
SEO And PPC - Which Should You Use
Search
Engine Marketing 101
Pay-per-Click
(PPC) Advertising:
Advantages
of PPC
Disadvantages
of PPC
Organic
Search Engine Results:
Advantages
of Organic Rankings
Disadvantages
of Organic Rankings
Alright class, today we will be discussing the basic
principles of what search engine marketing is. It seems there are different
schools of thought about the theory of Search Engine Marketing (SEM), and my goal is to clarify any grey areas that may exist and to highlight the
advantages and disadvantages of each form of SEM.
Some people believe that SEM involves Pay-Per-Click
advertising exclusively, and others believe that SEM has to do with Organic
Search results. Still, the fact of the matter is it includes both areas. If you
are not familiar with the terms, PPC and Organic results don’t despair, because
I will now expound on these elements.
Pay-per-Click
(PPC) Advertising:
From the screenshot above, you will notice that I searched
using the key phrase “search engine marketing,” and Google has generated
specific results site loud tronix. At the
top of the results page and toward the right, I have placed a red box around
particular results.
A distinctive element about these particular ads is that they
have been paid for by an advertiser who has bid on the keyword “search engine
marketing.” And if you click on one of these ads, the advertiser is charged a
certain amount for that click, hence the name Pay-Per-Click Advertising.
Advantages
of PPC
- This
adverting allows the advertiser to drive targeted traffic to his/her site
- The truck can begin flowing to the site minutes after an ad is placed
- It
serves as an excellent resource to build a brand or an email list and can
help generate sales at a rapid pace
Disadvantages
of PPC
- It can
be a costly investment especially for those who are inexperienced
- Higher
competition keywords are almost impossible to bid on because they are too
expensive, which limits the exposure for businesses with smaller
advertising budgets
- Many
people who click these ads are information seekers and not buyers
Organic
Search Engine Results:
Using the exact search term as the example above, I have now
highlighted an area in the screenshot that is directly below the PPC ads. These
results are what are known as organic or natural search results.
Traffic generated from the organic results is highly valued
in the eyes of webmasters because the traffic is virtually free. However, there
will be cost attributed to gaining increased ranking in the search engines use
what is known as Search Engine Optimization (SEO).
Advantages
of Organic Rankings
- Traffic
is free, and depending on certain competitive variables the traffic can
become a passive stream
- Traffic
can be laser targeted to the keywords your site is optimized for
Disadvantages
of Organic Rankings
- Achieving
organic ranking is an indefinite process
- The
cost of hiring SEO firms can add up fairly quickly
- The
stability of your rankings is never guaranteed
PPC and natural search engine rankings are the crux of what
search engine marketing is. Both these traffic sources provide certainly
benefits, but the approach you embrace in SEM will be dependent on your
business needs as well as the size of your budget.
There we go, class; the discourse, as mentioned above, should
provide the necessary knowledge to help you understand the two forms of Search
Engine Marketing.
This article has been provided to us by Neil, who is
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