Marketing Strategy – PPC vs. SEO
Which is the Best Internet Marketing Strategy – PPC vs. SEO
Paid Search Marketing, SEO -Facebook – Google – LinkedIn – Twitter – Pinterest – Pay-Per-Click vs. SEO.
What is the Best Internet Marketing Strategy for Small Business?When new businesses come to the realization that word of mouth and local advertising in the newspaper are just not delivering the volume of business needed to sustain consistent revenues, many owners turn to the internet for a quick and painless solution. More information here @ http://fullspectrumbranding.com/seo-san-antonio-search-engine-optimization/
As small business owners become more educated about the types of online marketing available including display advertising, social media, search engine optimization (SEO), pay-per-click advertising (PPC), local directory ad placements and more, most SMBs always land on either SEO or PPC. These two best internet marketing strategy methods are the most effective sources of consistent and qualified traffic. However, both have their own advantages and disadvantages. Let’s take a look at how each online marketing strategy stacks up.
Pay-Per-Click Advantages
Immediate traffic to your website — pay-per-click provides unparalleled speed to market. All it takes is a credit card and a few minutes to set up your first campaign and you are off to the races.Total Control – you completely govern everything from ad copy to the keywords that you bid on that will prompt your ad, as well as the landing page URL that the visitor is sent to after they click on your advertisement.Algorithm Updates Agnostic — PPC ads are not typically subject to the same critical algorithm updates that organic SEO lists are within search results.Incredible Brand Exposure — Paid search marketing lets you take advantage of more real estate in the search results when your brand shows up in both the natural results and the paid search results.Targeting Capabilities Galore – with PPC marketing, you can target your idyllic customers by aiming at specific demographics such as geography, interest, channel preference, etc.Pay-Per-Click DisadvantagesPotentially Expensive — Pay-per-click advertising can have a very expensive learning curve. If you do not know how to set up a campaign according to best practices, you may deplete your budget very quickly without any real success metrics ever taking place.Constant Optimization and Testing Cycle – As with any specialty, Paid Search takes a lot of personal experience and ongoing testing. As a result, many small businesses resort to hiring a PPC consultant or digital marketing agency to handle their PPC management. Paid search marketing is not a “set it and forget it” advertising option. In order to succeed, you must set clear objectives and goals and test very specific elements of your advertising against those goals to see what produces your ideal outcome and ROI.Limited Reach – When you buy paid search advertising, you are buying ad placements on a closed network. You are subject to the reach of that network’s list of sites and partners for showing your ads and reaching new customers.
Search Engine Optimization Advantages
Heightened Credibility – Achieving and maintaining a top search result not only provides a lot of exposure for your brand, but many people believe that organic search results lend to higher credibility since a company cannot buy their way into top spots.Huge Potential for ROI — Organic search results tend to attract more clicks. This ultimately results in more conversions, sales and a much more attractive return on your investment.Expansive Reach Across Multiple Engines – When done right, SEO will help your site get found and indexed favorably on all of the major search engines such as Google, Bing, Yahoo, Yandex, Yahoo, YouTube, AOL and more.Search Engine Optimization DisadvantagesVery Long Ramp Up Time – Even the best SEO consultants and firms cannot guarantee results in record time. On average, results won’t be realized for several weeks or months, but when traffic finally kicks in, results should remain consistent from that point forward.Extremely Competitive – Depending on your industry, you may be facing a long hard road to the top of the search results. Everyone wants the coveted top spot in search results, and competitors are always entering and leaving the market. You must constantly fight to achieve top rankings and fight even harder to keep them.Vulnerable to Algorithm Shifts – All search engines use complex mathematical equations to determine what websites to show in search results and in what order. As a result, they are always making tweaks to improve the experience for their users. Better results mean repeat users for them. These tweaks can lead to overnight failure for your business, if you are not careful. This is why it is so important to use a SEO company or the right SEO Monitoring Software to pay attention to your website and how it appears in search engine results.So, Which One Should You Choose?
If you are willing to dedicate some money to getting traffic to your site quickly and want more control over that incoming traffic, then pay-per-click advertising is probably going to give you the results you are seeking faster. However, if you are in it for the long run, search engine optimization will allow you to naturally grow your brand and attract more visitors consistently without the risk of huge financial investments and costly mistakes. However, SEO takes much longer to realize your potential.
My advice, as a long time search engine marketing professional, is to use both online marketing strategies. This will ultimately be the best internet marketing strategy for your business both in the short and long run. It all boils down to your available budget, goals, time constraints and risk tolerance.
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