical about clicking on advertisements. This often may deter them from clicking on the paid Google advertisements as opposed to Google’s natural results. To avoid this potential scepticism, it makes sense to gear your site to have a high ranking on the natural listings. This is what SEO is all about.
- Cost-Effective Marketing
SEO is very cost-effective in the long term. Competitors have the opportunity to bid more for your keyphrases on any PPC platform but with SEO, the best and most relevant content always wins. By dedicating time and effort into producing high quality, original content on your site, you are responsible for your own performance on the organic listings. After running an effective SEO campaign for 3-6 months, you may no longer require any additional forms of marketing.
Strategies more suited to PPC
PPC advertising is very different to SEO. You bid on a search term which is relevant to your industry. When a search is made for that particular search term, your advert appears in the sponsored listings. You are then charged for every individual click on the advert, hence the name pay per click.
Which marketing strategies are most suited to PPC advertising?
- When Immediate Results Are Needed
PPC advertising delivers instant results. The turnover period from signup to launch is relatively short. Within a matter of minutes your advert is displayed for millions of people to see and website visits will begin to flow.
- To Target A Very Specific Demographic
PPC is very useful for targeting a specific group of customers. On Facebooks ads for example, you are able to target customers by age, gender, income level, education level or even relationship status. You can also target people by interests and hobbies. It allows you to attract highly targeted and relevant traffic to your site, ensuring each visit has more chance of converting to a sale.
- Promoting A Product For A Certain Time Period
If you are promoting an event or an offer with an expiration date, you need instant results. PPC produces results within a matter of minutes and can be scheduled to meet any deadlines you may have.
It isn’t always a case of choosing one of the other, it is entirely possible for SEO and PPC to complement one another. An integrated campaign will produce better results. Establishing your presence on both will encourage customers to choose your products over that of a competitor.
