SEO Vs PPC Advertising

 So for the uninitiated, SEM, is not a dirty word. It is the process of combining marketing efforts in an online environment, or more accurately, within Search Engines. The technique may consist of Search engine optimisation (SEO ) and/or Pay Per Click Advertising.( Google Ads, Bing Ads, Linked in Ads)

“SMM” is the abbreviation for Social Media Marketing, which we will address in a further post but for now, some clarity.

Simply speaking,  SEO is the process of producing and fine tuning the content within your website, it’s architecture, how it links to others and how you go about others linking to you for you to be placed in a higher and more prominent position in search engines.

Search engines are the main place people turn to find stuff, look for answers, research and buy things.

If you’re not there, people will have more trouble finding you.  The aim….is for you to be found in a number of different places so searchers interested in what you do,….will cross your path…

Make sure your content is right!

It’s not rocket science, but there are some guidelines to respect.

You can liken the process to going to the gym. ….it will take time to see results….. so requires a clear strategy, plenty of research, analysis, correct implementation……and patience!

Luckily in todays world, there are a number of different online tools to partly help make things a little easier.  Tools that search engine marketers utilise to gain insights, into searcher behaviour, how your site AND your competitor’s sites perform and then guide you into what needs fixing and where.

Now, it doesn’t matter what ‘black magic’ stories you’ve heard, but SEO basically comes down to how competitive a particular search phrase is.

The less competitive….and the easier it is to rank for.

If you’re in the business of ‘home loans’ or offering a ‘credit card’ service, then good luck, because the big banks generally stitch this part of the market up.    However, if you work in a more general field and offer a product or service that is less competitive, then with the right strategy and working with the right partner to tick all the boxes and obey the rules from a Google point of view, then SEO is a very sound method of driving leads into your business.

If you’re looking for SEO services and happen to be located in Adelaide but dont know where to start, please feel free to contact me and we’ll work on the basics to getting you found.

PPC or  ‘Pay Per Click’ advertising

This is the acronym and vehicle for a Google product called Google Ads or Bing Ads.

This is a solution Google provides for those that want to jump the queue by making keywords that are relevant to your business available to bid on and purchase for anywhere upwards of 5 cents a term in exchange for visibility of your business website for that key term.

When someone ‘clicks’…  you pay and then those people enter your site adding to your overall website traffic.  Now don’t kid yourself if you think all key terms are 5 cents,  because that would, to me, appear like a very reasonable advertising strategy, but the reality is, they aren’t.

In fact,  unless its your own business name, most key words cost northwards of $1 and then sit anywhere in between $1 and $10 a click depending on a variety of factors; quality of your website, the key term you’ve chosen, the amount you’re prepared to bid, the time of day, the device, how much your competitors are prepared to bid, the ad you’ve created and the landing page that ad matches too..  It can get pretty wordy but if you Google a gentleman by the name of Hal Valerian,  Google’s chief economist,  he’s produced some great video material around this.

Anyway, the Adwords process is like taking a Berocca in the morning. you feel good, or in this case, you SEE your results and positioning virtually straight away.  How much you are prepared to pay is decided upon based on the outcome you hope it to deliver.  One of many advantages over SEO, is that PPC advertising allows you to bid on as many search terms as you like. you’ll just need an appropriate budget to do so.

It is important to note that algorithms for Pay Per Click are independant to that of the natural or organic listings.

Meaning, just because you invest money into Adwords,  doesn’t mean your website is going to rank quicker organically.  That said, indirectly, more people will visit and revisit your site which can help your traffic numbers, but there is no correlation between the algorithms for Paid Search Advertising and the  improvement of your site in the Organic listings.

It is therefore best practice to build a solid foundation in SEO for the core keywords relevant to your business, and then run PPC programs to capture broader traffic in order to capitalise on all opportunities.

Furthermore, if you run Googles Adwords, occupy a strong position AND a listing within the map listings for certain keywords, you are already taking up 2 other spots that your competitors aren’t, so you have more chance of being clicked upon and gaining that lead.

There is of course more to ‘gaining that lead’, just as there is more to the overall online strategy, but we wont go into it here.

I have worked on and continue to provide SEO and PPC programs in Adelaide with a number of recognisable Adelaide business brands and would, by all accounts, be happy to have some preliminary discussions around your requirements.

Please do not hesitate to contact me for a chat.