If you’re striving to spread the word about your new startup, you’re not the only one. Every business struggles to gain customers at first. After all, it’s not easy to balance the cost, maintenance, and results of a marketing campaign. Mostly, you only have two solutions for your problem: organic search engine optimization (SEO) or paid search. But which is the better method?
Honestly, that depends on lots of factors. For instance, you have to think about your specific goals, how soon you want to see the results and the type of traffic you want to attract. In most cases, the right answer is a mix of both. If you’re aiming for long-term success, you probably need a combination of paid search and organic SEO.
We know you want a more detailed answer than this. Hence, in this blog we will delve deeper into organic SEO vs. paid search, the benefits they offer, and how you can choose the right option for your business!
Paid Search vs. Organic SEO: What’s The Difference?
To really grasp the differences between these two marketing campaigns, it’s important to first understand what each of them entails:
Pay-Per-Click (PPC): PPC marketing is when you pay the search engine to keep your website at the top. Don’t worry, this doesn’t mean you have to pay to keep the first rank. You only get charged when someone clicks on your site. You might have sometimes noticed “AD” next to some search results. These are the sites that are using the PPC strategy!
Search Engine Optimization (SEO): This is when your brand works on improving its search engine rankings. For instance, if you search “how to write a sales copy”, the websites that appear on the first page are the ones that have a strong SEO strategy. It’s called organic because you work hard to raise your SERP ranking, so any traffic your website receives is purely natural. You don’t pay for it – unless you hire SEO services London for the job.
Now that you know the basic difference between the two techniques, here’s a table for a more brief insight into more of their distinctions:
| Pay-Per-Click | Search Engine Optimization |
| Immediate results | Takes time but offers long-term results |
| Paid position | Organic position |
| Generates traffic immediately | Brings traffic over time |
| Enhances visibility | Boosts sales |
| Requires continuous setup | One-time setup |
| Can cost a fortune | Free of cost |
What Are The Benefits Of Using Paid Search?
- Immediately Visible Results
Since you don’t work your way towards it, like SEO, paid search offers immediate results. You don’t have to wait for even a day, your website will rank within hours after the campaign starts. So, it’s more like a shortcut to increase your search engine ranking.
- Ads Surpass The Organically Ranked Websites
When you use PPC for your search engine marketing, your website will always appear on top – even if the competing websites have a robust SEO strategy in place. This means your target audience will always notice you first before looking at other results.
- Targets Specific Audience
In organic SEO, your content will be visible to everyone who searches for the same keywords. However, paid search allows you to target specific audience. For instance, if your target audience is married couples, PPC will only show your ad to them!
What Are The Benefits Of Using Organic SEO?
- Comparatively Reasonable In The Long Run
While the campaign itself doesn’t cost a penny, you still have to pay for the tools or the services you hired. So, it will cost you some money. But the good thing is, it’s still cheaper than paid search if you look at the bigger picture.
It’s more like a one-time investment. Once you master creating content that ranks and attracts traffic to your site, you don’t have to drain your finances anymore. Your target audience will see it automatically. So, it’s a very cost-effective and scalable technique.
- A Stable Search Traffic
After you rank on a search engine, you can move on to planning and predicting your website’s free traffic – that is, if you continuously optimize it. Moreover, SEO offers the added advantage of not having an off or on switch. This means your website won’t stop appearing once your marketing budget is drained, unlike PPC.
Think of SEO as building a house – it takes time, effort, and investment to establish a strong foundation, but you own the property. On the other hand, PPC is like renting a storefront – you pay for immediate visibility, but the space isn’t yours in the long run.
- Builds Brand Authority
If you consistently appear on search results for keywords relevant to your products, your audience is more likely to start trusting you. In fact, Google will also begin to think that you’re an expert on this topic or subject. This could eliminate the need for professional link building service since you’ll be creating backlinks naturally!
So, Should You Choose SEO Or PPC?
Choosing the better option between SEO and PPC is like asking if you prefer eating with a fork or a spoon. The answer depends, of course! Here are a few things to consider when deciding on the most suitable search engine marketing campaign for your business:
- Marketing Budget: Does your marketing budget allow you to spend extravagantly? If not, organic SEO is a wise option. But if money is not an issue, PPC is a great alternative!
- Brand Authority: Does your brand have authority in your industry? If not, it might be a good idea to establish it. And search engine optimization can help you with that.
- Return On Investment (ROI): If you want immediate ROI, SEO is probably not for you. However, if you’re in it for a long game with the potential of maximum return on investment, you should opt for it.
- Purpose: If you want to promote an event, a new product or service, you have only a few days to work the magic. In such cases, it’s better to choose PPC.
- Urgency: If you can’t afford to wait to see the results, you better opt for paid search since it’s the only way to get quick results.
Final Verdict: Is Organic Search Better Than PPC Or Vice Versa?
As we mentioned, there’s no right or wrong option when it comes to search engine marketing. It completely depends on what you have in mind and what you wish to achieve. But if you’re just starting out, PPC is not a magic wand that could drive your brand to success overnight. Instead, it’s better to work your way up to it with organic SEO. Remember, slow and steady wins the race! The key is to remain consistent, whichever method you choose. SEM techniques can be tricky, especially for a beginner. So, don’t be so hard on yourself if you don’t get the desired results in the first attempt. You will eventually get there, we are positive!
