One of the most important decisions a company will have to make once it has its site online is whether to push for organic rankings on search engines, or to engage in pay per click advertising campaigns. The former is typically accomplished with a combination of search engine optimization, content marketing, and a few other secondary marketing methods. Pay per click advertising, on the other hand, only requires a financial commitment, though it must still be monitored closely by a professional, or it can quickly get expensive and become ineffective.
There are significant differences between the two, including differences in value. In short, nothing online is easy, and though it can be a long road to the top of the organic rankings, it is worth it in the long run.
Organic rankings take time to establish, while pay per click advertising is instantaneous
Getting to the top of the organic rankings requires a well-realized site that is trusted by Google. Earning that trust means extensive content marketing, which consists of regularly updating of the site with relevant, interesting material, and search engine optimization techniques. SEO techniques include cleaning up the site’s navigation, maintaining proper site tags, establishing links, streamlining the site’s design, and a number of other tweaks. This can take several months to execute properly.
It may seem obvious, but when a company begins a pay per click advertising campaign, they agree to pay Google (if using AdWords) for every click their site receives. In return, they are listing along the right side of any search results relevant to the site’s content.
Organic rankings are more effective in the long run and should be a company’s primary goal
Though pay per click advertising can be effective for generating a burst of short term traffic, and though it does convert more clicks into purchases, it lags behind organic rankings to a great degree. That’s because people respect organic search results much more than they do advertising. Heat maps produced by researchers confirm this, with the organic rankings receiving nearly nine times more clicks than advertising results.
So, even though pay per click converts clicks to buys at a higher rate, the overwhelming traffic advantage that organic rankings offer makes for more converts overall, and a much higher return on investment in the end.
Both should be managed by a professional firm
Building rankings organically takes a well-crafted marketing approach and time. It also requires a team dedicated to the task, because the more content marketing, SEO and social media marketing a company can engage in, the better off they will be.
Pay per click advertising campaigns should also be guided by a professional. Marketing firms know how to optimize these campaigns and snag additional traffic. It’s also something that must be monitored constantly, or it can bust a budget without warning.
There are times when either option can work, but if a company wants to climb to the top of Google and stay there, they will want to invest in a firm that specializes in organic ranking improvement.
