In order to boost your website traffic there are a couple of options that you can try. These include Pay-Per-Click (PPC) advertising and Search Engine Optimization (SEO). First, before comparing the advantages and disadvantages, let’s look at what is SEO and PPC
Pay-Per-Click (PPC)
When it comes to PPC advertising, it requires you to pay for the traffic using your chosen program from one of the major providers. These programs let you to display your advertisements in sponsored results shown on the SERPs. The fee you have to pay is based on the competitiveness of the chosen keywords and you’re charged whenever a visitor clicks the ads to get to your website.
SEO (Search engine optimization)
On the contrary, SEO allows you to build free traffic by ranking higher in the SERPs for your chosen keywords. Higher ranks can be achieved by following some of the proven SEO best practices that can help your web pages become more prominent in the search results.
Both the approaches work but sometimes you have to decide which one is better for your website and then pursue that. But how can you decide? Well, here are some factors to be taken into consideration.
Size Of Your Advertising Budget For The Website
When you have to choose between PPC and SEO, you first have to be clear about your advertising budget. Even though this budget can go as low as you might like, but if you can’t commit any money for advertising then you must stick to free SEO options available. In case you have ample amount that you can spare for your website’s advertising then PPC would be a good choice for sure. When you choose PPC, you get some added benefits as well such as quick testing and protection against search engine algorithm updates. You should start small, however, and consider highly targeted PPC campaigns. Use Google Analytics to judge whether it’s paying off or not.
The Average CPCs In The Industry
Besides setting a budget for your website’s advertising, you should first check out what others are spending on ads. Usually, you have the option of bidding what you’d like to pay if someone clicks your ads for a particular keyword and this fee is often called CPC or Cost-Per-Click. Sometimes, the CPC can go much higher for a single click and you may not find it a feasible option if you are just starting out as it will make things harder for you to make profit from your PPC traffic. If that’s the case, you’d be better off choosing SEO to bring traffic to your website.
Competitiveness Of SERPs In The Niche
It is also important to determine the competitiveness of the keywords you are targeting. Google’s Keyword Research tool allows you to determine estimated competitiveness. It also tells you how many advertisers are bidding on the keywords that you have chosen. In competitive industries, you’ll find authority websites on top of the SERPs and it’s almost impossible to beat them without spending a major amount of money and investing a lot of your time.
So, when the competition is high your best bet would be to rely on PPC promotions for acquiring traffic. To cut the long story short, both PPC and SEO are effective for your website under different circumstances. Nevertheless, you can always use them in combination to achieve the best results.
Conclusion PPC vs SEO
If you’re looking for instant numbers and your traffic should be on the site today, be sure to reach for PPC. However, the price per visit from PPC is many times higher in a long-term comparison. If you want to invest in the long term and boost the strength and authority of your site on month by month so that one day you will reach a stable base, reach for SEO. Keep in mind that SEO brings visits even years after the end of the investment, unlike PPCs, where the last cent also ends traffic. Neither is better, but both are suitable for different directions.
And if you need professional help, we can help you with both campaigns. We offer SEO promotion as well as PPC campaign management.
