Determining if and when to utilise search engine optimisation (SEO) or pay-per-click (PPC) approaches is one of the most prominent queries emerging from companies across an array of industries and sectors.
The Difference Between PPC and SEO
PPC is a marketing model in which advertisers pay a monetary sum every time one of their adverts is clicked. Although it’s a slightly crude description, PPC is effectively a legitimate way of buying traffic to your website.
SEO is a marketing discipline that is focused on positively and organically influencing the visibility of your website in search engine results pages (SERPs). Encompassing creative and technical elements, optimisation seeks to increase awareness, boost rankings, and drive traffic.
Investment, Visibility, and Return on Investment
PPC fees vary, but taking the search term “car insurance” as an example, the average cost per click could be as much as £40. PPC strategies can be costly and require careful consideration to determine whether you can secure a good return on investment (ROI).
A small “Ad” box sits on the left side of all PPC advertisements, which deftly delineates paid results from the organic search results below. Although paid results always appear at the top of SERPs, users are more than 90 per cent more likely to click on organic results.
Imagine you’re running a PPC campaign targeting a search term with a £40 cost per click rate. If your PPC efforts are generating 100 clicks every day, you need to be certain that you’re securing an ROI that justifies daily costs of £4,000. The business that has utilised SEO to secure the top organic ranking position for the same search term is likely to have a more lucrative ROI, but this doesn’t automatically mean a PPC approach can’t deliver comparatively beneficial results.
The Case for Diversification and Patience
The best professional SEO services, like the team that can be seen athttps://www.elevateuk.com/seo-services/, will advocate for a diverse digital strategy that utilises the benefits of different tactics. Brands often want to see results immediately, but because SEO is a long-term process, PPC approaches can often be implemented too quickly.
Conversely, there are companies that aren’t willing to invest in PPC at all, which is a perfectly acceptable stance provided their SEO metrics are comparable to their competitors. If they aren’t, short-term success will be more difficult.