SEO vs. PPC: Which Is Better for Your Business?

Digital or online marketing has the potential to be applied to any business advertising need. From building brand awareness and growing an online audience to lead generation and online sales there is a platform that will suit your needs.Generally, SEO focuses on guiding organic traffic to your website, while PPC displays paid advertisements on a search engine’s (eg. Google, Bing, etc.) result page. It can be confusing to know which is right for your business and goals. Here, the experts at our SEO Company in Adelaide have explored both platforms to show you the pros and cons of each.

Mel Gibbons
5 January, 2022

What is SEO? – Its Pros and Cons Explained

Also called organic or natural search, SEO optimises your webpage to improve its position on the online search engine results pages (SERPs). Search engines use algorithms to analyse the value and relevance of your webpage and rank you accordingly.
It is critical to evaluate which keywords the search engines consider significant and optimise your website accordingly. As a leading SEO Company in Adelaide we have collated these points to help you decide if SEO is the right strategy for you:

Pros

Cost-effective and cheaper, in the long run, SEO is scalable and without the high cost per click of PPC. Once the content created for your website is ranking and bringing in the relevant traffic the results are more lasting.
More effective in the long run as a well-optimised campaign can help you retain higher rankings in search results longer.
Maintains stable positioning and has less fluctuation, as there is no keyword bidding or daily budgets involved.
Builds credibility when your website ranks higher on an organic search and improves your brand visibility.

Cons

Competition can be high for valuable keywords.
It is a time intensive strategy to implement and maintain and requires consistent and unique content creation.
Results are not visible immediately as websites can take several months to a year to improve rankings in the search results.

What is PPC? – Its Pros and Cons Explained

Pay-per-click (or PPC) involves paying for each click from website visitors who go to website through ads. Simply put, you, as an advertiser, pay a search engine company each time your ad is clicked. This is possible by bidding for critical keywords related to the product or service that you provide. The experts from our leading PPC Agency in Adelaide have collated these points to help you decide if PPC is the right strategy for you:

Pros

Results are quick, as you can immediately see improved traffic to your site followed by more engagement and conversions.
Easily measurable and controllable as you can measure the efficiency and target your preferred keywords/audience/customers.
An ideal way for new businesses to launch themselves or their special offers and gain visibility fast.
PPC is agile and allows experimentation with campaigns. It provides quick results as well as quick feedback.

Cons

It can become costly to sustain long term and could lose effectiveness over time.
Increased traffic to your website may not guarantee that every click will ultimately convert to a sale.
Once you stop financing or divert your PPC funds the results stop.
There is a risk of clicks related to fraud which could be costly to your business.

Weighing up the differences between SEO & PPC

The below points highlight the differences and similarities between SEO & PPC.

Differences:

Time Factor: SEO results take longer to become visible, sometimes taking weeks, months, or even years. PPC results are instantaneous, with businesses appearing at the top of the search results almost immediately.
Cost: SEO is technically free but requires you to invest time and resources to set up your website with appropriate keywords. With PPC, if you wish to improve your ranking on a SERP against a specific keyword, you pay a particular amount for that keyword.
Return on Investment:
1. In the short term: Harder to measure in the case of SEO, and often the initial results are not too good as this is a time-consuming process. For PPC, it is faster and easier to monitor thanks to keyword data captured by search engine analytics.
2. In the long term: SEO starts slow but will improve and continue to grow (up to 70-80% over time). Once it peaks, traffic to PPC advertisements can often be reduced (down to 20-30% sometimes).

Similarities:

Keyword and Search engine: SEO and PPC use search engines as their primary tool where users need to type in keywords to see the results.
Landing pages: Landing pages contain content that focuses on the keywords essential for SEO and PPC.
Traffic: The ultimate goal of both SEO and PPC is to increase visibility and increase footfalls to your website.

Working with both SEO and PPC in synergy

There are many benefits of running SEO and PPC together. Here are just a few:

The initial data and work done for PPC, such as keyword selection, performance and conversion data, can enhance your SEO strategy.
The traffic volume to your website can be enhanced by focusing on ad clicks in PPC and high-performing keywords in SEO.
Customers can be targeted through multiple phases of their journey – from research to comparison to purchase – utilising marketable keywords.
Increase the credibility of your brand and business by employing channels for both organic and paid visibility.

SEO vs. PPC: Which is Better?

SEO takes time but can generate longer lasting outcomes by increasing your overall rating on the web. PPC provides instantaneous results but needs continued investment. You could think of PPC as an energetic sprint to reach your goals, while SEO functions more like a marathon. PPC is ideal for creating initial visibility for your company or business, but sustaining that visibility long-term is better suited with SEO.

There is no one best option – both SEO and PPC excel at different aspects of digital marketing. The ultimate decision on what to choose lies totally in your hands as the advertiser or business owner.

Each business has its unique objectives, and you must select the option that serves you best. Ideally, consider using both for strategic advantages to be gained by a multi-channel digital marketing campaign. For more information and guidance, talk to a reliable and trusted PPC Agency in Adelaide.