So, you have built a functional website and you’re all set to take your business online. Whether it’s a startup or a brick-and-mortar store, every business needs an online presence. But creating a website isn’t enough unless your target customers are able to find you online.
And this is where digital marketing comes in! Online or digital marketing consists of several tactics such as SEO, PPC, Social Media Marketing, Email Marketing, and Content Marketing. All these components together help in increasing the company’s website visibility on search engines.
However, not all businesses have a huge marketing budget to invest in all areas of digital marketing. So, most companies focus on SEO and PPC to achieve their business goals. Now, you may ask what the difference between these two is.
When it comes to choosing between SEO and PPC, your choice would depend on your current situation, future goals, and marketplace. In this post, we are going to discuss the pros and cons of both SEO and PPC marketing strategies to help you choose the right channel for your business. So, let’s get started!
What is SEO?
Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is a comprehensive digital marketing strategy that helps a website grow and rank higher on search engine result pages (SERPs). SEO generates organic traffic and it is a free method of achieving a high ranking on search engines like Google. It is a long process that doesn’t give instant overnight success. However, a robust SEO strategy helps in boosting brand awareness and yield long-term results. To reap the benefits of SEO, you need to focus on both- On-Page SEO and Off-Page SEO. As the name suggests, On-page SEO focuses on what is on your site is about while Off-page SEO tactics are used to make your website authoritative and popular.
On-page SEO, also known as “on-site” SEO, includes several methods to optimize the website for higher rankings. The search engine considers several factors to rank a site such as relevant keywords, meta tags, site accessibility, page speed, and more. So, on-page SEO is what changes you make on your site while off-page SEO uses tactics to gain domain authority through earning backlinks from websites and creating quality content. Keywords play a vital role in SEO as it helps search engines identify your website for specific search queries.
Pros & Cons of SEO
Both on-page and off-page SEO helps in increasing your site’s visibility in search engines for targeted keywords. This helps in bringing your business in front of potential customers and drives brand awareness. Also, many users prefer organic results and skip paid ads because of their credibility. A website that ranks in organic results is considered more trustworthy and credible. In addition to this, SEO drives free organic traffic which means you don’t have to pay for each impression or click. However, the only issue with SEO is that it takes time. It is not best suited for promoting an event or discount offer that is for a limited time and needs quick advertisement. SEO is a continuous process that takes months to increase your website’s ranking.
What is PPC?
Pay-Per-Click (PPC) is another type of digital marketing technique used to gain immediate results. This process involves determining the price of an online ad and paying a fee each time a user clicks on that advertisement. These paid ads appear at the top of SERPs- the banners that appear on the edges of a window. These are usually the first listings that appear on the search engine results and are marked as ads or sponsored results. Google Ads is mostly used for PPC advertising that ranks ads based on the popularity of the keyword, the number of advertisers, and some other factors. In this type of advertising, the advertiser has to pay when someone clicks on the ad and not for the views.
Pros & Cons of PPC
PPC is a quick way of promoting your product, service, offer, or event. It allows businesses to target a specific group of people based on their interests or geographical area. It is often used for seasonal discounts offers or promotional events that are time-bound. However, unlike SEO, here the business has to pay every time a visitor clicks on the ad. Also, the result is not long-lasting.
