Driving Traffic to your Website—What’s Best? (Part 1 of 2)
The benefits of SEO (search engine optimisation) over PPC (pay per click)
The two most prominent on-line marketing activities are search engine optimisation (SEO) and pay per click campaigns (PPC). Ideally any large business with an on-line promotional strategy should be investing time and funds into both activities, but smaller businesses often have to choose between these activities because budgets are limited.
Click here if you need a reminder on the meanings of search engine optimisation or pay per click:
So which is the best choice for your business? In this article, we will explore the benefits of SEO. Look out for the benefits of PPC next month.
Search Engine Optimisation
The advantages of SEO offers over PPC campaigns are:
1. More likely to click
A recent study found that search users are up to six times more likely to click on the first few organic results (i.e. those that appear naturally at the top of search results) than they are to choose any of the paid results (i.e. those that are paying to appear above the organic results) (Oneupweb study).
2. Building trust
Studies indicate that trust levels for organic results are much higher than for paid results, more specifically that only 14% of searchers trust paid listings and 29% were ‘annoyed’ by them (eMarketer).
3. Deliver more value
Organic results tend to be viewed as non-biased and therefore deemed to deliver more value. The overall conversion rate, or the rate which searchers take a desired action after visiting a website, is 17% higher for organic results and is between 4.2–3.6% for paid results (Marketing Sherpa).
4. Growing awareness
As internet use continues to grow as a research tool, searchers are becoming more aware of paid results being used as a marketing tool. 54% of searchers on Google (the most popular search engine) are aware of the difference between organic and paid results.
5. Keyword costs
PPC costs are steadily rising. Between 2004–2005 the average keyword costs increased by over 100% and fluctuated over the year, becoming more expensive over the holiday seasons. The cost of outsourcing an SEO campaign will remain stable throughout the year as they are usually based on a set annual contract.
6. Long term benefits
The long term results for SEO are greater than PPC. Once the budget runs out for PPC or you decide to stop the campaign, then the results will instantly stop. Once your website has been optimised and achieves good rankings, it will continue to do so until the next change in a search engine’s algorithm (the language which search engines use to filter search results).
It may seem that the case for investing your on-line promotional budget in SEO is clear cut, but PPC also has its place and value. We’ll explore the benefits of PPC next month.
In the meantime, if you’d like more information on SEO or PPC then please get in touch on 0117 907 9930.
