Creating a strategy to drive traffic to your website is challenging. Many entrepreneurs eventually find themselves choosing between search engine optimization (SEO), or pay per click advertising (PPC). The former is an organic, long-term approach, while the latter involves some spending for immediate results. But what’s the trade-off, really? And what should you choose?

The answers are not that simple, as it turns out. What you decide on will depend on what your business needs at the moment, and what your goals are in the long run. Let’s take a look at each of these methods individually.

SEO as a method is, let’s put it this way, high-maintenance. The success of it requires producing great content, and adhering to ethical practices according to Google’s guidelines. Moreover, it requires consistency. This is why in implementing SEO, there are several people involved. 

There’s your SEO expert, and web developer to make sure your website is optimized, that it’s mobile-friendly (which is Google’s preference), and that all the links work. And then there are your content writers who regularly produce your onsite and offsite blog posts, and your articles for submission.

 

It makes sense that it requires this much effort as the end goal is to get your webpage to the top of search results for a given keyword.

How does this help your business? It makes your webpage more visible to people who search for keywords that are related to your business. If you have an events management business in New York, you’d want to rank up for keywords like “events management NYC” or “event planners in New York”. The best part of it is that when you do finally reach the top of search results, it’s there to stay on a long period of time given that you sustain your SEO efforts. This helps your credibility as well as a business.

The downside? It takes a while to achieve success if you’re starting from scratch, like if you just started your website, if you just started your business, or if in general you are not as well-known compared to your competition. It might take several months to reach your goals, and you might not be prepared for the expenses that come with it.

So when should you use SEO? It’s a good method to pursue when your goals are more long-term, and when you’re priority is building credibility among your target audience. Fortunately, there are plenty of companies who offer SEO services that offer packages so you won’t have to hire an in-house staff—an excellent decision for startups and small businesses.

PPC will still require an optimized website and landing page, but doesn’t need regular posts. What does this mean, exactly? It means you have to make sure that the content in your landing page is related to what you said in your ad, and of course, the service or product you are selling. You have to make sure the content is engaging and will encourage the visitors to stay on your page, and even better, buy or avail your offers.

The benefits of this approach include you only spending for actual results. It’s called pay per click because you are literally only paying for every click that your ad generates, so it’s pretty cost-effective. You also have a variety of targeting options from location to language, and of course specific keywords. 

You get to effectively reach a specific audience, and wisely the ones that are most likely to convert to customers. And since the ads are placed on top of search results, it supersedes any webpage that topped the search results, guaranteeing your visibility.

The trade-off? It’s not really sustainable. You obviously can’t use PPC all the time as it will likely cost you more. It doesn’t contribute much to credibility because when people see “Sponsored” on your ad, it doesn’t give the impression that your website is an authority because you had to pay to be seen.

So when should you use PPC? For one, use it as a method when you have time-sensitive offers like discounts or a seasonal promo. PPC becomes effective here because seasonal offers (like Christmas discounts and so on) will be relevant to the people you are targeting, and because you are offering something only for a limited period of time.

It’s also advisable to use PPC if you’ve just launched a new product or service, or if you’ve just opened shop and you want to let people know. Just let your PPC advertising service provider know what you need and they can give you advice on how to proceed.

It’s better to look at these methods as complementary rather than opposite forms of marketing. You have the option to simultaneously use both for optimum performance. It just matters what your priority is, and to use both at the same time, or separately, as part of the strategy rather than shooting in the dark with no goals.