PPC Vs SEO: A Detailed Breakdown And Final Verdict

When it comes to deciding on the methods that you will use to boost traffic for your website, pay per click (otherwise known as PPC) and search engine optimisation (otherwise known as SEO) are two of the most common options that an entrepreneur has to choose from. Online marketing in Sydney is made easy when you take the time to learn about the differences between these two popular traffic boosting choices.

There are three main questions that you should be asking when you are deciding between the two approaches, since both of them have their advantages and disadvantages. Read on to learn more.

1. What Is The Size Of Your Website’s Budget?

During the process of comparing PPC vs SEO, you must first take a close look at your advertising budget and make an honest assessment of what you can and cannot afford. While you can set your daily spending limits as low or as high as you would like, it is recommended that you establish a monthly marketing budget to stick to.

Companies that do not have a large budget to dedicate to their advertising should stick with SEO methods, as many of them are free and easy to use. Even a business with a nonexistent budget can afford to use simple SEO strategies to spread the word about their goods and services.

On the other hand, businesses that have more capital at their disposal to spend on advertising can often benefit from PPC. There are numerous benefits available to companies who utilise PPC, including faster testing and protection from the algorithm updates that plague companies who try to make the most of their SEO strategy.

A business’ goal should be to achieve the best possible conversion rates and in many instance, PPC is the best way to do so. In order to make this dream a reality, a website’s conversion rates need to be tested as often as possible. The only way to reliably test these rates and improve them is to collect data. Data is generated much more quickly with PPC advertising.

SEO has its better qualities, but PPC provides more protection from changing algorithms. If a site has been optimised for search engines in a certain manner, all of this data can be lost overnight. But companies with larger budgets that can afford a PPC strategy are protected from the whims of Google and other popular search engines.

2. How is the cost per click in your particular industry?

The first component when it comes to deciding between PPC and SEO is the advertising budget. But once you know exactly how much money you have to work with, the next component that needs to be examined is the cost per click (aka CPC) for your industry.

Companies that select a PPC platform are able to place bids on what they are willing to pay for each click. For example, let’s say your company is selling insurance for automobiles. If the keyword phrase you are trying to use is “automobile insurance”, you can use the free Traffic Estimator that is contained within Google’s External Keyword Research Tool to find out what the average cost per click of that phrase entails.

But you may also find out that the cost per click is much higher if you alter the phrase slightly. Back in 2012, the average CPC for “car insurance online” was a mere $2.76, while the CPC for the phrase “auto insurance” was $28.55. These figures are in a constant state of flux, so it behooves business owners to think carefully about which advertising method they decide to choose.

Because of the difficulty that is involved with trying to determine a price and turn a profit by utilising PPC, a new advertiser may decide to use SEO instead, especially one who is working with a shoestring budget.

3. How competitive are the search engine results pages in your industry?

Once your company has determined the target keywords that they want to use, they will need to determine the level of competitiveness for the search engine results pages in their preferred niche. In order to do this, a business must use the aforementioned Google External Keyword Research Tool.

Entering the keywords into the tool will help determine the competition level and also provides analysis about the average cost per click and the amount of advertisers who are currently bidding on your preferred keywords.

If your company is trying to establish a foothold in an industry that is competitive, you will find that the search engine results pages are dominated by companies who are already considered to be authorities in their industries.

These companies are tough to displace without a significant investment, so PPC works best in these instances. Those who are trying to make headway in industries that do not already have established authorities can use SEO advertising strategies.

PPC vs SEO: The Verdict

There is no reason to turn PPC vs SEO in a simple choice, where you are selecting one or the other. As you can see, many strategies may require the use of both methods. When they are combined, smart companies and businesses are able to harness their power. A business must ask themselves the three questions above and do everything in their power to develop a potent mixture of both methods.

A website works best when SEO and PPC strategies are both fully optimised, so don’t let your company fall into the trap of making an either/or decision.