You’ve launched your website and are ready to start promoting your products or services. But how will users and potential customers know about it? The most important part of any marketing strategy after launching a website is defining which methods will be used to reach your target audience and ensure that users actually benefit from the information you publish about your company on your website. The two methods we’ll discuss in this blog are SEO (Search Engine Optimization) and PPC (Pay Per Click).
Both methods can drive quality traffic to your website and improve conversions. However, they differ significantly, primarily in the investment of money and work, as well as the lead time after which the benefits of each method are realized.
SEO
Although SEO (search engine optimization) efforts are much more laborious and must be consistent over time, it is the primary inbound marketing strategy for 60% of companies worldwide. Here are some of the reasons:
SEO Advantages
Unlike PPC, where you must pay for the traffic generated, when working with SEO, there are no costs directly related to the number of people visiting your website. The cost of generating an effective marketing campaign is one of the main reasons why SEO is the method of choice for many agencies and companies.
A basic SEO campaign can even be started in-house; your team’s own experts can develop valuable content for users. This is not the case with a PPC campaign.
A PPC campaign depends on an investment that varies by industry. For example, in the legal industry, the cost per click (CPC) can be as high as USD 5.88, while the CPC in e-commerce is as low as USD 0.88. So, depending on the industry you work in, you may need to prepare a considerable sum of money to invest in a PPC campaign.
In a nutshell, PPC is paid traffic, while SEO is free traffic to your website. However, while money isn’t essential in an SEO campaign, it’s important to consider the amount of time you’ll need to invest.
When it comes to the learning curve between the two methods, SEO is much more practical to learn. There’s plenty of material online to learn trends and best practices. PPC, on the other hand, requires slightly more technical knowledge and attention to detail.
SEO also offers medium- and long-term results. Although it takes a while to see direct SEO results, the results last, even if you neglect your SEO efforts. The opposite is true with a PPC campaign: when you pause it, the results also stop immediately.
Disadvantages of SEO
The main disadvantage of SEO is that it depends on Google’s search algorithms or the search engine you want to focus on.
For example, Google released an update to its Panda algorithm that penalizes websites with duplicate content, affecting many sites. This update was followed by several others, including The Penguin, Hummingbird, Pigeon, Mobile, RankBrain, Possum, and Fred, each with updates that directly impacted SEO best practices.
Penalties related to not following these practices are another disadvantage of SEO. Penalties can significantly decrease traffic to your website and even result in it being flagged as “untrustworthy.”
The only way to avoid penalties and achieve good results is to always be aware of algorithm updates and implement the necessary changes to your strategy, but most importantly, to create original content that is highly valuable to your users.
The last disadvantage is the wait time to start seeing results. Often, you must wait months, so if you choose this method, you must be patient and persistent.
PPC
PPC is the fastest inbound marketing method for driving traffic to your website. 65% of people who intend to purchase a product click on an ad, which is why PPC campaigns are very effective at generating traffic and sales.
Advantages of PPC
The main and most obvious advantage is that the results are immediate, making it ideal for scenarios where you want to generate as many visitors to a website as possible in a short period of time.
It also ensures that the leads are of high quality, since if a person clicked on an ad after conducting a search related to the topic, it’s very likely that their buying interest is very high.
PPC campaigns are the solution for all new businesses that lack brand visibility online. While waiting for SEO efforts to yield results, they can focus on immediate results through a PPC campaign.
Another advantage of PPC is the variety of platforms on which you can advertise. The largest remains Google AdWords; however, there are other platforms where, depending on the industry, you may want to advertise. Some of these platforms include Facebook, AdRoll, Twitter, LinkedIn, AdBlade, YouTube, etc.
Disadvantages of PPC
The main disadvantage is the price you must pay for each lead generated to your website, and depending on the industry or keyword you want to display your ad for, the cost can be very high. For example, words like “insurance” can cost more than $60 per click, and these prices don’t tend to go down—quite the opposite.
To get the most out of your investment, it’s important to consider many details of your campaigns to ensure that all aspects are optimized. Achieving this requires a lot of work and time. You also have to add the effort of learning a new platform to manage your campaigns.
Another disadvantage is that once you cut your budget and the PPT campaign stops running, the results and traffic generated also stop. This is the main reason why SEO, social media, and email marketing efforts shouldn’t be forgotten.
So, should your business focus on SEO or PPC?
As you’ve read in this post, both SEO and PPC campaigns can achieve very good results. Our recommendation is to evaluate your company’s current online presence and the marketing budget you want to invest.
For a small brand, it’s advisable to define a clear PPC goal to generate enough leads and customers whose sales can cover the investment you’ll make in SEO. The key is to find the right balance between investment and results, both in the short and long term.