“When should I optimize and when should I pay for traffic?”
So glad you asked!
Marketing your products and services over the internet can lead to great success — but only if it’s done right. There have been countless strategies and tactics put forward by marketing experts regarding the best way to market a product or service online, all of which have experienced differing levels of success. However, two of the BIG contenders are Search Engine Optimization (SEO) and Pay Per Click advertising (PPC). Here’s a quick rundown of each method, their strengths and weaknesses, and why one might be better than the other for you.
SEO Strengths
As a marketing strategy, Search Engine Optimization does what it says in the name: it optimizes the content of your website to ensure that anyone using Google or any other search engine will be directed to your site over a competitor’s. SEO is considered to be an “organic” marketing method, as it strives to build a high-profile presence naturally in search engines. This organic approach takes time and effort, however, as it involves consistently crafting marketing content that will slowly but surely raise your site ranking when it comes to chosen keywords.
The Power of PPC
Pay Per Click marketing differs from SEO in that you are now spending money to get your content seen on the internet. They both focus on search engines, but instead of spending time optimizing your content to show up on the top of the search engine rankings, PPC marketing literally involves paying for the privilege of having a search engine to list your site first. This is obviously much faster than relying on organic SEO, but it can be much more expensive, making this method a major trade-off.
So Which One’s Better?
Each method can be used either independently or in conjunction. However, when it comes to overall effectiveness, the data is pretty clear — SEO offers the best results over time. There have been multiple studies stating that organic search is the number one driver of traffic to content sites, beating other methods like social media by a whopping 300 percent. But ultimately, the strategy which you decide to go with will depend on your company’s needs and budget. And who’s to say you can’t use both to discover which strategy will best help boost your biz?!