There has been a debate raging over which is better for your business, PPC or SEO. It has been debated to within an inch of its life for probably the best part of 2 decades now - yet no one seems to be able to come up with a definitive answer; why? The truth is that (here we go again....) - it depends! (Come on would it be a marketing blog without a good old "it depends??).
In this blog, we will dig into why there is no fixed answer to which is better, why you should probably stop thinking of them as competing forms of marketing, and more that they can work hand in hand.
In straightforward terms, PPC is a form of advertising to customers that costs you every time someone clicks an advert they see, be it at the top of search engines or in articles on other sites.
SEO is the process of optimising your entire online presence so that your website shows up at the top of the organic search results for queries relating to your business. SEO does not cost you every time someone clicks a link but still requires some investment.
However, the critical difference between the two is that one stops working quicker than the other. Once you turn off your ads or reach your budget - the adverts and the traffic they generate stop immediately. SEO, however, could and does continue to produce organic traffic beyond the initial investment - if it is done right, that is!
We see so many blog posts or social media discussions about PPC vs SEO - which is better, which gets better results etc. The crux of the matter is that they should never be pitted against each other in a battle but instead thought of as two tools to reach the same aim but in different ways.
The end goal of both SEO and PPC is to market your business and help it grow; otherwise, why would you be doing it?
So if both can help your business reach its goals, why wouldn't you consider both? It all comes down to how the two deliver results and how quickly. SEO is a long term investment and will not yield results instantly.
In contrast, PPC can start delivering from day one, but SEO will continue to deliver long after the investment, whereas PPC stops the instant the cash flow is turned off.
This is why there has been a long-running debate about which is better value for business owners! Both benefit the business and its marketing efforts - they deliver results in very different ways. However, they can work in harmony with each other, and an example of this can be a business investing in SEO for the long goals and PPC for the shorter goals.
Now you know the ins and outs of what each involves, you should have a better idea of which one will benefit your end goal and which you need to invest in and no longer be thinking of them as in competition with each other.
Our advice would be to invest in PPC when you need short term results, such as a new startup or for a specific event, but invest more in SEO long term for continued results.
Here at E2E, we are experts in small businesses and how they operate and here to take the strain from your shoulders when it comes to getting an online presence that works for you. We are a team of dedicated small business specialists who know precisely what it takes and have the tools, the skills and the passion for helping your business succeed online.
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