SEO vs PPC: When to Use, When to Avoid For Maximum Profit

Traffic is the backbone of any online undertaking. The success of an online business majorly depends on the traffic it generates. Based on this principle, every organization follows the two most powerful traffic generation approaches SEO (Search Engine Optimization) and PPC (Pay-per-click). 

However, both approaches have similar end goals; they require different methodologies. And due to this difference, one strategy works under certain circumstances while the other doesn’t. 

So if you are under a similar dilemma, we are here to guide you for your next campaign. This article tells you both the strengths and limitations of using PPC management services and SEO services in your campaign. 

Let’s start with SEO first: 

What is SEO?

Search Engine Optimization is often called a natural or “organic” lead generation technique. In simple language, SEO optimizes your web pages to enhance their position in search engine results. 

The organic SEO tactic assures that the content on your web page is understandable to the bots so that your site ranks higher than that of your competitors. 

SEO is essential for business since 80% of the traffic is generated using search engines. 

But do we need SEO in your current campaign? Let’s find out. 

Below are some of the circumstances when you must choose SEO over PPC. 

• When you require consistent results: 

SEO can have a long gestation period. It takes time for your site to rank on the top of the SERPs (Search Engine Result Pages). However, with SEO, once your site gets on the top, you will receive traffic for a consistent amount of time. Moreover, if you keep maintaining and improving your SEO campaign, it may result in long term benefits. 

• When you are building an authority site: 

 An authority website is basically an established resource centre for a specific niche. It can be the “go-to” website for that particular niche whenever needed. An authority website, once ranked higher, can alone create lots of traffic based on URL recall. 

The best approach to establishing an authority site is sustainably generating traffic to your pages and eventually creating a reputation once it becomes popular in the market. 

• When your website needs value-driven traffic:

Websites can act as virtual real estates. Therefore, your site needs to have a premium value to its users. How do you do that? 

Certain elements contribute to increasing the website’s value, like search engine ranking, page rank, link popularity, and consistency of the traffic. 

The critical thing to remember here is, SEO is not “free clicks”. Your content must deliver its value in order to get promoted. 

Let’s now understand PPC. 

What is PPC? 

Pay-per-click is the paid advertising technique used on search engine page results. All you have to do is, place your bid to have your advertisement appear in the result when a user types any query of your keyword. 

You will have to pay every time a user clicks on the ad you are promoting. Some of the most commonly used PPC advertising platforms used by enterprises are Google Ads (Adwords), Facebook advertising and Bing Ads. 

Now, when do you need PPC marketing? 

• When you require immediate results:

PPC marketing delivers quick results. This is because the moment your PPC campaign is approved, your ads will be ready to be displayed to millions of users. Therefore, the PPC technique works like under these events-

• Squeeze pages
• Product launches
• Seasonal promotions
• Event focused marketing
• Analogous online business 
• Affiliate marketing etc. 
• When highly targeted traffic is required:

Unlike SEO, PPC marketing enables you to narrow down your prospect based on your demographic content. Today many social media sites and PPC platforms allow you to promote to a specific category such as income bracket, gender, age range, educational level etc., who can view your ad. 

You can even target people based on their interest and hobbies. This way, you can easily reach your targeted customer base, leading them to your web pages. 

• When promoting time-sensitive products/services:

Marketing products and services with an expiration date require PPC management services. So If you are promoting an offer that ends within a specific time, you can always rely on PPC. 

• When your website is not compatible with SEO:

SEO asks for content rich websites that are regularly updated. This is the standard way of informing the search engine that your site is relevant and value driven. Many websites lack this; for instance, Squeeze pages do not exhibit the required content. 

• When you want your Keywords to dominate the search results:

PPC results are displayed above the organic search results. This means approximately 50% of the traffic goes to the first three sponsored links on the result. Therefore, if you do not use PPC, you might lose this traffic. 

Hence, consider engaging in PPC marketing if you are concerned about maximizing the click-share of your content. 

Final Words

The above mentioned are some of the significant circumstances where these approaches work. However, for an effective marketing strategy, both SEO and PPC play a substantial role in bringing relevant traffic. For more insights, you can contact a reliable PPC management company and share your requirements with them. They can help you come up with a constructive strategy. Now, get ready and implement these approaches on your next big marketing campaign.