More throwaway catchphrases at business meetings, or do they merit consideration? To answer this, ask yourself what makes certain pages and links appear on the first page of the Google search engine. Moreover, what makes certain pages more click-worthy than others? Everything today is a game of clicks. Two phenomena that make the rankings distinct in search engine visibility are SEO and PPC advertising strategies. Getting to it, first and foremost, understand the differences between these concepts.
Search Engine Optimisation
SEO or Search Engine Optimisation is a digital marketing strategy on keywords to drive organic traffic and listings. A key consideration is that SEO is free.
Awareness
The first step for any business venture is to put themselves out there in the digital world. When creating awareness, as a business owner, you need to be familiar with target keywords. Of course, the content should be of a certain quality. Do this, and your website will appear in front of customers and prospects.
Once general awareness about your business and brand is attained, next up is brand-building. Your content should comprise commercial terms and informational queries relating to your line of business.
Credibility
Anything organic is perceived as trustworthy and authentic. If your business website appears through organic search requests, you become visible to customers seeking out services. The reason is that this increases the chances of browsers visiting your website. Further good news is that it will increase the traffic and clicks directed to your website. So credibility is the hallmark for goodwill galore. With most decisions backed by online reviews, brand reputation and goodwill are paramount.
Competitive Edge
Organic visibility takes time and effort. It signals prospects that your brand is established and credible. The advantage is that competitors cannot just buy themselves through organic search results. More so, this competitive edge is not likely to be driven out in an instant and can garner you a sustainable presence.
Words of Caution
Although SEO offers considerable benefits, there are things you should keep in mind. The online space is not all showers of roses and lilies. In most cases, organic traffic can be slow to come by. Secondly, if you are a newbie business entrepreneur, you are at loggerheads with the bigwigs of your industry. Given the voluminous content, you should consider developing content assets, such as link-building.
Pay-Per-Click Advertising
PPC or Pay-Per-Click is an advertising approach in which brands and businesses pay a platform to appear on its site. The operative word here is a platform. The platforms that one can use for PPC campaigns are Microsoft Ads, Google Ads, LinkedIn, Facebook and Instagram. The modus operandi is that the brand gets charged only once a visitor clicks on the ad.
Every digital platform has a unique interface and peculiarity. When opting for digital mediums, factors such as user base, volume, creative opportunities and scope, and the budget merit consideration.
Position
Paid ads are positioned above the organic search results. Type anything on Google, and you will first see three or four ads. Users and visitors will always see these paid advertisements, although some may brush past and scroll below.
Improved advertisement
Paid ad strategy also renders leeway through calls, locations, links, pricing and even bullet points to make their ads captivating.
Specific deals and promotions
Seasons and festivities are the holy grail as everyone wants to jump on the bandwagon. With everyone scouring for the best deals, it demands immediacy. And PPC comes to the rescue, especially for small businesses who cannot afford to frequently change their SEO to reflect promotional deals and seasonal offerings. This immediacy shows that PPC is a faster method to get to their customers.
Visual ads
Visual ads offer an excellent opportunity for brands to put themselves out there. The shopping ads allow users to see them before clicking on them. The power of visuals, as posited by psychologist Albert Mehrabian, impact the click-through rate.
PinPointed Targeting
PPC offers immense opportunities through parameters such as search keywords, time of day, language, device and location.
Insights
While SEO strategies hide keywords data, the PPC strategies have no such restrictions. Thanks to conversion tracking and solid integration with software such as Google Analytics, brands can decipher the keywords that convert and at what cost and percentage.
Words of Caution
The Pay-Per-Click (PPC) advertising strategy can be expensive as there is a constant investment involved. More so, brands stand the risk of getting into bidding wars with advertisers. The same may extend to brands biting to the digital pie of some other advertisers. Furthermore, PPC strategies are relatively easy to replicate.
What should you choose – SEO or PPC?
Both approaches have considerable benefits to offer. But, they also have drawbacks. There is no right reply as to which is better. Much depends on the situation, objectives and marketplace. The best way to get optimal results is to integrate them.
An integrated approach can do wonders for your brand. A blended approach allows brands to implement the keyword and conversion data from PPC and feed it into the organic search. Secondly, testing keywords using the PPC approach can render invaluable insights for a long-form strategy ahead. Also, high-costing and high-volume keywords can be identified via PPC and moved to SEO.
Final Comments
With everything becoming a game of clicks, businesses and brands have been at loggerheads in this chaotic rat race. Two profound approaches that come to the rescue are SEO and PPC. Each offers immense potential benefits, but they also have flaws. With that said, an integrated approach blending SEO and PPC is an excellent middle-ground for attaining remarkable results.
