Pay Per Click v.s. Search Engine Optimization
Marketing a business in Edmonton (or Canada as a whole) is all about knowing your options and choosing the right one.
In the modern age, there are two options that have taken over when it comes to digital marketing. These options are PPC (Pay Per Click) and SEO (Search Engine Optimization). An Edmonton business owner will be presented with these options and is going to have to make a decision.
The question is, which one is better and what do these options entail?
All of your questions are going to be answered here in this read.
What Is PPC?
Let’s start with PPC or “Pay Per Click” advertising to understand what it stands for.
The premise behind PPC advertising is to pay for each click coming through to your site. For example, if there is an ad representing your business on a social media platform (i.e. FaceBook) then you are going to be charged a set fee every time someone clicks on it.
You will be able to link your landing page through this ad and get users to come in. This is a method used by several businesses around the world with tremendous success.
Benefits of PPC
1) Fast Results
The results are going to come in fast since the ad goes up immediately. The same doesn’t apply to SEO where you have to rank before bringing in new leads. This can take days, weeks, and even months depending on the competition – Ahrefs has conducted a great study on exactly how long it takes to rank in Google.
With PPC, you don’t have to deal with such issues!
You spend the money and the ad will be up right away. In most cases, it will be up within 10 minutes or so! This is intriguing for businesses that want to get started as soon as possible.
2) No “Rankings” To Deal With
Another benefit is knowing you are never going to have to deal with rankings.
You will not have to worry about ranking on Google or beating the competition to the top spot. You will be able to get the leads to come in as long as you have money to spend. This is exciting for Edmontonions who don’t have time to spare on SEO.
Avoiding the race to the top can be wonderful for those who want to keep it as simple as possible.
What Is SEO?
According to Search Beast, an Edmonton search engine optimization company, the art of SEO is optimizing your site (keywords, images, content) to rank for a specific keyword. If done well, Google and Bing will pick up your website and show it to their users.
For example, if you run a golf course website and target the keyword “best golf courses” then your site will start to show up on Google/Bing whenever someone types that in.
Each search engine has specific requirements to ensure a website is truly “optimized” and that’s something site owners need to pay attention to.
Benefits of SEO
1) Free
The biggest and most important advantage would be the cost. The traffic is free forever (or as long as you rank).
It is not going to cost beyond what you are paying to run the website. This is ideal for those who are starting up and don’t want to blow away thousands on a failed marketing campaign.
SEO lets you get a hold of things and dominate in the long-term (if done right).
2) 24/7 Results
Another advantage is the fact you’re able to see results around the clock.
It is free and Google/Bing will not shut down when you go to sleep. They run around the clock and that is ideal for businesses wanting never-ending results. If you rank, the marketing will continue to happen for a long time.
Concluding Thoughts
“In the end, there is no right or wrong option when it comes to marketing” says Jabir, the founder of Search Beast SEO.
You have to go with the one best suited to the business and its budget. For those who are running a smaller operation, you don’t want to spend all of the marketing budget on PPC advertising. This is when you will be able to focus on SEO and build through there. However, those who have more money to work with can use PPC advertising to their advantage and get a lot of leads quickly.
The best solution is often somewhere in the middle where you focus on a bit of both. This will let you decide what’s best for your niche.
