SEO Vs Paid Advertising
SEO vs Paid Advertising. What’s the difference between the two and why would you choose one over the other? The first thing we need to understand is SEO and Paid Advertising are two different marketing and advertising tactics. You can choose to combine both efforts, but should not confuse both to be the same.
What is SEO?
SEO (Search Engine Optimization) or Web Optimization is the process where your website is configured in such a way as to hopefully rank higher in search engines.
Your website position is based on a number of factors: speed, relevance, readability, keywords, friendly design, responsive design, building links, technical reasons, etc! Since more than 60% of Internet users will not look beyond the first page of search results, it’s important to use search engine optimization to push your rankings.
The one thing to note about SEO is that you’re NOT paying a search engine for ranking. You are creating organic traffic through the design of blogs, video, and other kinds of content on your website. This is very much a long-term game.
Say you had a question about how to change your kitchen faucet. You type in on Google, ‘How do I change my kitchen faucet?’ The goal of SEO is to have your website rank on the first page for that exact key phrase or question. You would do this by creating content on your website referring to the same keywords being searched. This is not always a 100% guaranteed effort as your competitors are doing the same. So, it’s best to hire an SEO expert to help out!
What is Paid Advertising?
Paid advertising is exactly the same as its description. It’s paying to advertise on certain platforms. It’s very much a pay-to-play kind of situation.
The goal here is to pay Google to rank your site higher. So, let’s say we’re going back to our kitchen faucet example. The ones who paid Google for that key phrase will show up at the top because they paid to be there.
The caveat here, however, is something called CPC (Cost-per-click). Depending on your keyphrase your cost-per-click could be low or high. If you are in a very competitive field, your cost per someone clicking on your website when your ad shows up could be higher than others. Unfortunately, that’s the name of the game when it comes to advertising on a platform like Google. So, if you had a $300 budget for Google ads, and your cost-per-click was $100 for your key phrase, then it would only take three clicks to eat up that budget. Crazy right? Though it might be risky, the payoff could be greate if you land the right customers or clients through that ad!
When to Use What?
So, when do you use SEO and when do you use Paid Advertising? The simple answer is, it depends on your goals. We always recommend you sit down and write out a marketing strategy/plan. Without a roadmap, you won’t know where you’re going.
So, ask yourself, “Do I need immediate sales, long-term sales, or a combination of both?” Determining this will help you define your strategy.
Looking for a quicker turnaround time to acquire customers? Then we recommend Paid Advertising. This will get your website in front of your clients immediately when your ads go live. So, if you’re looking to drive traffic let’s say in the next few days, paid advertising would be your best bet.
Do you have the patience for a long-term game? Then we recommend SEO be part of your strategy. With SEO, you’re able to provide real value to your customers by providing them with the answers they need.
What’s the downfall? Implementing an SEO strategy might take a while. Remember; you are competing with other websites that have had an SEO strategy for years, so having Google rank your website might take some time if at all.
Google promotes good and relevant content. So, if you’re providing great content on your website with the right keywords, images, and indexing them with Google, you should have a successful end result.
In Conclusion…
We highly recommend you use both strategies in your marketing plan. From SEO to paid advertising, you should strive to be in front of your target audience however possible.
If you feel lost, just ask for help! That’s what we’re here for. 🙂
Good luck, and good marketing.