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. Discover the pros and cons of each.

  • Mel Gibbons

    5 January, 2022

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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. We have collated these points to help you decide if SEO is the right strategy for you:

Pros

  • Cost-effective and scalable: SEO avoids high PPC costs, offering lasting results once your content ranks and attracts relevant traffic.
  • Long-term effectiveness: A well-optimised SEO campaign helps sustain higher search rankings over time.
  • Stable positioning: SEO rankings are less prone to fluctuations, as there’s no bidding or daily budget constraints.
  • Builds credibility: Higher organic rankings increase your brand’s visibility and build trust with your audience.

Cons

  • High competition: Valuable keywords can be challenging to rank for due to intense competition.
  • Time-intensive: SEO demands ongoing effort, including consistent and unique content creation.
  • Delayed results: Rankings and traffic improvements can take several months to a year to materialise.

Conducting Keyword Research for SEO

To conduct keyword research for SEO on SEMrush, enter a target keyword into the Keyword Overview tool to assess its search volume, competition, and related terms. Use the suggestions for phrase match and related keywords to expand your list, and filter the results based on factors like keyword difficulty and CPC to identify high-potential keywords for your SEO strategy.

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.

A key aspect of PPC management is monitoring ad performance metrics like clicks, impressions, and cost-per-click (CPC). These metrics provide valuable insights into how well your ads are performing and help you refine your campaigns for better results. Below is an example of the Google Ads interface, showcasing these metrics and illustrating how businesses track and optimise their PPC efforts in real-time.

We have collated these points to help you decide if PPC is the right strategy for you:

Pros

  • Quick results: PPC delivers immediate traffic and engagement, driving faster conversions.
  • Easily measurable: Performance metrics like clicks and conversions make it simple to track success.
  • Ideal for new businesses: A great way to launch products, promotions, or services with instant visibility.
  • Flexible and agile: Campaigns can be quickly adjusted based on feedback and results.

Cons

  • High costs over time: PPC can become expensive to maintain and may lose impact in the long run.
  • Limited conversion guarantee: Increased traffic doesn’t always translate into sales or leads.
  • Short-lived results: PPC results end when you stop funding the campaigns.
  • Click fraud risks: Fraudulent clicks can inflate costs without providing genuine value.

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.

SEO VS PPC in SERPS

In search engine results pages (SERPs), SEO and PPC look slightly different. SEO results are organic listings that appear naturally based on relevance, with no extra labels. PPC results, however, are marked with “Ad” or “Sponsored” above them, showing they’re paid for. PPC listings often appear at the top of the page, while SEO rankings take time to earn their spot. Both aim to attract traffic, but PPC gets you instant visibility, while SEO builds trust over time.

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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.

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