Introduction
Sometimes in the world of marketing all the different jargon, abbreviations and acronyms can become a bit overwhelming. One of the key definitions to make is between SEO (Search Engine Optimisation) and PPC (Pay-Per-Click).
Familiarising yourself with the differences between SEO and PPC will help you make an effective marketing strategy for both the short and long term.
Read on for a simple guide to the differences of each, and why they are both so important.
What is SEO?
SEO is the process of populating your website with keywords and the best content so that your webpages rank in the organic results of search engines, without paying for the privilege.
Keywords are the key to a good SEO strategy, so thorough keyword research and implementation is important, however, there is a lot more to it than that. Search engines are continuously evolving so staying on top of it is crucial.
Having a good SEO strategy may not return immediate results, and it may take a bit of trial and error to get your keywords and content right. However, in the long term, it can be hugely beneficial. Once you are ranking where you want to, organic traffic to your website can continue consistently.
One major advantage of increasing your organic traffic is that, apart from the time spent, it’s free. This makes it much more cost effective than a lot of other marketing strategies.
What is PPC?
In a nutshell PPC is most commonly found in the form of search ads where the advertiser pays a fee each time someone clicks on their ad – this in turn places their ads at the in a prominent position on the search engine results page, if they are set up correctly.
If you are looking for immediate, short-term results then giving PPC a go comes highly recommended. There really aren’t many faster ways to put your brand or products in front of consumers looking to fulfil a specific need.
Despite there being a cost related to this type of advertising, you can carefully control the budget limiting how much you are willing to spend on each click, day or month. You can even pause it for a time if you are looking to tighten your belt.
Why they both matter
So, which one should you use? SEO or PPC? Well, in most cases the answer is both. Especially to start with.
Having an aligned SEO and PPC strategy is best way to optimise results. They can work in tandem in various ways. For example, the keyword conversion data from PPC can help with content ideas to drive organic traffic. In turn if there are certain locations that organic traffic isn’t reaching then you can use PPC to target that area more specifically.
A common strategy is to use PPC quite heavily to start off with, whilst you are building up your keyword research, content on your website, and trust with Google, so that you aren’t going to miss out on traffic whilst waiting for your SEO strategy to take off.
How can Blue Bee help?
With over a decade of experience in SEO and PPC, we have helped businesses of all shapes, sizes and industries to grow both their organic rankings and navigate the world of Google Ads to increase traffic.
If you’re looking for either a comprehensive SEO service that works to deliver free traffic to your website, or you would like to use a Google Partner company to take your online advertising to the next level then Blue Bee is on hand to help.
