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When starting a business, applying effective marketing methods is of the utmost importance. You have to get the word out and find ways to distinguish your brand from the competition. Moreover, since people turn to the internet whenever they need something, focusing on digital marketing is a must. Now, if you’re just starting, you probably don’t have a lot of money to invest in a big marketing campaign. Therefore, PPC and SEO are your best options. But which should you opt for? To help you decide, we’ve compiled this guide on “PPC vs. SEO – Which Is Better for Your Brand?”
PPC vs. SEO – Understanding the concepts
Before delving into the details of “PPC vs. SEO – Which Is Better for Your Brand?”, you must first understand the concepts:
- Search engine optimization (SEO) is the process of optimizing your website to rank higher in search results organically. This is very important because users rarely go past the first results page. Therefore, your business won’t be visible to potential customers if you rank lower. In short, SEO entails providing quality content, improving user experience on your website, and using link building.
- Pay-per-click (PPC) is a form of advertising where you pay a publisher each time your ads are clicked. The best part about these ads is that they appear above your and your competitor’s organic content on search results pages. Thus, they improve your brand’s visibility and help you stay on top of the competition even if your website doesn’t rank high organically.
PPC vs. SEO – Pros and cons
Now that you understand the concepts, it’s time to look at some of the pros and cons of PPC and SEO. This will enable you to make an informed decision about which is best for your brand.
PPC offers you precise targeting options
With PPC, targeting consumers is becoming easier. Specifically, you can choose to target them by location, age, occupation, marital status, keywords, etc. Furthermore, PPC enables you to test the efficiency of your ads. For instance, you can run two ads simultaneously and get measurable results that show you which works better. Thus, PPC offers you full control, as opposed to SEO.
SEO is more cost-efficient
When you start a business and money is tight, you might be reluctant to invest in internet marketing. However, once you consider its pros and cons, you’ll soon realize that it’s a necessity. But is internet marketing cost-effective? Well, if you use the right tools, it can be. And SEO is one of the cheapest long-term solutions.
If you choose to apply it yourself, without any outside help, it comes free of charge. Nevertheless, if you don’t know the first thing about it, you might want to consider hiring professionals. Otherwise, it will take you much longer to get results, and time is not on your side when starting a business. Nevertheless, even if you pay SEO experts, in the long term, it’s still cheaper than PPC.
With PPC, you have to pay for every click, which is not sustainable long term. You could use it to promote short-term campaigns, but if you do it permanently, you’ll soon run out of money. Plus, if you work in a competitive industry, PPC costs will be even higher.
PPC works faster
One of the downsides of SEO is that it takes time to generate the desired results. However, with PPC, you’ll start seeing results as soon as you start paying for it. This is particularly useful if you’ve just opened a business and nobody knows you. So, you should consider investing in PPC at least until you get your SEO in order.
SEO increases the organic appeal
Many users skip the PPC ads at the top of search results pages because they don’t consider them trustworthy. Instead, they prefer organic search results because they are more credible. As a result, consistently ranking high on search results pages will build brand authority and increase organic traffic on your website.
PPC user data is very useful
You can use PPC to test your keyword strategy before applying it to SEO. More precisely, you can identify the keywords that convert, the extent to which they convert, and at what cost. This will enable you to optimize your website with the right keywords from the start without having to wait and see how it ranks organically.
SEO can help you dominate your niche
When it comes to PPC, everyone can pay for their ads to appear on top of search results pages. However, you can’t pay your way to the top of organic search results. This takes a lot of work and dedication, but the outcome is worth it. If you use SEO right and constantly rank high, users will eventually perceive your brand as the ultimate authority in your field. As a result, you’ll end up dominating your niche.
PPC vs. SEO – When to use them
Both PPC and SEO have advantages and disadvantages. But they are both effective. It all depends on what you wish to achieve. Specifically, PPC will help you achieve your short-term goals, while SEO will help you achieve your long-term goals. Nevertheless, if money is tight, it’s better to focus on SEO for now.
In conclusion: PPC vs. SEO – Which Is Better for Your Brand?
As you’ve seen in this guide on “PPC vs. SEO – Which Is Better for Your Brand?” there’s no right or wrong answer to this question. They each have upsides and downsides. Nevertheless, if your budget allows it, you should use both because this will enable you to get the best results. Specifically, when starting a business, you should focus on PPC, as this will help you increase your brand’s visibility and get immediate results. But you should work on your SEO at the same time so that you can eventually increase your organic traffic. Once you build brand authority, you’ll no longer have to invest in PPC. However, you can still use it every once in a while to promote time-sensitive offers.
