There are around 50.3 billion internet users worldwide.
As such, the internet is one of the most important places to market your business. You can use various digital marketing types to improve your marketing strategy and grow your business. Amongst those, SEO and PPC are two of the most popular.
So what’s the difference between SEO and PPC? Keep reading to find out.
What Is SEO?
SEO (search engine optimization) is a marketing strategy that involves optimizing a website to increase organic traffic. This is done via the content on a website, and the goal is to improve the search engine ranking.
When doing a Google Search, people are far more likely to click results that appear higher up, so this is what you want to achieve. This way, users who search for relevant keywords will be guided to your site. There are several benefits of SEO:
- Anyone can do it
- It provides long-term results
- Traffic is free
- Improves brand awareness
- Good ROI (return on investment)
SEO generally involves doing a good amount of keyword research and analyzing data. SEO software can make this easier, and plenty of tools are available.
It can be split into two categories; on-page and off-page. You can find out more about on-page SEO by visiting this blog.
What Is PPC?
PPC (pay per click) is an ad-based form of marketing that allows your website to appear as an ad alongside organic search results. The advertisement itself doesn’t cost anything, and you’ll only pay when people click on your link. All search engines have options for this.
PPC services vary greatly, with some costing a few cents per click, and others costing up to $100. The price is dependent on the industry, the competition level, and the target keywords.
To make the most of PPC, you need to find relevant keywords that have a high conversion rate while remaining cost-effective. There are several advantages to PPC:
- You can target any keyword
- It produces fast results
- It’s measurable/trackable
- Doesn’t need a whole team
- Anyone can manage it
- Low uncertainty levels
Some downsides come with PPC. You may lose money to trial and error as a paid service, and the ROI is often unpredictable. Growth is linked to your budget, and it can take a while to collect data to see how effective it is.
The Difference Between SEO and PPC
When looking at PPC vs. SEO, both can benefit your business, but most experts agree that SEO is better in the long term. It improves the authority of your site, which will help with your search engine ranking. As it’s free, it also has a better ROI.
PPC doesn’t improve your website’s authority, but it can provide quick results. If you need to increase traffic in a short time frame, PPC may be ideal.
Increasing Traffic to Your Site
Now that you know the difference between SEO and PPC, you should be able to determine which is most suitable for your business. If you have any time constraints, PPC could be the best option. For the best long-term results, you should go with SEO.
Bear in mind that you can use both and compare the results you get to see how worthwhile each one is for your website. For more business-related articles, check out some of our other blog posts.
