SEO vs PPC: Which is Better for My Business?
When making a decision on how to spend your marketing bucks, one decision you’ll have to make is whether to invest in PPC (pay-per-click) ads, SEO (search engine optimization).or both.
In an ideal world, we would suggest the majority of companies invest in both PPC and SEO to ensure you can effectively outperform competition and dominate search engine results pages for your chosen search terms. However, if you have a smaller marketing budget, you may only have to opt for one.
This guide will define SEO and PPC and give you the pros and cons of each and help give you an idea of which you should use as part of your marketing campaigns.
What is SEO?
Organic rankings that are affected by SEO campaigns.
Search engine optimization (SEO) is the process of optimizing your website and web pages to rank higher in search engines like Google and Bing. Organic rankings refers to the search results of a search engine that cannot be influenced by paid advertising. Organic search results are ranked according to their relevance to the search term.
Pros of SEO
- Cost – SEO is generally a lot more cost effective than other forms of digital marketing -in particular PPC and Google Ads. This means that there are big opportunities for a great ROI in the long term.
- Scalable – Once you have gained first page rankings for high volume keywords, you can easily build off this success and look at other areas to target. Good performance in SEO can easily be built upon provided you have the right strategy.
- Higher Click Through Ratio – Generally, users will be more likely to click on organic results than paid results.
- Branding – Aside from more traffic, high search rankings give your business and brand more visibility online. Your site appearing highly can influence your perceived credibility with an audience looking for your service. Many uses trust organic results more than ads and you can quickly build a reputation as a leading provider of a product or service if you rank highly for a number of keywords.
- Sustainability – Once you have achieved high rankings and have an ongoing SEO strategy in place, your competitors can’t simply outbid you to appear higher. They will need to invest a lot of time in developing a strategy to improve their site to be able to remove you from the top.
Cons of SEO
- Long Term – Results from SEO can sometimes take months to generate results – if you only have a short window to see returns from your marketing, SEO may not be the best option.
- May Not Be Viable for All Businesses – For the majority of businesses, SEO will be an invaluable tool in their marketing arsenal. However, a small number of businesses may not see the same benefit – this could be because their industry is too competitive in search or that their product/services just don’t get enough search volume.
What is PPC?
Pay-per-click (PPC) is an advertising model where your ads are displayed with a link to your website and you pay only when a user clicks through to your site. This is typically associated with search engine advertising like Google Ads or Google Shopping.
Pros of PPC
- Quick Results – In comparison to SEO, PPC can generate results much faster. Once you have set up your campaign, you should instantly start seeing traffic to your site. PPC is perfect for businesses that need results in the short term.
- Position on Results Page – Google Ads now take up a large portion of search result pages, generally in the first four positions. Although users tend to click on organic results more, being able to occupy the top of a results page for your chosen keyword can obviously be a massive boost to both traffic and authority.
- More Specific Targeting – With PPC ads you can filter who you target based on age, location and demographics. You can make sure you are only paying for the traffic that you want on your website.
- Range of Channels Available – Google Shopping Ads, Display Ads and Text Ads are all forms of PPC advertising. Investing in PPC marketing gives you the option of trying these channels and seeing what works for your business.
Cons of PPC
- Can Be Costly – Depending on your industry, PPC can be expensive. Extremely competitive industries such as Law services or insurance can have very high costs per click. This is something to consider if your marketing budget is on the lower end.
- Start off more Expensive – Although PPC can get results immediately, to optimise your account you need a lot of data on clicks and conversions. This means that initially your initial cost per conversion will be higher than it will be once the campaign has progressed and begun to generate data. You will need to be realistic about how long it takes to optimise a PPC campaign.
Is SEO or PPC right for my business?
This will largely depend on your industry and business and you will need to weigh up the above pros and cons and see how they fit in with your business.
In the simplest terms, SEO can be seen as a lower cost, longer term solution whereas PPC can have higher cost but more impact in the short term. This, along with the other advantages and disadvantages will need to be weighed up against your own business needs.
If you are still unsure about what direction to take your digital marketing campaigns in, eSterling can help.
Our dedicated marketing are experts in both SEO and PPC campaigns and can offer free advice on what is best for your business and guide you to the channels that will get you the best return on your investment.
Contact the eSterling team now and we will be happy to help with any questions you might have.
Why you should invest in Digital Marketing during the Corona virus outbreak
During these unprecedented and difficult times, there are many business owners who are trying to minimise financial risk for their business by pausing advertising efforts or cutting advertising spend.
This could be seen as a short term and temporary fix but eventually, this will lead to needless lost time and effort later on when it comes to rebuilding your marketing strategy from scratch.
So could this be the time to re-evaluate your existing budget and invest more in Digital Marketing? This blog explains why continuing with your marketing efforts is now more crucial than ever.
Grow your online presence & connect with your clients.
Following the government announcement regarding halting the spread of the virus, people are spending more time online and are using social media to connect with others. So this is the best time to grow your online presence and get more people to engage with your brand.
This could include working on your website to improve rankings and increase your site’s visibility when someone is searching for a particular product or service and being more active on social media. Even if your business is currently closed, you can still use social media to stay in contact with your current clients by showing your empathy and support during the outbreak or posting about small steps you have taken as a business to help people in need.
Make sure that information on your website or social media is up to date and keep your clients posted about any changes in regards to your services.
Covid-19 Update on Facebook…
Covid-19 Update on Twitter…
If you are not familiar or confident using social media, eSterling offer a complete Social Media Management service. We can manage your social activity and provide you with reports to track your online performance and engagement.
Understanding the importance of Search Engine Optimisation (SEO).
Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) is a process which includes a number of steps and actions that aim to increase the quantity and quality of traffic to your website via organic Search Engine results. SEO is a long term process and the results are not immediately obvious. So now is the right time to invest in SEO so that your website is fully optimised for when the sanctions are lifted and business returns to normal levels.
eSterling are experts in all things ‘SEO’ and our SEO services provide regular reviews, up to date reporting and on-going support. We make sure the site is fully optimised and that you are targeting the right keywords as well as resolving all technical issues.
That gives you a big advantage over your competitors as many of them may have not looked at their SEO campaigns.
Time to invest in content.
Content is one of the main ranking factors for all Search Engines and Google has made it clear that a great content strategy can increase traffic and in-turn improve rankings. During these days people are spending many hours browsing the internet and reading articles. You should focus on updating your website’s content and optimising pages for desired keywords for your products or services.
Don’t forget to add or update your blog section with interesting and informative content to keep your customers engaged, even if your company is closed or you are not operating usual hours.
Take advantage of our copywriting services and we’ll create well-written, original and engaging content based on your brand and target audience.
Start online advertising by creating profitable Pay Per Click (PPC) Campaigns.
People are staying at home and searching for products and services online, so you could take advantage of the increased search volume and invest in PPC advertising. With Google Ads you’re in control of the money you spend and are only charged when someone clicks on your ads so most of the clicks will come from customers who are looking for your products or services.
If you have already set up PPC campaigns and your business is still operating then it is worth leaving these campaigns running as your customers may still be looking for your services or products.
Should you have any questions about online advertising and PPC, don’t hesitate to get in touch. Here at eSterling we are still fully operational and can help you with online adverting and offer full support throughout this period and beyond.
Focus on your website and improve User Experience.
With daily traffic at an all time high, now could be the right time to think about a new website or a redesign of your old website to improve user experience. You need to make sure that your website is mobile friendly, the page speed is good and navigation is easy with clear structure and defined call to actions on all pages.
If you are not currently selling products, now is a great time to convert your site into an eCommerce site or improve your existing site since most of the transactions are taking place online. With so many people in quarantine and not being able to go to the stores, eCommerce sales are booming!
Invest in eCommerce.
We have years of experience in designing and building websites and we always endeavour to build sites that exceed your expectations and generate you more business. Give us a call to discuss your project & requirements today!
What’s Next?
At some point in the future this pandemic will pass, so you will need to make sure that you’ve got your business ready to go. Investing in your online strategy now, will reap the rewards further down the line.
We are here to help! We can help you promote your business online and develop an effective and measurable Digital Marketing strategy.
Call us on 0121 766 8087 and tell us what you want your website to do for your business.
We are now a Google Partner!
Achieving Google Partner status means that eSterling Ltd has demonstrated Adwords expertise; met Adwords spend requirements, and demonstrated sustained revenue growth for our clients, as well as understands best practices.
What does it means when a marketing agency advertises that it is a certified Google Partner?
When you see that badge on agencies website, it tells you a lot about the business.
Google Partner status isn’t just handed out… that badge has to be earned, and we have worked for ours!
Not only must our employees take various courses and pass a few tests to gain individual qualification, eSterling Ltd itself has proven that it can meet Google’s strict requirements to become a partner.
As eSterling is a Google Partner Agency, what are the benefits for our clients?
- Google Partners provide features and tools designed to help us grow your campaigns.
- We are up to date and constantly on the ball, through the certification process, our team is provided with training directly from Google.
- Being certified demonstrates the excellent service we provide to our clients.
- We can demonstrate we work along side Google and that Google trusts us!
eSterling joins Microsoft Advertising Accredited Professionals
eSterling is pleased to announce that the company has been awarded Microsoft Advertising Accredited Professional status. Two members of our eMarketing team, Scott Hunt and Jon Jauncey, successfully completed the Microsoft adCenter examination to gain this accreditation.
This qualification demonstrates that the eMarketing team at eSterling is highly trained in all aspects of pay-per-click advertising through Yahoo and Bing. We are able to professionally manage and optimise adCenter campaigns and pass on expert advice to our customers about how to use pay-per-click adverts to drive traffic to their website.
Our new Microsoft Advertising Accredited Professional status is another step towards offering our customers a wider range of internet marketing services, and we can now provide Bing and Yahoo pay-per-click campaigns alongside our Google Adwords services. If you would like to find out more, please contact us on 0121 766 4080.
Christmas Special Offer – £50 Adwords vouchers up for grabs!
It’s a great time to give Google Adwords a go, as eSterling have a number of £50 Adwords vouchers available to our customers! You can use your FREE voucher to kick-start your Adwords campaign, which will help to bring extra traffic to your website just in time for Christmas.
Google Adwords is the easy way to get visitors to your site by making it instantly visible on the 1st page of Google. Your Adwords advert will appear right at the top of the Google results page in the sponsored listings area. You only pay when someone clicks on your advert, which means Adwords can be a cost effective way to get relevant visits. Pay-per-click advertising works brilliantly alongside your existing organic SEO and has the benefit of being totally flexible to suit your budget.
To take advantage of this Special Offer and claim your FREE £50 trial voucher call us today on 0121 766 4080 or email helpdesk@esterling.co.uk and quote the code AD50.
Terms and Conditions
- Adwords vouchers can be redeemed against one keyword for a period of two weeks.
- If you wish to continue your Adwords campaign after the two week trial period, a £75 + VAT per month management fee applies. The pay-per-click budget can be specified by the client (£100 per month minimum is recommended).
- The keyword chosen and Adwords management for the trial period shall be deemed correct by eSterling.
- One voucher is available per client, per website.
Conversion Rate Optimisation
Here are some simple ways to increase you ROI via conversion rate optimisation.
1. Be Relevant
Your ad text or meta description should always be relevant so the user will know what to expect when they arrive on your website. There is no point making wild claims that are not reflected on the site as this will just lead to poor bounce rates. Make sure that you use the keyword in your H1 title as this will help with both users and search engines. Perhaps one of the most vital points to consider in term of relevancy for the user is to use an accurate image. All to often I see generic images used on eCommerce sites, this will do nothing to improve sales. Always use your keywords in crawlable areas of the page as well utilising keywords in the domain if you can.
2. Proposition
You must quickly and simply portray your business proposition to your customer, frame the product or service in your opening text, ensure you prioritise your key features and benefits, consider the best way to get your point across – text, image, Video? Next try to see it from your customers point of view, see if you can handle any objections or concerns they may have about purchasing from you. One final point to consider is not to overwhelm the the user, do not be tempted to bombard them with too much information – an alternative may be to include downloadable demo, white papers or fact sheets. Always use a call to action.
3. Trust
The more trust your site can instill in the user the more sales it will make. This statement is so true for on-line shops. This can be done by the site itself as well as in the promotion of your company brand and the product/service brand. Your main enemies here are scepticism brought about by lack of information, not including reputable 3rd party ratings/awards and badges, and not have an SSL or payment system from a good provider. Try to use trust inspiring text, for example point it out if you have secure check out system, include testimonials in either text or video format. In terms of the web design you need to have a clean and tidy looking site, it should look professional and not rushed or cheap.
4. Understand User Intent
Try to find out what your typical customer responds to, try varied approaches and stick with the one that works best. You could try a softer call to actions or a harder approach, you may wish to experiment with different web designs and ways of presenting data, perhaps you will convert better if you can engage with the customer in a phone call? The key with all the things you try to is to ensure that you have a tested it in a fair way and to measure your success. Once you have a good amount of data you can choose the best way to proceed in terms of your customers intent.
5. Remove Distractions
Remember that the more obstacles you put between the moment a user enters your site and the point of sale the more likley it is that the sale will not complete. Your sales process should be simple, linear and as easy as possible. Common issues are including global navigation on your PPC landing pages, not using technology’s like JQuery to stop users from leaving the sales funnel by utilising tabbed pages of JS overlays to keep users on the page, off topic text and distracting images, asking for too much information from the user just to make the sale.
To find out more about conversion rate optimisation, get in touch with us here at eSterling.
Is your website ready for the Christmas shopping rush?
November is upon us and that can only mean one thing – it’s practically Christmas! Consumers are sure to start their Christmas shopping in the next few weeks and many people will be turning to online stores to beat the queues.
A recent study by e-commerce data quality experts at Postcode Anywhere polled a thousand UK consumers. The results show that while 25% of consumers plan to buy more Christmas presents online this year than last, only 5% will reduce their online spend.
Postcode Anywhere’s sales and marketing director Phil Rothwell said, “With 5% set to reduce spend and 25% to spend more, all things being equal, retailers could well be looking at a rise of around 20% in online sales this Christmas, a similar increase to last year. This is a fairly significant finding, but possibly not a surprising one given the circumstances.”
If you own an e-commerce website you should be thinking about how you can maximise seasonal sales. An easy way to do this is to start an Adwords campaign, which allows you to advertise on Google quickly and simply. You can choose your own monthly budget and even control when your ad appears.
If you already have an Adwords campaign, you should think about increasing your budget from now until January to maximise Christmas sales. Don’t forget that many consumers will be looking for great deals in January as well!
Here at eSterling we can provide you with assistance with Adwords, so if you would like to find out more please get in touch.