Organic SEO Vs Adwords

If you have a website, and I’d imagine you do if you are reading this article, you will most likely already realise the benefits of online marketing and what it means with regards to generating revenue from your website.


Managing your online messages and search engine signals has become one of the most basic and most important methods of driving your business forward in the 21st century. No serious player these days operates without some form of online advertising. The general objective is to draw customers to your website by creating campaigns which promote your ideas and solutions which will hopefully convert into potential customers into sales.


It has become more and more important for business owners to dedicate more time into delivering more traffic and sources to their website through multiple online marketing methods. Whether it is social networking, organic SEO, PPC or ad’s from other websites that gets you noticed, the more your brand is available the more users will eventually find you.


The first stage in employing any online marketing campaign is to outline the goals of the campaign. What is it you aim to achieve? Is it to increase traffic? Maybe it’s to convert more of the traffic or find higher quality sources? Maybe you just want to increase the time spent on your site and the pages they visit? Deciding what your objectives are will ultimately lead to what technique to employ.
In recent years we have seen a progression in online marketing with two techniques in particular becoming ‘buzz words’ in the industry and should be considered when going down the route of any web related campaign. These are:

1. Search Engine Optimisation (SEO)
   

Search engine optimisation is an organic process of improving the signals your website produces to attract the search engines to find, index, cache and then rank your website based on user search queries. Through an augmented process of managing and editing on and off page content, inbound and internal links you can craft and shape your site to target specific audiences and increase traffic through relevant content and resources. The most influential SEO positions to hold are in the top 5 of any search engine, but in particular Google as they retain over 75% global search market share.

1. Ad words (PPC)
   

Ad words or PPC (Pay Per Click) is an advertising utility developed by Google which allows for paid listings in the Google search engine. These are the adverts you see above and to the right of the search results. They are keyword targeted Ad’s relevant to your business and provide an immediate gateway to your website which can have a specific call to action.


Each click a potential customer costs a specific amount, hence the phrase pay per click. Advertisers can bid for advert positions, i.e. the higher the bid the higher the position in the search results. Bids vary with different keywords depending on how important and relevant that particular phrase is to the business. Often the most common search terms will cost the most.


PPC is good for exposure and targeting specific audiences and driving additional traffic to your website. Many commercial companies invest in Ad words to help increase the prominence of their brand without having to spend hours of time on organic SEO.


To better understand however what technique is best for your business it is worth evaluating the pros and cons of each solution.



Search Engine Optimisation Pros:

• Authority – the longer you remain on top of the search engine the more popular you become the more traffic you drive and the more presence you have in the market. It shows to others that you have put the time and the effort to obtain that position and Google believes you are the most valuable result for that particular search phrase. The ranking is achieved purely on the basis of quality content and relevance.
• Once you are at the top its free to stay there, unless a competitor knocks you off. Unlike Adwords you don’t have to pay to be there or for the clicks you receive.
• Good SEO will get you good traffic i.e. customers who are willing to pay for your services or who are already part way through the buying cycle.
• Through an effective SEO campaign the results are much longer lasting, invest now and the results will come later and remain for longer. Unlike Adwords which only benefits as you shell out cash.

Search Engine Optimisation Cons

• SEO is complicated and requires huge investment in time, which can, in most cases, cost money. Effective SEO will also often require modification to the structure, layout and design of your website to help convert the traffic. It’s a combination of user experience and search engine friendly.
• Results can take time to come and quite often the impact of SEO efforts cannot be known immediately. Often this time gap can put people off as the profitability of the site remains low during the initial outlay.

Pay Per Click Pros

• The obvious benefit of PPC is instant results; in terms of traffic, leads, or sales. Usually in a very short time frame (days, or even hours) you can expect to see results.
• PPC is more appropriate for temporary offers or “money makers”, proposals that generate revenue, unless of course your objective is purely for prominence. Adwords gives added visibility and exposure early on and can help fund further SEO developments.
• PPC is easy to implement and manage; there is quite often little need to outsource this service to another agency. It is a lot less technical than organic SEO it also allows for accurate testing and monitoring as results are clearly defined, either it works or it doesn’t. You can also bid on multiple specific key phrases.
  

Pay Per Click Cons

• The biggest flaw in Adwords is that it can be exceptional costly, especially if it’s a start up business with limited capital. It can very quickly eat up profit margins as well as pay for clicks which don’t convert, such as competitor clicks (known as click fraud).

Before embarking on any online marketing campaign a thorough analysis of the pros and cons must be considered. If you have a one off offer or a new product for launch then PPC may be beneficial. If you require a more long term profitable and substantial quantity of valuable traffic then SEO is probably best. In most cases business require a combination of both at some point to really make their mark in the industry.


Both have advantages and disadvantages, so choose your weapon wisely and don’t rush into your decisions. The most effective campaigns are those which take time to develop, understand, tweak and apply.