While search engine optimization (SEO) and online advertising are often linked to each other, they are not the same thing. SEO refers to a group of tactics and strategies that are designed to help search engines classify and find your website when people search for products or services your business provides. Online advertising is designed to make sure people hear about your website and find it when they’re looking for products or services your business provides. The ultimate goal is the same – increasing the visibility of your website, and through that, improving your sales (or a similar goal) – and both activities fall under the broad general heading of “online marketing,” so why should you spend money on both SEO and online advertising?
There are a few reasons that you should invest in both online advertising – especially pay per click and display ads – and search engine optimization.
SEO and PPC Are Complementary
Search engine optimization will help your website – or at least, specific pages of your website – to show up high in the rankings when someone searches for your business, products or services. Organic search engine results – those results that show up under the paid listings on Google and other search engines – are more trusted by readers, and thus, more likely to be clicked on.
SEO Takes Time – PPC Is Immediate
Unfortunately, it can also take time to build up to the highest rankings on the search engine results pages. Pay per click ads and display ads, on the other hand, provide the best results you can pay for. Many Internet marketing agencies recommend launching a PPC ad campaign to boost your website visitors while you wait for your organic SEO to kick in. Others suggest testing long-tail keywords with small, concentrated online advertising campaigns before investing the time and money into an extended SEO campaign using them.
Diversifying Is Safer
Relying on strict SEO for your online marketing can leave you vulnerable to shifts in search engine algorithms and other changes of circumstance. Paid online advertising can be expensive – and can open you up to abuse by competitors whose aim is to run out your advertising budget and force you out of the running. The more you diversify your online advertising – including social media marketing and email marketing – the less likely you are to be seriously damaged by small changes to algorithms and other circumstances.
Need help with SEO or Internet advertising? It’s no longer easy to manage your own online marketing campaigns – there are just too many moving pieces. If you’re serious about your business, shop around for a professional Internet marketer to help launch your business and keep it flying high.