You don’t need to spend long in the world of digital marketing to encounter two of the most commonly used strategies: Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) and Pay-Per-Click advertising (PPC).
But what are they? And which is best for your business?
In this article, we examine the ins and outs of SEO and PPC and help you determine which is the best digital marketing strategy to meet your goals.
What is SEO?
SEO is the practice of optimising a website so that it ranks higher in the search results for certain ‘keywords’, thereby earning more clicks. Typical SEO activities include keyword research and selection, content creation, technical website improvements, and encouraging links from external websites.
The aim is to make the web page user-friendly and relevant to the search term. Building citations from external websites grants the web page ‘authority’, making it more reliable and trustworthy in Google’s eyes.
You can target global keywords with SEO(i.e. those that are not geographically constrained e.g. ‘online banking’) or local keywords (i.e. those constrained to a certain geographical area e.g. ‘plumber in London’).
The advantages of SEO include:
- Long-Term and Reliable: Once SEO is established, it continues to provide organic traffic on an ongoing basis.
- Builds Trust and Credibility: Organic search results are perceived as more trustworthy than paid ads due to their ‘natural’ occurrence. Appearing at the top of search results can also act as a stamp of approval, improving both your online and offline credibility.
- Reach Beyond Your Target Keywords: A strong SEO strategy can bring traffic from search queries other than those you’re targeting.
The main challenges of SEO are:
- Time-Intensive: Good SEO, particularly when targeting competitive keywords, takes a lot of time to set up. Effort doesn’t guarantee rankings.
- Algorithm Dependency: Search engines update their algorithms regularly to root out spam; your website can sometimes be caught in the crossfire.
- Resource-Heavy: It takes a lot of research, high-quality content and SEO monitoring to target competitive keywords.
What is PPC?
PPC advertising involves paying for your website to appear in prominent places, thereby attracting clicks. This happens in three main guises.
- In search results, for instance, Google Ads. Enter an auction to appear for certain keywords in the sponsored section of the search results. Should your website receive a click, you pay the auctioned price.
- Prominently on social media. Pay to boost your social media posts in the feeds of your target customers.
- Display advertising. Appear in the margins and among the content of web pages that allow it and pay for each click you receive.
The advantages of PPC include:
- Immediate Results: As soon as the campaign goes live, your website can start receiving traffic.
- Easy to Target: You can tailor campaigns by demographics, interests, location and more.
- Scalability: Adjust budgets easily to meet different targets.
- Measurable ROI: Detailed analytics is available for PPC, allowing you to track your campaigns’ performance closely.
The challenges of PPC include:
- Ongoing running costs: Costs can add up quickly, especially for competitive keywords/industries with a high cost-per-click (CPC).
- Temporary: As soon as you stop paying for the ads, the traffic stops.
- Fraud Risk: Competitors might inflate your ad costs by clicking on them without delivering value.
SEO vs. PPC Summary
| Aspect | SEO | PPC |
| Cost | Low ongoing costs but high upfront investment | High ongoing costs per click or impression |
| Time | Long-term (months to years) | Short-term (instant results) |
| Sustainability | Sustainable once established | Ceases when payments stop |
| Control | Limited control over search engine updates | Full control over targeting and budget |
| Trust | Perceived as more credible | Seen as promotional |
Should You Choose SEO or PPC?
The choice between SEO and PPC often comes down to your business goals.
- Choose SEO if:
- You are willing to invest time and resources over a period of time.
- You are seeking long-term, sustainable gains.
- You are happy to wait for results.
- You want to build your brand credibility.
- Your industry has low-to-moderate competition in search rankings.
- Choose PPC if:
- You have the budget available upfront.
- You need immediate results.
- You are running a specific promotion or marketing campaign within a defined timeline.
- Your industry is highly competitive, making organic ranking challenging.
What about both?
If the budget and resources allow, a combined approach is recommended for most businesses as SEO and PPC complement each other.
For instance, while you’re building out your SEO, you can still gain traffic through PPC. And those tricky, competitive keywords that are out of reach for SEO can still be reached through PPC – at the right price. There’s also evidence to suggest that running PPC traffic through your website improves the website’s ‘health’, which is no bad thing for SEO.
SEO or PPC: Final Thoughts
SEO and PPC are both effective digital marketing strategies, each with their specific advantages and challenges.
SEO lays the groundwork for sustainable results, albeit with an investment of time and resources. PPC provides immediate, short-term results, albeit results that ‘switch off’ as soon as the budget runs out.
Which one you choose depends on your business goals. And, of course, you can always choose to do both. In fact, it’s recommended.
Read more:
SEO or PPC: Which is Better?