Search engine optimization (SEO) and paid Google ads (PPC) are two of the most popular methods used for online marketing. Both are designed to increase a website’s visibility in search engine results pages (SERPs) and drive more traffic to a site. However, SEO and PPC are fundamentally different in their approach and their results. In this article, we will explore why SEO is better than paid Google ads.
Cost-effectiveness
One of the most significant benefits of SEO is that it is a cost-effective strategy for long-term success. The cost of SEO is typically lower than the cost of PPC advertising because SEO focuses on organic traffic, which means that the traffic comes from people who are genuinely interested in your content. In contrast, PPC is a paid form of advertising where you pay for each click on your ads, and it can become expensive over time, especially if you’re in a competitive industry.
Long-term results
SEO is a long-term strategy that takes time to show results, but it also has long-lasting results. When you rank well on search engines, you get consistent traffic over a more extended period, even if you stop putting in extra effort. On the other hand, PPC provides short-term results as it requires you to keep paying for clicks. As soon as you stop paying for ads, your traffic drops to zero.
Credibility and Trust
SEO can help establish credibility and trust with your audience. When your website ranks high in search results, it shows that your content is relevant and trustworthy, which is why search engines are ranking it at the top. This helps build trust with your audience as they see you as a reliable source of information. On the other hand, people tend to be wary of ads, especially those that appear at the top of the search results. In fact, research has shown that many people skip ads altogether and prefer to click on organic results instead.
Better Click-through Rates (CTR)
People are more likely to click on organic search results than on paid ads. According to a study by Search Engine Journal, organic results have a 70% higher click-through rate than PPC ads. People are more likely to click on organic results because they believe these results are more relevant and trustworthy. In contrast, people may be more skeptical of ads and may not click on them.
Targeted Traffic
SEO provides targeted traffic based on the search intent of the user. SEO allows you to optimize your content to rank for specific keywords that your target audience is searching for. This means that the people who visit your website are more likely to be interested in your products or services. PPC, on the other hand, can result in untargeted traffic, which means that the people who click on your ads may not be interested in what you have to offer.
About SEO
While both SEO and PPC are useful marketing strategies, SEO has significant advantages over PPC. SEO provides cost-effective, long-term results that establish credibility and trust with your audience. It also has better click-through rates, provides targeted traffic and can deliver long-lasting results. Therefore, SEO should be a priority for any business that wants to increase its visibility and drive more traffic to its website.
We can help you design a strategy to optimize your website to appear in the Google index with high rank for your terms. Getting on the first page is the name of the game, and it can be done with a multi-prong strategy including
- On-Page optimization
- Site Structure (menus and internal link) optimization
- Inbound links from directory lists or guest posts on authority sites.
Google Won’t Understand Your Customers as Well as You Do
Google’s interest when you buy ads might be at cross purposes with your own, particularly in the design of your Google Ads campaign. Google suggests keyword alternates to the keywords you input when setting up your ad. Their suggestions are based on search frequency, offering Google maximum revenue opportunity.
If you want to reach customers for a niche service, Google might not allow the keyword that will reach them if it has low search frequency, despite the fact that the person you want to reach is exactly the one doing that infrequent search.
You can get around this by having content titles containing these arcane or infrequent terms. Google will need to see a direct path to your keyword page from the front page, otherwise they won’t index the page. When it’s set up properly, you’ll come up in the top of SERP for the term and reach your customer without spending a dime getting a lot of irrelevant page views from a Google ad.
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