Although each has its basic differences, both SEO (search engine optimization) and PPC (pay per click advertising) are considered to be included in the Internet Marketing regime. This article revolves around the epic clash of SEO vs. PPC to attain internet marketing supremacy, and more importantly - which is better for YOUR business?
A great analogy describing an SEO approach compared to a PPC 
approach is: SEO is like owning your home (or paying a mortgage) - whereas PPC is like renting the real estate.
After a mortgage is paid off, you OWN your house, similar to how you OWN the traffic your website receives after a successful SEO campaign.
We all know that once you've ceased to pay rent, you get booted from your home. This is quite similar to what happens at the conclusion of a PPC campaign... the traffic no longer belongs to you and shortly thereafter decreases rather significantly. Here comes the statement that you knew was coming: No straight forward answer is sufficient concerning which approach is best.
Rather, three central factors must be considered:
- Current Website Performance
- The Territory in Which You Can Do Business
- The Type of Business You Operate
Current Website Performance
Where your site stands currently will influence the determination of the best internet marketing strategy to implement.
In the rawest form: If your site is receiving a decent amount of organic search traffic... investment in PPC for keywords where you lack rank is a good start.
For example, when one of our clients approached us with a situation where they'd receive loads of visits from long tail search terms and no where near the response from short tail search terms (which happen to be the highest volume keywords).. the prescribed fix was to invest in a PPC campaign for those short tail key words and the ROI became apparent immediately.
On the flip side of the coin, if you find that your site is in the Stone Age when it comes to web visibility - then we need to talk.
For businesses seeking to initiate their first internet marketing campaign, it is generally recommended that a mixture of SEO and PPC be implemented... however, each case is unique and an optimized solution that focuses on one or the other will most often exist.
The Territory in Which You Can Do Business
Geography is a major determinant in your decision to go with SEO or PPC.
Let's say you're an insurance broker who is limited to doing business within the boundaries of a state. Our recommendation is that you include both strategies due to the following:
- From a PPC perspective, pay per click advertising is much less expensive for a defined geography opposed to nationwide.
- From an SEO perspective, it is easier to optimize your website for "your highest search term + your geography" compared to just "your highest search term"
- For example, it is much easier to get on the first page with "car insurance owing mills" than it would be to rank on the first page for "car insurance". Of course, for a $15-$40 fee per click you can be on the first page for "car insurance" nationwide.
The Type of Business You Operate
For us, being a full service internet marketing agency, the best clients are business that are B2C (business to consumer) and have a high ticket product or service.
It is a bit difficult to allocate the best internet marketing line of attack (SEO vs. PPC) based on which category your business falls under, but this is our general take on each of the following types of business:
- B2B + High Ticket + Competitive Market
- SEO for long tail phrases
- PPC w/ an excellent landing page for lead conversion
- B2B + High Ticket + Non-Competitive Market
- SEO for both long and short tail phrases leading to a conversion form/call to action on all pages
- B2B + Low Ticket + Competitive Market
- SEO for long tail phrases and geography
- B2B + Low Ticket + Non-Competitive Market
- SEO for long and short tail with geographies
- Supplemental PPC for the first 3 months
- B2C + High Ticket + Competitive Market
- SEO for long tail phrases
- PPC w/ excellent landing page for lead conversion
- B2C + High Ticket + Non-Competitive Market
- SEO for both long and short tail phrases leading to a conversion form/call to action on all pages
- B2C + Low Ticket + Competitive Market
- SEO for long tail phrases and geography
- B2C + Low Ticket + Non-Competitive Market
- SEO + PPC on all of your target keywords
Launch Your Internet Marketing Campaign Today - Profit Tomorrow
It's time to face the facts. The internet is growing at a fast pace and shows no signs of slowing down any time soon. The number of internet searches increases with each passing day - and if your product or service is no where to be found, you're missing out on a lot of cash. If you would like some expert advice on your case in particular, we'd love to provide that for you.
