Trying to get higher returns on your marketing efforts? If so, your best bet is likely to invest more in SEO or PPC services.

First things first: what is PPC and what is SEO? PPC (pay-per-click) is a model that involves paying for clicks to your website. SEO (search engine optimization) refers to optimizing your content so that it ranks higher in search engines.

The SEO vs PPC comparison has led to a lot of debate in recent years. Which one is the better fit for your business? That depends on the following factors!

Longevity

Ranking high enough in Google for your desired keywords brings organic traffic. Once you get to that point, your content should have immense staying power. Your entire marketing team could take a break and the traffic would keep flowing.

By comparison, a paid marketing model such as PPC is a lot like a faucet. As long as the tap is running, the traffic will keep increasing. Once the tap is off, the traffic will dry up as well. This is why SEO is better for long-term results.

Speed

SEO will get you reliable results, but it may take a while to get to that point. Studies show that only about 5% of pages rank in the top 10 search results within a year. If you don’t have much time to make an impact, SEO won’t be a good fit.

PPC is a lot faster. All you need to do is go to an ad platform and create a campaign. Since the feedback is so swift, you can figure out what works and what doesn’t very quickly. The easiest way to do that is to run A/B testing.

Content Type

When it comes to consuming online content, people prefer to learn from experts. Therefore, you’ll need expertise to rank high in search results. If you don’t create content yourself, hiring someone to do it may put a strain on your resources.

With PPC, this is less of an issue. PPC allows for granular targeting, which means you can control which people will find your site. You can set filters for all kinds of data, such as geography, demographics, interests, and so on.

Cost

If your SEO campaign is a success, SEO will be cheaper than PPC in the long run. This is particularly true if you’re in a competitive industry such as insurance. For instance, bidding on the “car insurance” keyword will cost you about $40 per click.

On top of that, PPC requires you to have money to make money. In the first few months, you’re likely to lose money while you’re optimizing your campaign. If you’re on a budget, it might take too long for you to begin running profitable ads.

More on SEO vs PPC

When it comes to PPC vs SEO, the only real answer is, “depends on the business.” Sometimes, the best option will be to use them in tandem. They complement each other well, so if they’re both profitable, why not use them both?

Want to know more about the SEO vs PPC debate? Still not sure which of these marketing services will benefit your business? Contact us right here — we can help you reach the right decision!