Many businesses struggle to get noticed online soon after they launch. At this time, you may start looking for ways to get your website, business, or brand in front of as many people as possible.
The common solution to this problem is either SEO (Search Engine Optimisation) or paid advertising (PPC). Both Google ads and SEO are very effective, but what should you consider when deciding which one to invest in?
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Cost
SEO can cost a lot of time and money. This will include hiring the right experts as well as people to create content for your brand. However, it will always be cheaper than PPC in the long run. Once you have a structure in place, you can keep creating content that ranks very well and drives traffic to your website or blog. Because you will have already built an audience, you will not have to spend additional money to get people to see this new content. With PPC, you have to keep paying every time you want people to click on a link, which will be expensive and likely unsustainable for your business.
Longevity
Another key consideration for choosing between SEO and PPC is the longevity of the results you see between the two. PPC is the clear winner if you are looking to get the word out and get more people to learn about your brand or its products and services. You can pay for the traffic you need at the start, but unless you have the budget to keep your PPC campaigns going, it is not a viable option for most businesses in the long run.
If you are looking for long-term results, SEO is the way to go. The main issue here is that SEO is unlikely to give you the initial bump in traffic that you would get with PPC, but, if done right, you should see a gradual increase in traffic numbers as well as brand recognition and awareness.
This is especially true if you source the services of a company that handles digital marketing Bristol with a focus on SEO. Such a digital marketing company will not only be able to give you long-term results, but it will also ensure a positive return on investment.
Traffic Predictability
Once you rank on a search engine, you can predict the amount of traffic that will keep visiting if you keep optimising and adding great content. Also, there are no breaks between traffic levels. With PPC, you will get a lot less traffic if your budget runs out, and thus there will be a break. You cannot predict the amount of traffic you get with PPC because someone might outbid you for a ranking space, leading to your ad not showing up.
Brand Authority
Appearing at the top of search engine result pages consistently indicates to people and Google that your content can be trusted, and you are an authority on the subject at hand. Because of this, you can end up gaining backlinks that lead to an even better ranking.
Whether you choose SEO or PPC will depend on your specific situation. However, SEO stands out as the better option for businesses that want to build long-term traffic stability and do not have a large budget or do not want to spend it on getting traffic.
