SEO Or PPC - That Is The Question

Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is the process of affecting the visibility of a website or a web page in a search engine's organic search results. Pay Per Click (PPC) in turn is an internet advertising model used to direct traffic to websites, in which advertisers pay the publisher when the ad is clicked. Which way pips the other, and which one should you tread for ultimate success? Though both SEO and PPC when utilized together will ensure a better result, which one proves to be more effective in terms of ranking, traffic, sales, and cost?

Many site owners today are opting for the SEO route primarily due to its affordability and rate of success. Search engines look for unique and relevant content on your website, followed by the number of backlinks, the keyword density, the Meta tags and other such factors. So all you need to do is write good content for your website, especially sales oriented, include the keywords you wish to target seamlessly in the content, optimize the technical aspects of your website, and wait for backlinks pour in, or write articles for other websites and blogs to get relevant backlinks.

The process may seem simple, but it's all the more difficult once you take up the task. Unless you have a flair for writing, you can't be expected to churn out unique content on a regular basis. And it is not easy to get your articles approved by reputed bloggers. Unless you have advanced knowledge of building a website, you won't be able to squeeze out the juice completely of one either. That is where professional SEO firms come into the picture. While many SEO firms may be scams, since there are numerous firms in the trade, there are a few excellent ones that boast of outstanding writers, skillful web developers, and distinguished optimizers. The rates charged by such firms are considerably high too, but are worth every dime in some cases.

PPC will throw immense traffic on your website in a jiffy, there's no doubt about that. But you might face an issue with the sales conversions. You will have to analyze your budget well enough before venturing into PPCs. A better ranked website will charge you a higher per click price, and since the traffic too will be considerable, you may end up spending more than you had bargained for. But heed your conversions too, since more the traffic more will be the sales. It boils down to the conviction that the content on your website carries. But you will profit by hardly doing anything and in no time.

Nonetheless, I'd recommend going for SEO before diving in the world of PPCs. Internet surfers today prefer to trust the organic search results more than any pompous advertisement. Analyze the keywords you are targeting well, and if the competition is insane, scour for long-tail keywords which will no doubt direct less amount of traffic, but with hardly any competition, and the conversion rate will be better too. If the traffic for long-tail keywords is minimal, then you may trigger your PPC campaign. Of course, the implementation of both these tactics will be more than beneficial, but if your budget doesn't call for both, take the search engine route.

Pay Per Click (PPC) is an internet advertising model that helps direct traffic to websites, for which, advertisers pay the publisher when the ad is clicked. It is used for improving the page ranking and attracting more traffic. Click here for further details.