When looking for targeted search traffic for your website, there are two popular ways in which to get these results – Organic search, which we believe is the best SEO ever, and PPC, which stands for pay per click advertising – in our case we talk about Google ads. In order to choose which is best for your website you must first understand the advantages and disadvantages of each.
PPC is all those ads you see on right column Google, Yahoo and Bing. Webmasters pay a specific amount of money for each click to their website from the various search results or ads placed on websites. With Google, you will find these ads on the right side, at the top of the searches or on web pages.
Of course, in order to get the best location on the search page, you will have to pay a higher per click amount. On the good side, you will only pay if someone actually clicks the ad and visits your website. Also PPC is a bid based system, the ranking of those ads being based on the price you pay in relation with other players.
PPC Advantages
- Instant Traffic – some webmasters see results within the first hour after ads are posted.
- Moneymaking – in many cases, the cost is not as much as you will make.
- Targeting – you can easily track the keywords to learn which ones bring traffic and focus on these keywords.
PPC Disadvantages
- Each time a person clicks an ad, it will cost you money. The statistics say that around 30% of PPC are fraudulent. The minute you quit paying, you will lose the traffic. Some visitors may come back but they will have to remember your website in order to do so.
- If your website does not get the attention of the visitors, you have wasted your money on the PPC campaign.
- The cost can go up drastically if you are competing for the top ten spots on the Google search.
Google is a search engine that began like all the rest; however, due to the technology used they offer content that is more relevant for those searching and are now considered the top in organic search. You cannot pay a company that can put you in the top position even if you paid them a million dollars, as Google will decide according to the content you have on your website. In order to get it in the top of organic searches you need to use organic SEO principles.
Organic Search Advantages
- You will not pay for a visitor
- Research has shown that more browsers click on the search results over the PPC ads meaning you will receive more targeted visitors.
- Many people consider Google to be an authority, which certainly helps if you are seen on their front page, making your website an authority with the keywords searched.
- Your investment will see long-term results without paying each type a person clicks. Just a couple of hundred bucks (at a least, the cost for SEO is depending on so many factors like website size, competition size, time, site structure, etc) for a company to provide you with organic SEO for your website and you will reap for the rewards for years to come.
Of course, there will still be work to do as SEO is an ongoing process, but you will not have to worrying about paying thousands of dollars each time your account runs out of money for PPC ads.
Organic Search Disadvantages
- It takes time to see results – It can take from a few weeks to a few months to start seeking great results.
- If you do this alone following close this blog SEO articles or you can ask for services a quality company offering organic SEO and just sit and watch the results. We assure you, the benefits will be much larger than the investment.
The best way to make this decision is to review very carefully the pros and cons, but if you are looking for long-term results, organic SEO is the only answer.
Still the benefits that will come over the time when doing SEO are much important and relevant than any PPC existent. In other words, it pays to have SEO.
This guest post was written by Vic who is a Toronto SEO consultant and Web Developer with a great passion for Web Usability and Search Engine Optimization. He provides SEO Services for small and family businesses.