Search engines, like Google and Bing, make it easy for potential customers to find your business. These search engines help to organize the web by analyzing websites and delivering the best results to online searchers based on their search queries. The higher your website ranks, the better chance customers have to find you on the search engine results page (SERP).
Search engines provide two kinds of listings—organic listings and paid listings. Search engine optimization (SEO) focuses on optimizing organic listings, whereas pay per click (PPC) advertising focuses on optimizing paid listings. Both organic and paid listings can boost your online visibility. Like chemical compounds, when combined properly, they can produce more powerful results!
Composition
What Is It?
SEO: SEO is the process of helping the search engines organize the Internet, providing searchers with the information, services, and products they are looking for. It is also the process of satisfying the individual needs of the searcher by quickly delivering content that not only matches their search query, but also delivers the best experience.
PPC: PPC advertising allows you to create ads that will be displayed on the SERP. Advertisers set a bid for what they are willing to “pay per click” and are charged each time a user clicks on their ad. PPC ads appear directly above and to the right of organic listings on the SERP, and search engines label them as ads.
Benefits
SEO
- No Direct Costs: Websites are not charged for clicks from organic listings.
- Long Lasting Results: After a website reaches the first page of search results, SEO efforts are long lasting and easy to maintain.
- High Volume: 83% of clicks from desktop searches are organic, and 51% of all website traffic comes from organic search.
- High Conversion Rates: SEO leads have an average close rate of 15%, while traditional outbound leads average 2%.
PPC
- Immediate Placement: Once a campaign is live, ads have the chance to show up on the SERP immediately.
- Budget Management: You are in control of what you’re willing to spend per day. Search engines will spend no more than 20% over your daily budget.
- Managed Placement: PPC offers great features like ad scheduling and location targeting. These features give advertisers the ability to choose when and where they want their ads to show.
Drawbacks
SEO
- SEO typically takes 4 to 6 months before you see results, with best results after 9 to 12 months.
- SEO is an ongoing process that requires consistent effort, continual monitoring, and constant refining—resulting in a lot of work hours.
- Search engines are constantly updating their algorithms, which can affect your rankings.
- There’s no guarantee of ranking on the first page.
PPC
- PPC ads only work as long as your campaign is active. If paused or stopped, traffic from this source stops as well.
- SERPs label your PPC advertisements as ads. Users tend to avoid advertisements when completing a search.
- Having active ads doesn’t guarantee ad position or clicks. Constant evaluation and optimization is necessary for a successful PPC campaign.
Combined Effects
Immediate and Long-Term Results: By itself, PPC advertising offers immediate but temporary results. SEO by itself offers long-lasting but delayed results. Together, these tactics complement each other to provide both immediate and long-lasting results.
Higher Share of Clicks: Both organic and paid listings give users more chances to click on your website. A study by Bing shows that the top organic listing receives 60% of the clicks, but the top organic listing combined with the top paid listing for the same brand receives 91% of the clicks.
Use SEO and PPC together to attract more customers, expand your brand authority, and greatly increase your profits.
