Ah, the age-old question of internet marketing: should I focus on PPC or SEO? When brainstorming about your digital marketing strategy, you’ve probably asked yourself this more than once. Pay-per-click (PPC) ads, like Google Ads, pop up in relevant searches, promoting your company to a wider audience, while SEO can boost your ranking in these same results, free of charge. So what should you spend more time on? It’s not quite as complicated as it seems. We’ll guide you to online success in today’s blog.

What’s the Deal with SEO?

SEO, or search engine optimization, refers to the practice of putting relevant content on your website. This content helps to boost your site’s visibility to search engines and the people using them. For example, if you’ve got an online portfolio with a small amount of text and alt-tag-less images, search engines probably won’t know much about your products and services. By writing keyword-rich, long-form content, like pages and regular blog posts, you educate Google, Bing, and other search engines about what’s on your website. This incentivizes them to raise your ranking and send visitors your way.

SEO Pros – SEO has a lot of benefits. First, it’s free. If you take the time to educate yourself on SEO best practices, you can handle this entire process in-house. We recommend writing clear, descriptive, and helpful content that’s easy to read. Try to use keywords – terms you think people would search for – when putting together pages and blogs on your site. Avoid the temptation to “trick” the algorithm. Google and other search engines have evolved to punish scammy or sketchy sites that are stuffed with keywords or nonsensical language. These deceptive pages will be buried in search results.

SEO Cons – There’s one major drawback to sustained growth via SEO: it’s time-consuming. Setting up baseline SEO is simple. Continuing to improve is a bit more challenging. If you want Google to see you as a dynamic, exciting place to send searchers, it’ll take some regular writing. Long blog entries, ranging from 800 to 2,000 words, are a staple of killer SEO strategy. There are also some more technical components of SEO, like backlinking, with which you may want expert assistance.

In summary, SEO is a long-term strategy that requires a bit of elbow grease. By writing great blog posts and doing some keyword research, you can expect a boost in your ranking (and an increase in leads).

Google Ads Explained

Google Ads represent a pay-per-click advertising strategy; you and your competitors can bid on the chance to show ads on relevant Google searches. You can customize the goal of your campaign. Do you want potential clients to call you for a quote? Would you rather they visit your site to complete a contact form? This customization is available to Google Ads users.

PPC Pros – Google Ads don’t charge for exposure; instead, you’ll only be charged when a person clicks on your ad. Additionally, they involve a great amount of flexibility. You can modify campaigns to reach new audiences who may not have heard of your services before, or to promote a timely offer. This can be an incredible boost for smaller companies who don’t have time to update their SEO to reflect promotions and seasonal changes.

PPC Cons – Unfortunately, Google Ads aren’t a magic bullet. They cost money, and they don’t improve your organic search rankings. This means that you’ll need to do the work of SEO in addition to your advertising efforts; otherwise, you’ll be stuck paying for traffic instead of receiving any organically. However, they are a quick, exciting solution for businesses who are just getting started or who are short-staffed.

Basically, PPC is a tool for specific advertisement. If you’ve got a sale to promote, or if you’d like to reach new people, this is the path for you. Google Ads can help you to get eyes on your business, even if you’re in the earliest phases, while you build your SEO strategy from the ground up.

Finding Your Strategy

As we promised, the answer to SEO or PPC isn’t cut and dry. Both of these methods can help your business in different ways. By investing your time in creating helpful, descriptive content, you can boost your company’s organic search ranking. This helps you to be found more often and build your reputation online. Through campaigns on Google Ads, you can reach new audiences, promote seasonal sales, and reach new customers more immediately. By combining these two approaches, you can bring traffic to your site and enhance your chances of long-term success.

If you need help setting up stellar SEO that moves the needle (or Google Ads that draw more clicks), we’re here to help. Contact us for more info.

Webconsuls is a digital marketing company specializing in SEO and Google Ads.