If your website needs more, well-qualified leads, you may be wondering where next to invest your marketing budget: SEO or PPC? So, which one really is better?
Both! (It’s a false dichotomy.) There’s a reason SEO has thrived for years. It works. And, there’s a reason Google sucks in $6 billion/year from Adwords. Adwords works.
The chart below compares some of the advantages and disadvantages of SEO and PPC…
SEO
Search Engine Optimization |
vs. |
PPC
Pay-Per-Click
Advertising |
| 2-6 months. |
Time Before Receiving Leads? |
15 Minutes for Adwords
(Then, 30 days of testing to maximize clickthrough rates.)
5 Days for Yahoo/ Overture. |
$2000-$10,000/month x
3-12 months min. contract = $6000-$120,000/year.
Click fees: Free. |
Costs? |
1. Adwords: $2500/
30-day campaign, or $1250/one-week campaign (recommended for some local advertisers.)
2. Yahoo: $750/one- week campaign.
3. Click fees: .01-$10+/
lead, or $10-$1000/day in clickthrough charges. Set your max. daily budget to what you can afford, or no max. if your website converts well enough. |
| Hundreds – thousands possible, but the # of optimized webpages is usually limited to dozens – hundreds. |
# of Keyword Phrases You Can Target? |
Hundreds – thousands. |
1. Until search engines modify their algorithms.
2. Until competitors hire a more effective SEO. |
Duration of Ranking? |
Until competitors write better ad copy and/or outbid you. |
| Varies? |
Clickthrough Rates? |
Varies? |
| Varies? |
Conversion
Rates? |
Varies? |
| May require rewriting ad copy and/or reprogramming site. |
Other? |
1. Improve your webpage copy by transferring Google Adwords A/B split-testing results.
2. Beware of clickfraud.
3. Make quick changes for seasonal specials. |
In summary, if prospects are searching for your keywords, you need both SEO and PPC.
