04 July 2024

SEO vs PPC

SEO and PPC are two complementary search marketing approaches that (if used correctly) will increase your company’s website traffic and boost conversions.

What is SEO?

SEO refers to search engine optimisation, which is the technique used to improve the position and click-through rates from organic search results. SEO requires marketers to adapt website content to rank more highly. SEO is a long-term strategy and is highly competitive, but it can deliver great ROI when implemented correctly.

What is PPC?

PPC refers to pay per click advertising. This method focuses on targeted keywords and phrases. Marketers pay every time a visitor clicks their ad; it provides a quick way for organisations to get their brand on page one of search results. It does, however, come at a high price.

Which is best for my business?

In terms of investment and commitment, SEO and PPC differ. SEO is a long-term commitment to content marketing and technical improvements. There are no guarantees with SEO and results can fluctuate as competitor activity, changes to Google’s algorithms, and customer behaviour all influence your campaigns. Success is measured over a period of years.

Marketers can get a great response from PPC very quickly. Campaigns can be set up quickly and marketers can use a range of targeting options to refine the activity. There is complete control of who is being targeted with PPC.

Clever marketers will balance both tactics to maximise their return from Google search. Although the two tactics are very much separate in their execution, the combined effort of the two tactics can ensure a dominant position in SERPs (Search Engine Result Pages).