SEO vs PPC

So to SEO or not to SEO? The differences between SEO and PPC

Below we detail what we at CreataBrand think the advantages and disadvantages of  SEO & PPC are. This will hopefully give you a better understanding between the two and help you choose the best solution for your online marketing campaign.


PPC (Pay-Per-Click)
Advantages


  • Almost instant Website Traffic – Once your PPC campaign is setup, your ads will often start showing in under 20minutes of publishing them.
  • Precise Targeting – Your ads can be setup to target a very selective audience using very specific keywords. Exclude those keywords that cost you money, rather choose niche keywords that make you money by converting targeted clicks into sales.
  • Good ROI (Return on Investment) – If a click costs you a Rand and makes you ten Rand it’s pretty easy to see how this can benefit your business. That’s exactly how a well optimised and thought thru PPC campaign can work for you.


Disadvantages

  • Every click/visitor Cost's you Money – Some visitors will remember your website and return again if your content was relative to the users search, but overall when you stop your PPC campaigns the visitors will stop coming.
  • High Converting Web Pages are Critical – A good PPC campaign can drive a lot of visitors to your site but without a well optimised landing page (with relative searched content) those are all wasted clicks/money. Never direct the visitor to your home page from your ad.
  • Competition is Growing – The competition for those top 10 ad spots is growing every minute of the day. With competition comes increased CPC’s (Cost Per Click). Thus it’s critical to have a well oiled PPC campaign to ensure that you convert those visitors into customers in order to get a good ROI (Return on Investment).


SEO (Site Engine Optimisation)
Advantages


  • Visitors are FREE – Website traffic is totally free as the traffic is not generated through a paid for link or advert, so there’s a very high ROI (Return on Investment).
  • More Clicks – More internet users click on organic search results than PPC ads, so a #1 ranking in the organic section of a search engine will bring you more targeted traffic than paying for #1 placement using PPC.
  • More Trust – Research shows that most internet users trust Google and when Google considers your site the #1 authority for their search term they inherently trust your company too, making the conversion from visitor to customer that much easier.
  • SEO your PPC competition – If your competitors are using PPC as their online marketing strategy, SEO would be a wise strategy for you, as internet users will trust you over your PPC competitors.


Disadvantages

  • Ranking Takes Time – You may start seeing noticeable traffic increases within a few weeks but it could take a few months to get onto the first page of Google, especially if you are in a competitive industry.
  • Requires a larger Investment – You will need to commit more money and time to get good organic rankings. With PPC you setup ads that drive visitors to a specific page, whereas with organic search your entire site will need to contain optimised content which ensures that your website is seen as the authority on the topic.


As you can see from the points above there are a lot of factors to take into account and there is no wrong or right way only what works best for you. Our recommendation is to look at your budget and decide what you can afford every month, first prize would be to incorporate both PPC and SEO into your online strategy to ensure the best results and cement yourself as the #1 authority on your chosen topic.


For any question please contact us using our online form and we will be glad to assist you.