SEO vs Google Ads - Which One Should You Pick?
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For years, there’s been this ongoing debate about using Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) vs using Google Ads. When it comes to digital marketing, this subject is a common dilemma for many business owners. What we can tell you is that there is no definitive answer. Your choice of marketing platform depends on your current situation, goals, and marketplace.
As a business owner, one of your objectives should be to improve your search visibility. It is essential that potential customers can find you quickly and easily online. But this is a challenge many businesses face. There are two options, play the long game with SEO optimisation or pay for Google Ads? When you’re deciding on how to invest your time and money, there are a few points you have to consider. Every business is distinct and operates in a unique way, so consider what is best for your business when making a decision.
In this article, we’ll address the debate SEO vs Google Ads to help you choose the best strategy for your business.
What is SEO?
Before we get going, let’s establish exactly what SEO is. Search engine optimisation refers to the process of getting better rankings for your website in the search engine results pages of the major search engines such as Google or Bing.
Why is SEO important? Because it is one of the best ways to acquire new visitors and customers.
If you target the proper keywords, you ensure that your website will be seen by the right audience at the right time. Therefore, a well-optimised website will generate traffic and improve your conversions. So make sure you have a search engine-friendly website that is fast, relevant, functional and offers an overall good experience to your visitors.
What are Google Ads?
Google Ads (formerly Google AdWords) is a form of pay-per-click (PPC) advertising platform where people pay to appear in Google’s search results. With PPC, Google charges you whenever someone clicks your ad. These ads offer you the opportunity to get your brand in front of a larger audience. However, if they are not managed properly they will not be effective and you will lose the money invested.
Google Ads works like a bidding system where advertisers have to compete for available advertising real estate. Actually, they are bidding for keywords they want to use for the ads. So if you set a significant bid, you guarantee that your ad will show up whenever a user searches for that particular keyword you have chosen.
The Pros and Cons of SEO
The biggest advantage of SEO is its cost-effectiveness. For a PPC campaign, you need a sizable budget, while SEO is much cheaper. Another benefit of SEO is long-term results. In the beginning, the SEO process is quite slow, but over time the results compound. As long as you can manage to rank highly for your keywords, you can provide consistent search traffic for your website. This is the reason why many specialists consider that SEO marketing is one of the best methods for long-term results.
However, it’s not all sunshine and rainbows, SEO has disadvantages. One of the challenges when it comes to SEO is that it can take a number of months before seeing results. It’s not that kind of strategy where you can see huge progress overnight. If you need results quickly then SEO may not be the right solution for you. Another disadvantage of SEO is the fluctuation in rankings caused by search engine algorithms. So it’s important to be aware that SEO requires maintenance and constant updates.
The Pros and Cons of Google Ads
The most important advantage of Google Ads is the immediate growth in traffic. PPC has instant results and can quickly generate visitors (as soon as the campaign is up). So if you don’t have the time needed for an SEO strategy to pay off, Google Ads are your best option. Another great plus is that you can target the ads in a very focused way. When you know exactly who you want to reach, you can incorporate essential factors into your campaign to do so.
The biggest downside of PPC is its cost. Unfortunately, PPC costs are constantly increasing due to the fact that more and more businesses compete for website traffic. As a result, if you don’t have a decent budget, PPC may not give you the visibility or results you need. Another disadvantage is that the process of optimising your ads can be pretty difficult and time-consuming. It takes time to learn to create a successful campaign and if you stop spending you stop getting traffic to your website.
Do keyword Research
Whether you want to create PPC (pay-per-click) campaigns, advertise on social media or optimise your website for search engines (SEO), you have to perform keyword research and create a list of these keywords. We’ve already talked about keywords in a previous article so we won’t go into details here.
I’m gonna give you only one more piece of advice: when you are searching for keywords try to put yourself in your potential customer’s shoes.
Google Ads vs SEO
So which is the best to use for your marketing campaign, SEO or Google Ads? Well, it depends on your business’ goals, but we recommend considering both because they can help in different ways.
For example, if you want to enjoy a constant flow of traffic over time or boost your brand awareness, then SEO is your way to go. However, if your business is focused on sales and your goal is to see immediate results, then Google Ads works best for you.
The ideal solution is to use a mix of both SEO and Google Ads – they are not mutually exclusive and if they are done properly, one can support the other. When you use SEO and Google Ads together, you have the opportunity to boost traffic, increase your brand’s visibility, and even use PPC keywords to optimise SEO. This way you will maximize your company’s online potential by increasing exposure and leads or sales.
In conclusion, all this information should give you a general idea of what’s best for your business. Even so, this is only the tip of the iceberg in terms of SEO and Google Ads. You should do your own in-depth research in order to make the best decision. And more importantly, make sure that your marketing is done by the right person. If you’re going to invest your money, it’s essential to do it smartly. At Ever, we can help you with your SEO and Google Ads journey.
