When it comes to where you should spend you marketing budget, SEO or paid ads are both great directions to take. When you’re considering which to focus on for your business, which is better? Is one more important than the other? Let’s find out more about each one so you can make a good, informed decision that’s right for you.
SEO Explained
SEO stands for search engine optimization. It’s the way you bring attention and traffic to your website by making it rank higher than other websites.
When you pull up Google or other search engines and search for a particular item or service, your search results populate, right? The order in which these search results come up in is determined by several factors. This is where SEO comes in. The main goal is to use these ranking factors to your advantage and make your website position appear higher and hopefully receive more clicks, adding to the traffic on your site and potential customers buying from you.
What are some of the factors that help you rank higher? There are somewhere around 200 different factors! Some of these include content creation, keywords, link building, and much, much more.
Why You Should Utilize SEO?
SEO takes skills, time, and in some cases – money to get the ranking you desire. Some of the biggest advantages you’ll see with SEO include:
- SEO is a cheaper digital marketing strategy – Even though you may have to hire someone to build your SEO, it will still end up cheaper than paid ads.
- SEO keeps working as long as you keep doing things to optimize it on your site. Paid ads stop showing up after your agreed upon time period or clicks.
- When customers see your website and company ranking high on the list for something they’ve searched for, they begin to recognize your name and trust in what you provide.
- You can obtain a higher ROI over time than paid ads.
- SEO gives you a much broader reach of possible buyers or clients.
Cons of Using SEO
SEO can be frustrating and time consuming! Some cons of using SEO include:
- It’s always changing! You must keep a close eye on these changes and be able to adjust your strategy to fit.
- You must regularly update your website and optimize it so that it continues to rank. It’s certainly not just a one and done type of job.
- It’s not ideal for getting information out that is time sensitive.
- Requires a certain amount of knowledge and expertise to complete.
- It takes time to bring in results and deliver a higher ranking for your website.
What Are Paid Ads?
Paid ads are digital ads that you pay for. Sounds simple right? Well, not quite. Businesses can bid on keywords in hopes that they are able to get their ad to appear after an online search.
There are a couple main types of paid ads that have become popular. These include pay-per-click (PPC) where you only pay when someone clicks on your ad. You literally pay per click. There is also cost-per-mille (CPM) where business’ pay once a thousand people have come across the ad and seen it. Paid marketing offers a place to attract potential customers that may be interested in what you have to offer.
Pros of Paid Ads
One of the greatest benefits of paid ads is the ability to make changes to your ad at any time. You can tweak it in a way that targets a certain population or even promote a specific sale or product that is time sensitive.
If you have a sale happening for only a few days, advertise it. Maybe you want to get the word out quickly about a new product, paid ads are a great way to do that.
Paid per click ads are also great in that they appear before organic search rankings. This will surely help potential customers see you first.
Disadvantages of Paid Ads
Paid ads are very “here and now” in terms of who they are reaching and for what purpose. They will not improve your organic search rankings like SEO will.
Paid ads will also end up costing more in the long run. They are quick to get up and going, but the convenience will cost you.
Which To Pick – SEO or Paid Ads?
Are you still wondering what would be better for your business – SEO or paid ads? What it really comes down to is your marketing goals and budget. SEO and paid ads will help your business differently. SEO helps your website become more easily found in this often-convoluted digital world. It takes more time to get you where you need to be as well as a certain amount of expertise and skill to perfect.
Paid ads are much more immediate in their results. It’s customizable and can be edited whenever you’d like. You are also able to target certain groups much better with paid ads. While there are several advantages to paid ads, they don’t give you the long-term web traffic that you desire, and over time, it is much more expensive.
In truth, it shouldn’t be SEO or paid ads, your plan should include both elements for a complete digital marketing strategy. They both have great benefits – one that provides a short-term, instant presence and another that gives you the longevity that you need for your business.
Let Us Help
If simply reading this article is stressing you out, hiring someone that is familiar with the ins and outs of SEO and paid ads can alleviate much of your confusion and give you peace of mind that it’s being done correctly. ARYU Advertising has the experience and skills to help you achieve your digital marketing goals as well as help you put together a solid marketing strategy.
Contact ARYU Advertising if you’re wondering about SEO or paid ads or just need help getting started with a particular ad or other project. We are here to help!
