For any business looking to expand its horizons, it’s reasonable to consider the following question: should I consider SEO or PPC? Both have pros, and combining the two could very well be the thing that brings your business to the next level.

Why SEO? 

For starters, SEO (Search Engine Optimization) is a practice in which an organization can improve both the quantity and quality of traffic to its website through “organic search engine results.” When we say “organic,” we’re talking about any traffic that you don’t have to pay for. Quality is important in this: if you have an enormous amount of organic traffic but clients are coming to you for a service you don’t offer, then it’s not very helpful, is it? 

Most people think of the wide, rectangular box of Google, Yahoo!, or Bing when they think of a search engine. That’s the “search engine” part of the equation, but the “optimization” involves the algorithms that sort through that website information to bring accurate results to the individual searching. So, if a business develops a strong SEO strategy (ex: leveraging a well-known social media influencer, using YouTube as a source of information, optimizing your website for voice search), it can find ways to move up in the rankings of search engine results in a very real and organic way. User experience will improve, customers become repeat buyers, and revenue is increased in a very cost-effective way. Win, win, win. 

Why PPC? 

PPC stands for “pay-per-click.” With this model, advertisers pay a fee each time one of their ads is clicked. In contrast to SEO, a PPC is a way of buying visits to your website, instead of working and waiting for those visits to come organically. 

The most popular form of PPC is search engine advertising. When an individual uses a search engine and types in keywords that are related to your business, you can bid for ad placement in that search engine’s sponsored links section. Hypothetically speaking, if we were to bid on the keywords “SEO vs. PPC blog,” there’s a good chance our ad might be the first link people see when searching for those keywords. But each time that ad is clicked, and someone reads this blog post, we would have to pay the search engine a small fee. It’s important to keep in mind that the PPC is its most effective when the small fee is greatly outweighed by the worth of the customer’s visit. So, it may cost us a few dollars for every click, but if it means a customer is buying a few hundred dollars worth of our product, it is absolutely worth our time. Win, win! 

What about Google Ads? 

The most popular PPC advertising system on the planet is Google Ads. They allow businesses to create ads that appear on the Google Search Network and through the Google Display Network. The Google Display Network is important because it’s a different ballgame: instead of showing your bidded ad to people who are searching the keywords you’ve chosen, “display ads” or “banner ads” are deliberately placed on different websites you believe your target audience will be on. This has the potential to vastly expand your network of clients, expanding your audience to those who didn’t even know they wanted what you were selling. 

Why SEO & PPC? 

Both SEO and PPC offer different wins, but the biggest wins are when you combine the two. Countless studies have shown that SEO impacts how many clicks PCC ads receive, and Google has reported that sites with strong SEO strategies (and strong organic searches) experience an increase in their clicks for their PPC ads on the same search. In short, what’s the biggest win for expanding your business? A hearty balance of SEO and PPC. 

Need a little help to get started? If you are new to this form of digital marketing, or you simply want to take your digital marketing to the next level, Influence Digital Solutions is here to help. Call the experts and get started with us today!