The Showdown: Should your company do Pay per Click (PPC) or Search Engine Optimization (SEO) ?
A common question that I get asked regularly by potential customers is “Should I sign on to do Search Engine Optimization (SEO) or Pay per Click (PPC)? While every company’s situation is unique, there are some general points to remember.
SEO has been described as a popularity contest where the search engines spend time reviewing each website to identify which ones are most relevant to a user’s search. There are many factors that help the search engines identify a websites’ popularity. To learn more about these different elements look back at our older blog posts. As most of you know from being in high school…you don’t get popular overnight. In fact, it can sometimes take a few months for people to know your name. That is exactly how the search engines work. They take their time to identify you as being popular. Sometimes they might consider your popularity and change their mind. The key thing to remember is that this is a long term strategy. When you sign up to do SEO you are signing up to give your company credibility and presence; this isn’t achievable overnight. However, once credibility is established, the rewards are amazing and your business will $ee tremendous value from it.
PPC is also considered search engine marketing but it is very different than SEO and many different rules apply. PPC is a paid program that allows an ad campaign to be built for the search engine results on specific key phrases of your choice. These ads appear on the right/top of the search engine results page. This type of campaign receives less attention from users than SEO; however, it can easily be changed and manipulated to suit a companies needs. The ability to geographically target your ads, turn your campaign off/on when needed. Use the ad to qualify potential visitors and direct visitors to a page of your choice. PPC is a proven method for generating qualified traffic and leads.
Which one do you choose?
Well, in most cases, we would recommend both. The main reason we would recommend both to you is quite straight forward. With any business, you want the most visual presence possible. Well, if you are on the first page of the search engines through SEO AND PPC…your company appears twice. Two times the chances of getting a lead and sale!
Going a little bit deeper, by participating in both PPC and SEO you are expanding your overall reach and giving your company a strong online presence. PPC might focus on a variety of key phrases that represent the peripheral key phrases related to your business’ products/services whereas SEO might touch on your core business and your general industry. There are many strategies like this and my advice to you would be to consult with an internet marketing professional who can analyze your business for specific information on your company needs.
There is more that could be said about this topic so if you have a specific question, please feel free to ask. Likewise, feel free to add your wisdom.
~Steph
We’re in Chicago April 5th and 6th for the American Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgery 2008 Symposium & Congress! 
