Both search engine optimization (SEO) and pay per click (PPC) are skills that can be invaluable for increasing the exposure of your company as well as traffic to its site. However, there is something of a divide between the people who work in each camp respectively regarding the respective strengths of each. SEO focuses on organically building up rankings on search engine result pages (SERPs) over a period of time with valuable content, eventually working your way to the top. PPC on the other hand, requires a more analytical approach, often necessitating that you be able to spot any patterns from your campaign, to squeeze just a little more return out of your budget. More specifically though, there are a number of differences between the two practices.
In general, SEO is somewhat more of a creative approach to marketing. Because SEO will, more often than not, involve optimizing an entire site, it’s a practice that often requires those employing it to produce content such as blog posts or copy for the page, necessitating a degree of originality to make the site stand out from others.
And, because it’s a process that takes time and effort over a longer period, the results gained from SEO are spread out over a longer period and are more lasting. If an SEO budget is suddenly cut, for instance, the benefits of which are very unlikely to go away immediately. However, it comes with the caveat that those same benefits aren’t likely to be seen as immediately either.
In contrast, PPC results are something that will have an immediate and direct impact on your company’s bottom line. Although it requires more risk and a certain degree of intuition when deciding how to allocate the budget they’re given, the fact that results are far more evident is something that obviously holds appeal to both clients and employers.
Likewise, because PPC is a much more concentrated practice, those who practice it are usually able to more fully dedicate their time and resources to it, as opposed to possibly spreading themselves thin as can occur with SEO work. PPC marketing is something that, when given complete attention, is a task that can seen to the end relatively more easily.
Ideally, of course, it’s best to use a delicate balance of the two. The team you have working on either should consist of a mix of people who are adept in social media, analytics, link building, analytics, and of course, have some technical skill to ensure that they’re able to successfully accomplish whatever it is they’re tasked with.
Written by Kenny K.