[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]We have many clients all over the world that turn to us for advice regarding the different technologies related to web design. We’re constantly asked about the key differences between Search Engine Optimization or SEO Vs Pay-Per-Click Ads (PPC Advertising). We understand the confusion, after all, most web design companies litter their services with jargon only web designers understand in order to lure clients into paying ridiculous amounts of money for straight-forward services.
Location, Location, Location!
There is a saying in the real estate industry that there are three things that are important when you are considering buying a property and those three things are location, location, location! As it happens, the same concept is relevant in website search engine placement. The position of your website on a search engine ranking page (SERP) can make or break your digital marketing campaign.
Get Found by The Right Demographic
Getting found online when people type a particular keyword or relevant phrase regarding your website is important. A website position can rise and fall predominately by the manner in which SEO is implemented. This year has brought many changes to the way content is delivered to consumers online but the idea of delivering appropriate content to the appropriate audience is a concept that hasn’t and will not change. It’s no surprise that 93% of online experiences begin with a search engine and 28% of marketers have reduced their advertising budget to fund more digital marketing.
SEO or Pay-Per-Click Advertising?
So the question remains, SEO or Pay-Per-Click Advertising? Ideally, we would say both but if you had to pick one or the other we would recommend Search Engine Optimization or SEO because it will produce the greatest impact in the long run whereas Pay-Per-Click Ads will only produce results for the longevity of the campaign. However, if you would like to see immediate results and hit the ground running invest in Pay-Per-Click Ads. We will explain why this is the case in more detail below.
SEO is the Foundation of Website Marketing
We will start with SEO because we believe that sets the foundation for everything and if you have a great web designer building your website they will at least integrate some basic SEO into your website. SEO stands for Search Engine Optimization and essentially it is a process that involves manipulating the way your website is propagated in search engine results by effective use of coding semantics, content delivery, and website organization. Ultimately the goal of this procedure is to set up your website so that it can be easily indexed by search engines making your website more relevant for specific keywords and phrases that your potential visitors and clients might use in search engines. Coordinating this process correctly will allow your website to garner increased traffic. Dollar for dollar, SEO is probably the best bang for your buck. Of course, it’s a lot more complicated than what we have mentioned but essentially it allows your website to move up in search rankings which is great because most people do not navigate past the first page and people trust organic search results more than paid ones. Good stuff right?
Bolster Your SEO with Highly Targeted Pay-Per-Click Ads
Now, let us explain the alternative to SEO, or more correctly, an additional feature that can work in tandem and enhance your SEO. The truth is, the most successful online websites are ones that use well-developed SEO in conjunction with pay-per-click advertising. Pay-per-click Advertising will offer your website immediate results and even garner first-page ranking results practically instantaneously. Unfortunately, along with providing you with awesome results, you will be paying a price. However, the great thing about online pay-per-click advertising is that it is all trackable and highly targeted; more-so than traditional forms of advertising. We have managed various forms of advertising and dollar-for-dollar digital paid advertising delivers the best results. Its efficacy is due largely in part to its demographic-based approach whereby marketers can choose exactly where an ad will appear, which keywords will trigger it, which keywords it will avoid, and many other features that yield a surgical precision. Digital paid advertisements will target a very specific demographic with, if you’ve done your homework right, a high likelihood of purchasing your product or services.
Conclusion About SEO vs Pay-Per-Click Ads
As a result, focus on your website’s SEO and ask your web designer to set it up (or at least the rudimentary basics of it) during the web design process because during the web design process it’s much easier to integrate the basic SEO and it will make a huge difference in the long run. SEO should be an important strategy for your online marketing campaign and when you have established your business well enough to allow you the financial flexibility to run online ads, run some online ads. Running online pay per click ads can get real tricky especially with Google Adwords because of all the different metrics and concepts around pay per click advertising. We suggest you hire a professional company to run your online advertising because it requires tracking the progress, constantly modifying the search ads and fine-tuning your landing page to get conversions and increase business (and this is something that is done by watching all of these different elements as well as running web metrics and diagnostics on your website to understand the way your visitors are interacting with your website). It’s tricky business folks but it pays BIG in the end. The importance of website SEO and pay-per-click advertising is more important than ever in 2015.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]