Why SEO is Better Than PPC for an Online Business

Last Updated: 

July 6, 2023

If you're looking for a way to improve your online business, then search engine optimisation (SEO) may be the best option. This article will walk you through why SEO is better than pay per click (PPC) when it comes to driving traffic and building brand awareness.

Key takeaways on SEO vs PPC

  1. Long-term organic visibility: SEO (Search Engine Optimisation) focuses on improving your website's organic search rankings, providing long-term visibility and consistent traffic without ongoing ad costs.
  2. Cost-effectiveness: While PPC (Pay-Per-Click) advertising requires continuous investment to maintain ad placements, SEO efforts can deliver sustained traffic and conversions without direct ongoing costs.
  3. Trust and credibility: Organic search results are viewed as more trustworthy by users, as they perceive top-ranking websites as authoritative and relevant. SEO helps build trust and credibility over time.
  4. Higher click-through rates: Studies show that organic search results receive higher click-through rates compared to paid ads, as users tend to trust and click on organic listings more frequently.
  5. Better targeting and relevance: SEO allows you to optimise your website for specific keywords, topics, and user intent, ensuring that your content aligns with what users are searching for, resulting in more qualified traffic.
  6. Enhanced user experience: SEO involves optimising website elements such as page speed, mobile-friendliness, and user-friendly navigation, leading to a better overall user experience and higher engagement.
  7. Sustainable growth: By consistently improving your website's SEO, you can establish a solid foundation for long-term growth, organic traffic, and higher search rankings.
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SEO-driven traffic tends to be more qualified.

SEO is a long-term strategy, which means you can use it to build a brand and generate organic traffic for years to come. This is why SEO-driven traffic tends to be more qualified than PPC; users who search for something specific are more likely interested in your product or service. If someone searches for "computer repair near me," then clicks on one of your ads, there's a good chance they're looking for exactly that!

SEO can be organic and scalable.

SEO is scalable. It can be done by an individual, or by a large team of individuals. Not only that, but the work you put into SEO will continue to pay off for years to come as long as you don't change up your strategy or tactics too much.

As an example: if you're running an online store selling shoes and want more customers coming through the door, then it's unlikely that they'll just start coming because they saw one ad somewhere on Facebook or Twitter (even if those platforms are great places for building brand awareness!). Instead, they'll need some kind of incentive before making purchases, like seeing their friends wearing what they want! This means that when someone searches "buy sneakers" in Google...

  • You want them looking at YOUR site first (and only yours)
  • Then clicking through from there

Search engine optimisation is more flexible than pay per click.

Unlike pay per click, which is a short-term strategy that requires you to pay for each click on your ad, search engine optimisation is a long-term strategy. The higher you rank in organic search results, the more traffic you'll receive from Google and other search engines.

  • SEO is more flexible than PPC because it can be used to target specific keywords or audiences instead of just advertising through one medium (website).
  • You can also use SEO to target specific geographic areas, a great option if you want local customers who are already familiar with your business or brand name but aren't yet aware of what services or products are available in their area.

It's easier to get an ROI on SEO.

SEO is a long-term strategy. It takes time to see results, but once you do, you're going to have a loyal customer base that trusts you. You don't have to worry about losing them because they'll be coming back again and again. SEO provides a higher ROI than PPC because it's easier for people who are searching for something specific on Google or another search engine (like Bing) to find your website through organic rankings rather than paid ads.

If someone searches "pizza delivery" on Google, there are several factors that affect where the ad appears:

  • Ads closer to top of page get more clicks because they're more visible
  • Ads with higher bid prices also appear at top of page
  • Keywords in title tag/description/URLs affect how often ads are shown

PPC is expensive

The main reason PPC isn't a good long-term solution is that it's expensive. You have to pay for each click on your ads and keywords, which means you're paying for things that aren't getting you results. If you're spending $10 per click and only getting clicks from people who are not interested in what you offer, then those clicks are costing money without any benefit for your business.

PPC campaigns should be seen as short-term solutions rather than strategies that will work forever without needing tweaking or improvement over time. The second problem with PPC is that there are no guarantees about how many sales it will generate; if someone clicks through from Facebook or Google Ads into one of our product pages but then leaves without buying anything (which happens all too often), then we still have to pay for that interaction!

PPC doesn't build brand awareness

It's true that paid advertising can bring you more traffic in the short term, but it won't help you build trust and credibility with your audience. Plus, if you're not careful about setting up your campaigns correctly (and even if you do), PPC ads are likely to get banned from search engines fairly quickly, meaning all those potential customers will never see them again!

SEO isn't just long-lasting, it's also scalable: once one page has been optimised for a keyword or phrase, all other pages on your website can benefit from the same optimisation process automatically as well! This means that all of those articles are written by staff members? They'll start ranking higher than ever before because they contain keywords too. That blog post about product X? It'll rank highly when people search for "product X reviews" or similar searches too because there are tons of related terms within its content

PPC campaigns are short-lived.

They're expensive and can burn a hole in your pocket if you're not careful.

SEO, on the other hand, is a more cost-effective strategy that pays off over time. The more traffic you get from organic searches, the less money you need to spend on paid search ads (and vice versa).

SEO is a better option than PPC for your business.

SEO is a better option than PPC for your business.

There are many reasons why SEO is better than PPC, but here are the most important ones:

  • It's more cost-effective. With PPC, you pay every time someone clicks on one of your ads or visits a landing page. The costs can add up quickly if you aren't careful! With SEO, there is no payment required until after the work has been completed and results have been achieved, and even then it's only a fraction of what you would spend on paid advertising campaigns.
  • It's more flexible than PPC (and therefore better suited for long term success). Since there are no contracts with SEO companies and they don't charge based on impressions or clicks (like Google), there's no pressure from anyone else besides yourself when it comes time to renewing contracts with them each year, which means that if anything goes wrong along the way (like content changes), then those changes will happen without having any negative impact whatsoever since everything was done by YOU anyway!

If you're in a startup, you need to understand that search engine optimisation is better for your business than pay per click.

If you're in a startup, you need to understand that search engine optimisation is better for your business than pay per click. SEO is a long-term strategy that can be scaled up or down as needed. It's also more cost-effective than PPC because it builds trust and credibility, which will help bring in more customers without having to pay for them all at once.

In the beginning stages of your business, it's important not to spend too much money on any one thing - especially if those things aren't working out right away! This means that investing heavily into paid advertising isn't always feasible (or advisable). With SEO on the other hand:

  • You can see results immediately by improving visibility on search engines like Google and Bing;
  • There are no minimum monthly commitments;
  • You don't need endless amounts of capital upfront before starting with digital marketing campaigns;

FAQs on choosing SEO over PPC

Confused about whether to prioritise SEO or PPC for your online business? Here are answers to frequently asked questions that highlight the advantages of SEO over PPC, providing insights to help you make an informed decision for your digital marketing strategy.

What is the difference between SEO and PPC, and how do they impact online businesses differently?

You're probably familiar with PPC, or pay-per-click advertising. If you've ever searched for something on Google and seen an ad at the top of your search results, that's PPC.

While SEO and PPC are somewhat similar in that they both help websites get traffic from search engines like Google and Bing, there are some key differences between them. We'll go over them here so you can decide which method is best for your business!

Can SEO deliver long-term results compared to the immediate impact of PPC advertising?

SEO is a long-term strategy, whereas PPC is short-term. While the immediate impact of PPC advertising can be impressive, it's not as sustainable in the long run.

PPC campaigns are designed to drive sales immediately by increasing traffic and conversions. This means they're focused on getting people to click through to your site and make purchases immediately, not building trust or credibility with potential customers over time.

SEO takes time because it builds up authority and trust over time: when someone searches for something related to what you offer online (for example, "best socks for runners"), then sees that your website appears at number one out of thousands upon thousands of results in Google search rankings...they'll be more likely to visit your site because they see that others trust you enough so that even though there may be lots of other options out there (many of which may even seem better), still prefer yours above all others due to its higher ranking position under certain relevant keywords/key phrases like "best running socks".

Does SEO require ongoing investment like PPC, or can it provide sustained traffic without continuous costs?

The answer is yes. In fact, SEO is a long-term investment that requires ongoing maintenance and monitoring. You need to stay on top of your rankings and keep up with the latest algorithm changes from Google. If you don't do this, then you could lose your organic search rankings over time due to a lack of attention from yourself or your team members who manage this part of your marketing strategy.

How does SEO contribute to building trust and credibility for an online business?

SEO is a long-term strategy. It's not something that will make you money overnight, but it's an effective way to build trust and credibility for your business.

SEO is also great for building a brand identity online, which can help people recognise your company when they're searching for products or services like yours.

SEO also helps attract free traffic from search engines like Google, Bing and Yahoo! And when someone visits your site after clicking on one of those organic results (rather than clicking on a paid ad), this gives search engines more data about what content visitors want most from each site, and therefore helps them prioritise those pages higher in future queries related to that topic or product category.

Do organic search results receive more clicks compared to paid ads?

The data is clear. Organic search results receive more clicks than paid ads. And they get more conversions, too!

As you can imagine, this means that people are spending a lot of time on your site when they click through from an organic result. They're also going to be more engaged because they were interested enough in what they saw to click through, they didn't just stumble upon it by chance or because someone shared it with them (though those things can happen too).

Conclusion

Now that you understand why SEO is better than PPC for your business, it's time to take action. If you're looking for more information on how to get started with SEO or if there are any questions that we didn't cover here, please don't hesitate to reach out!

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