Organic "Natural" Search Engine Optimization
vs. Pay-Per-Click Search Engine Advertising
By Matt Hockin
©2005 All rights reserved
When you purchase visitors or "clicks" from a search engine,
this is called "pay-per-click" (PPC) search engine advertising (or
PPCSE). Pay-Per-Click Search Engine Advertising allows you to quickly
get top search engine placement by "bidding" (paying) for keywords
related to your product or service.
"Organic" or "Natural" search engine optimization (SEO) is accomplished
by optimizing your web pages and by increasing your "link popularity" by
acquiring links pointing to your web site. These "inbound" links are
critical for achieving high rankings at the Search Engines for your
chosen search terms.
In this article, we will explore the strengths and weaknesses of both methods of search engine marketing. Plus, I'll
show you the best resources and tools for improving your search engine rankings for long term success…
"Natural" Search Engine Optimization
Today, there is a big myth that natural search engine optimization is
inexpensive and easy. For example, if you wanted your web site to rank
high for the keyword phrase "life insurance" or "debt consolidation"
you're going to need to budget a minimum of $50,000-100,000 a year!
Yet still, natural search engine optimization usually gives you a much
higher return on investment than pay-per-click. This is true for two
main reasons:
1. More searchers click the natural search engine results versus the pay-per-click ads, so you'll get much more traffic
for less.
2. One of the biggest factors to improving your rankings with natural search engine optimization is by boosting your
"Link Popularity" by acquiring or paying for links that point to your web site. These links give you lasting
results by giving you top rankings and traffic from the search engines. Plus, the links themselves will provide a
significant boost in long term traffic.
With that said, the biggest weakness of natural search engine
optimization is the time required to generate links and "tweak" your web
pages and keywords to get those prized high rankings you so desire. For
the more competitive keywords, it can literally take 3 months or more to
start realizing the benefits of your search engine optimization
campaign. For less competitive keywords, you can see the benefits in
just a couple weeks.
Pay-Per-Click Search Engine Advertising
The biggest benefit of pay-per-click is the fact that it will provide
you with an immediate boost of qualified visitors, lead and sales giving
you fast results within just hours or days. In fact, a pay-per-click
advertising program is your best option if you seek fast results and a
good return on investment while you are waiting for your Search Engine
Optimization (SEO) program to "ramp up."
Depending on your traffic goals, you can budget $100 or $100,000. PPCSEs
also give you the added benefits of being able to quickly test your web
site and track your conversion rates (leads, opt-ins, and sales) and
turning keywords (visitors) on and off easily.
So, as a short term strategy pay-per-click gives you the clear advantage
over SEO. But, the disadvantage is the cost involved. Depending on the
market demand for your keywords and clicks, your PPCSE campaign can
generate tons of traffic and can cost hundreds, even thousands per day
or month. With various optimization strategies you can lower your costs,
but over the long term natural search engine optimization will give you
a higher return on your marketing dollar.
In Conclusion
The golden rule in marketing is that you should constantly strive for
maximum results and return-on-investment (ROI) for your budget. In other
words, if your marketing is making you a profit - even if it's a thin
profit - it's worth it. By this model, pay-per-click is worth doing, but
overall pay-per-click will leave you with thinner margins.
The reason for conducting a natural search engine optimization campaign is to significantly increase your margins over
the long term.
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