Search Engine Optimization Vs. Pay Per Click

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by: Kevin Thomas
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Date: Sat, 26 Dec 2009 Time: 12:14 PM
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Establishing an Internet presence for your business and pulling in paying customers cannot be done today without a very effective search engine marketing strategy which we will teach you with the Carbon Copy Pro System. While that is a given, it is not always easy to put a marketing plan in motion that will deliver the massive results you really want. That is why it is very important to get familiar with the two types of search engine marketing currently being used and determine which one is a good fit for your goals. One option is Search Engine Optimization (or SEO) and the other option is Pay Per Click (or PPC).

Introducing Search Engine Optimization

There are two aspects of SEO: off-page and on-page. Off-page search engine optimization requires building links pointing to your site from other high valued sites as well as various other strategies that are done off of your actual website in order to boost your own search engine ranking. On-page optimization includes producing keyword rich content and correctly naming each page of the site.

Results you see from SEO are known as organic. A visitor to your website that arrives there from a normal query in the search engine is known as an organic visitor. You didn't have to pay to drive that person to your website, instead it was a result of your natural placement in the search engines.

What many people do not realize at first is that it takes some time to effectively use SEO marketing strategies. Just building a new keyword-rich site is not enough to get a very high ranking with the search engines. Most sites will work consistently with a site for a year or much longer to establish themselves on the top search engines results pages. That's because SEO takes some time to correctly develop and employ so that the search engines pick up on the value and relevancy of the site.

The Pay Per Click Option

While SEO campaigns are organic, PPC requires a financial investment to secure. Instead of appearing naturally on the search results pages as recommended site, pay per click makes you a paid advertiser at the very top of the search engine results pages for particular keywords. This means your links are separated out at the top of the page or along the side of the page, while organic (free) links show up down the center of the page.

If you are thinking it's like advertising in the local paper, you're wrong. It is a bit more complicated because you are not paying just to be placed on specific keyword results pages. What you are charged for instead are the individual clicks that your links receive. So, if no one clicks your link you won't be out much but if you become extremely popular with searchers it could get quite expensive. The highest bidders are the highest ranked.

Fast results are what lure people to PPC campaigns. Most people cannot afford financially to start up with PPC right out of the box, but with time it is a very rewarding marketing strategy that delivers faster results.

While you can afford financially to make some mistakes with organic SEO, you cannot afford to do that with PPC marketing. Since you are paying for every visitor that the search engine brings your way, you have to make sure that the keywords you bid on are tightly associated and descriptive of your site so that you bring in the right visitors. It is equally important that you have a well designed landing page that converts those visitors into paying customers once they do find you.

You can see now why this is a big choice to make. Do you stick with long term free results with search engine optimization, or spring for the expense of a pay per click campaign and short term results?

The best practice is to incorporate a blend of both options into a well thought out marketing strategy. You have to work with the available marketing funds for your business at any given time, and that can be done by optimizing your site adequately and bidding on relevant keywords. You can always adjust the number and amount of bids to account for a changing budget, such as going with pay per click ads to announce the opening of a new site and then backing off.

You may also choose to be heavier handed with PPC if your goal is to bring in immediate sales. SEO can still be used to slowly attract and convert paying customers over time.

Be sure to consider both PPC and SEO when developing your Internet marketing strategy. Both can pay huge dividends for your website, but as mentioned they are extremely different from one another. Used in conjunction, they can be an extremely powerful tag team of Internet marketing.

About the Author

Kevin Thomas is an online entrepreneur, SuperGuide and coach who is teaching people valuable internet skills at his website The Carbon Copy Pro Times.

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