Pay per click vs SEO…what’s the difference and which one should I use?
The goals of SEO and PPC are the same – to drive drive people to your website.
So how are they different?
Well, you don’t pay for people who come to your website through SEO, whilst you do pay for people who come after clicking an ad.
If you look at Google search results, all companies listed at the very top or to the right with the word “Ad” in a yellow box, are paying for their visitors (Google Ads are an example of PPC). All companies below are not, as they’re using SEO.
Here is a clear look at the difference between PPC and SEO
Yellow box search results are PPC (ie Google Adwords)- Green box results are free search results (ranking high due to SEO)
- Blue box are Google Places results (ranking high due to Google Places listing)
Click image to view full size.
Why would I pay for PPC when SEO gets me visitors for free?
- Instant results – initially SEO can takes months to start getting people to your site (and even then it’s not guaranteed), whilst PPC is guaranteed to get people to your site from the get go
- Easy to measure – you can quickly see if it is worth paying for
Are you using PPC, eg Google Adwords, to get visitors?
- Example – DendyVillageDental.com.au
If you are going to invest $100s or $1000s into PPC, make sure you…
- Understand your targeted keywords and ad groups deeply
- Make ads, keywords and the landing pages consistent
- Write compelling ad text…something that captures attention!
- Utilise effective ad extensions, eg clickable phone number
- Build a high converting landing page and collect contact info
- Create a call to action on landing page that is relevant to the ad
- Research competitor ads and differentiate your own
- Test multiple ads to see which are most effective
- Constantly measure return on investment (so important!)
Are your ads and landing pages optimised like this?
- Example – BankofMelbourne.com.au/calculator
Want to start using PPC – email us for a free $100 voucher
If you are excited to test out whether Google Adwords – the most popular PPC program out there – can help you get more customers online, email info@echimp.com.au and we can send you a $100 voucher (while vouchers last).
Note: Google does require you to first spend $25 in order to use the voucher.
[separator type=”large” style=”normal” align=”left”margin-bottom=”25″ margin_top=”5″]P.S. this post is extracted from our free report on the top 10 secrets we use to grow our clients’ businesses online. Read the free report >
