SEO vs PPC: Which Is Best For Your Business

When growing your business, driving traffic should be high on your priority list. Whether you are just starting out or already have a solid customer base, reaching more customers is always a big goal. When researching how to expand your audience, there is a lot of talk about optimizing SEO (search engine optimization) or paying for ads. So what is the difference, and which one is right for you?

Search Engine Optimization:

Search Engine Optimization, commonly referred to as SEO, is the process of boosting your visibility so that your audience can find it organically. You can boost SEO by using proper keywords, publishing relevant content, and updating your content and website regularly. There is a lot that goes into SEO, but it is free and lets your audience find you, rather than you seeking them out. If you properly optimize your SEO, expect to rank high on search engines, explore pages, and more!

Pros And Cons Of SEO:

One of the biggest advantages of SEO is that it is free. Once your audience finds your content, it does not cost you anything when they click on your links. SEO is also helpful for targeting your audience in different stages of the sales funnel. With paid ads, you are targeting a specific audience, so it can be harder to reach customers as they move through the purchasing process. SEO traffic is more stable than paid traffic, as it is not going to disappear once your ad is finished running.

SEO does have some cons that can be frustrating. First off, search engine algorithms change, so you have to be sure that you change your strategy to keep up with them. If you don’t, you could lose your audience and rank lower on search pages. SEO also takes a while to build before you start seeing many results. You’ll need to make sure that your website stays optimized, which can be time-consuming. Overall, SEO does take a good amount of time and effort to keep up with.

Pay-Per-Click Advertising:

If you are looking for faster results, consider Pay-Per-Click, also known as PPC) advertising. PPC is a form of search engine marketing that allows advertisers to pay to have their ads boosted. Typically, this takes the form of website promotion on sites like Google or Facebook. For each click you get on your ad, you pay the publisher a set amount. You can set the ad to run for a certain time period or through a set budget.

Pros And Cons Of PPC:

PPC offers quick results and appears over organic content. Since you are paying for the ad, you are going to reach your audience more quickly than if you just optimized your pages. Another perk of PPC is that you are able to target a smaller audience. If you are trying to reach a specific demographic, PPC ads are a great way to pinpoint them.

One con of PPC ads is that they can get expensive. Since you are paying per click, every time someone visits your link it costs you money. While this can lead to new customers, it is also possible that many of your visitors are just curious about your site. Because of this, PPC ads can lead to lower profit margins, and your leads can dry up when your campaign is done.

Overall, there are some great benefits to both SEO and PPC. Fortunately, you can use both! Take some time to learn how to appropriately use both methods, and incorporate them into your strategy. Have you used SEO or PPC before? Which do you prefer?