What Is SEO ?

Internet Media Search Engine Marketing consists of Search Engine Optimization (SEO) and Pay-Per-Click
(PPC) advertising. Describe SEO and PPC. What are the pros and cons of each one? Under what
circumstances would you choose one over the other, or use them in combination?
What is SEO ?
Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) is the practice of increasing the number and quality of visitors to a
website by improving rankings in the algorithmic search engine results. Research shows that websites on
the first page of Google receive almost 95% of clicks, and studies show that results that appear higher up
the page receive an increased click through rate (CTR), and more traffic.
What is PPC ?
Pay-per-click marketing is a way of using search engine advertising to generate clicks to your website,
rather than “earning” those clicks organically. You know those sponsored ads you often see at the top of
Google’s search results page, marked with a yellow label? That’s pay-per-click advertising
There are two key differences when considering SEO or PPC. The first is that paid ads appear at the top
of the page, above the organic listings influenced by SEO. The second is that traffic from organic via SEO
is free, whereas traffic from PPC has a cost for each click. In many cases, SEO and PPC work best when
integrated and strategically aligned.
What are the Pros and cons of SEO

Awareness: Visibility in search engines for your targeted keywords puts your business in front of
potential customers in much the same way as if you were to advertise, and it drives brand awareness.
Branding : Visibility around commercial search terms and informational queries related to your business
area can have a positive branding benefit. Your brand can become associated with and trusted by
searchers who are asking questions as they conduct the research that will lead to a purchase. You can
become an authoritative voice around a given topic.
Credibility and trust: Having your site return in the organic results can influence your perceived
credibility with an audience looking for your services. Many users skip ads and trust organic results more
highly. Being visible gives your business that all-important stamp of approval. Also having strong review
and reputation signals in place will deliver further benefit.
Website traffic: Increasing website traffic provides you with more opportunities to drive awareness of
your business and educate a prospect as to why they would buy from you.
Cost: While SEO is neither cheap nor easy, it will generally be more cost-effective than all other
marketing tactics for delivering brand awareness and relevant traffic to your website.
Sustainability: Unlike paid search marketing, organic traffic does not dry up the moment you stop
paying. As such, efforts to develop organic traffic can sustain a business when marketing spend is cut
back.
What are the Pros and Cons of PPC

Position on the page: Paid search dominates above-the-fold content. With typically four ads on desktop
and three on mobile, a user will always see the paid search ads, even if they choose to scroll past them.
Improved ads: PPC ads are just that: advertisements. As such, you have far more granular control and
more space for delivering your marketing messages. Calls, locations, sitelinks, pricing and bullet points
(callouts) are just some of the options for creating ads that dominate the page.
Brand visibility: Running paid search advertisements gets you seen by the right people. Even if they back
off and conduct a brand search before clicking to your site, that visibility will pay dividends to your
marketing.
Budget: PPC allows for a tight control of budget. Determine how much you are willing to spend per day
(ideally with some initial and ideal ideas of returns), and set that fixed limit.
Targeting: PPC provides a laser-targeted way to get in front of potential customers. Ads can be targeted
by search keywords, time of day, day of the week, geography, language, device and audiences based on
previous visits. Organic traffic, by comparison, is far more scattershot.
Speed: While developing good organic visibility can take time, a PPC campaign can be created in days
and ramped up in weeks. There is no faster way to get in front of customers at the very moment they are
primed to buy than paid search engine advertising.
Agile: Speed provides agility. Want to test a new product? A new marketing message? You can get rapid
feedback on a new product launch (or minimum viable product) by running a short PPC ad campaign.
Marketing intelligence: Where organic largely hides keyword data in the name of privacy, there is no
such restriction with paid search. With conversion tracking and a solid integration with analytics software
(like Google Analytics), we can determine what keywords convert and at what percentage and cost. This
intelligence can be fed directly into organic search (SEO) marketing and can inform all other advertising
to improve results across the board.
SEO or PPC?
It’s just not possible to answer this question without taking the unique situation of a given business into
consideration. A hyper-local business with little competition and a requirement for just a few leads per
week could likely develop good visibility in the local and organic search results with a little spend or
some DIY SEO.
A new e-commerce store that is competing with a page of results from Amazon, eBay and other major
department stores and online retailers is likely going to struggle in organic search (in the short term, at
least).
Do you need leads now? Are you looking at the long game? Do you have much in the way of website
authority? What is the competition like in organic search? What is the cost per click in paid search?
A clear digital marketing strategy and clear short- and long-term goals are essential in making an SEO or
PPC decision.
SEO and PPC

In an ideal world, we would look at both SEO and PPC. They both have pros and cons and work best
when supporting each other synergistically. Where you can get SEO and PPC working together, you will
often be able to drive results that are greater than their component parts. The benefits of running SEO
and PPC together include:
Keyword and conversion data from PPC can be fed into organic search (SEO).
The total volume of traffic can be increased by targeting clicks in paid and organic for high-performing
keywords.
High-cost keywords, high-volume or low-converting (yet still important) keywords can be moved from
PPC to organic search.
A/B testing of ad copy and landing pages can be fed into your organic listing and landing pages.
Remarketing allows you to stay in front of visitors after an initial touch via organic search and customize
messaging around their engagement with your site.
Test your keyword strategy in PPC before committing to long-term SEO strategies.
Target users at all stages of the customer journey from research to comparison to purchase with
commercial keywords.
Increase confidence and awareness by having both strong organic and paid visibility.

What Is SEO ?

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

What Is SEO ?

Uploaded by

Document Information

Original Description:

Original Title

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

What Is SEO ?

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

Internet Media Search Engine Marketing consists of Search Engine Optimization (SEO) and Pay-Per-Click

What are the Pros and cons of SEO

What are the Pros and Cons of PPC

SEO and PPC

You might also like