PPC vs. SEO—battle of the acronyms, battle of the lead generators. Pay-Per-Click (PPC) and Search Engine Optimization (SEO) are both popular and effective ways to drum up leads for your business. But, what’s the difference? And, which one is best for your business?
If you’re new to PPC and SEO, consider this your primer. We’ll cover everything you need to know to get started with them and help you use these tools to generate leads and boost business.
But first, you need to have an understanding of Search Engine Marketing—the broad category that encompasses both tools.
What is Search Engine Marketing?
By now we all know that Google is the king of the internet. If anyone is going to find your business online, they’re likely going through Google.
So, if you’re going to be successful in business, you need this powerful search engine to be working for you.
This is done through Search Engine Marketing (SEM).
Within SEM, there are two different options:
- Paid search results: Results at the top of the page in the form of advertisements paid for by the company. This is PPC.
- Earned (or organic) search results: Results that appear below those first paid advertisements and come to us organically by searching keywords in Google. This is SEO.
Both are valid marketing strategies to boost your visibility on Google and, therefore, your clicks, page visits, and sales leads. Determining which one to use—or if you should use both—depends on your goals and overall marketing strategy.
SEM can be part of an all-around marketing strategy, used alongside options like using Instagram reels to promote your small business or branding ideas to stand out from the crowd.
What is PPC?
PPC is the internet-era equivalent of TV or billboard ads. You’re paying for advertisement space at the top of Google’s homepage. So, anytime someone searches keywords related to your company, your ad comes up.
For example, if you search “lawyer Tucson,” you’ll see a paid ad come up first. The firms listed at the top have invested in PPC Google Ads to boost the visibility of their business.
This form of SEM is called “Pay-Per-Click” because the company pays Google each time someone clicks on their advertisement.
Benefits of PPC
PPC is an effective way to get your message across quickly. Because you’re paying for that ad space, you can significantly increase the visibility of your business.
Here are some main benefits of PPC:
- Specific, targeted ads to boost under-performing websites, programs, or initiatives.
- High visibility on Google.
- Market segmentation via targeted ads helps you connect with specific audiences.
- Drives fast traffic and leads.
- Measurable strategy with advanced tracking and data collection—check out our Google Analytics for small businesses guide for more info on this!
Challenges of PPC
Despite being a quick and efficient way to boost visibility, there are some challenges to PPC as well:
- Cost can add up quickly if you aren’t monitoring ad campaigns and how much you’re spending.
- Writing and creating effective Google Ads is a specific skill and can be challenging.
- Does not work as well for general brand visibility and awareness because ads are specific and targeted.
What is SEO?
If PPC provides a quick and efficient visibility boost, SEO is playing the SEM long game. SEO is the process of incorporating keywords into your website copy so that Google picks it up when people search.
If your website is SEO-optimized, it will rank higher on Google. Typically the goal is to show up on the first page of website results. If we return to our search of “lawyer Tucson,” you can see the results that come up below a paid ad. These are high-ranking organic search results, likely because they are SEO-optimized.
Benefits of SEO
A strong SEO strategy and ranking will help your business long-term. As long as you maintain a strong SEO ranking, your site will stay at the top of Google’s search results indefinitely, allowing for plenty of opportunities to generate new leads.
SEO benefits include:
- Sustained traffic throughout the months and years.
- Consistent visibility by remaining at the top of Google’s search results.
- High brand visibility and identity by reinforcing your brand name with the public.
- Broader searchability; less targeted to a specific program or initiative.
Challenges of SEO
SEO provides long-term visibility and lead generation, but it doesn’t come without work! Here are the main challenges companies face with SEO:
- Competition with other businesses in your industry for specific keywords.
- SEO is always changing, so you need to keep your site up-to-date.
- SEO research and maximization is a specialized skill; companies may need to hire someone to help them with it.
- Results (i.e. leads) may take longer to realize.
- Hard to measure the direct impact of SEO efforts.
PPC vs. SEO: Which is Right for Your Business?
Both PPC and SEO take time and skill to set up. And even though SEO is technically free, you may need to hire a specialist to optimize your website or devote employee work hours towards it.
Companies should determine their overall goals before choosing how to invest their marketing efforts.
Choose PPC if…
- You want to get the word out quickly about new products, programs, or events.
- You need to collect specific data on what’s working and what’s not.
- You have the budget to spend on paid advertisements.
- You have a specific target audience you want to reach.
Choose SEO if…
- You want to increase brand awareness.
- You want sustained visibility at the top of Google search results.
- You’re comfortable with the “long game” and don’t need immediate results.
- You have the resources to invest in SEO keyword research.
- Your marketing strategy centers around earned and organic searches; this can increase brand trust and authenticity.
Choosing PPC vs. SEO marketing does not have to be an either-or decision. Companies may use both strategies at the same time or fluctuate between them.
Ultimately, it’s most important for marketing managers and business owners to understand how each one works so that you can make an informed decision to help grow your business.
Looking for a workspace where you can grow your business? Then book a tour of The Post and come see what we have to offer.