So you’ve got your business established and it’s time to open the doors for business. But you’ll also want to open up your online presence. You can achieve a successful online presence in two ways: SEO or PPC. Now the question is, which one is best for getting noticed by your customers?
Lucky for you — it all depends!
Why You Should Consider SEO
Search Engine Optimization is a means of getting your website to reach the first page of a search results list for a particular keyword. For example, if you own a landscaping company and if one was to search “landscaping company” into a search engine, your goal would be to have your site appear on the first page. Of course, this is quite difficult for such a broad and competitive search term.
Enter: An SEO company. Companies such as Boston Web Marketing who understand the ins and outs of SEO best practices can help you achieve the results you want (within reason, of course). Having an SEO strategy in place will allow your brand to get noticed for multiple keywords. Note that for SEO, you’ll be paying a company for these specialized services. On the other hand, for PPC services you pay Google directly.
Why You Should Consider PPC
This online advertising strategy is also going to be an investment. Google’s ads look very similar to organic search results, yet this time you are paying Google to be at the top of the page and above all the organic results. Note that Google recently changed it’s SERPs layout to include four ads at the top of the page and include an ad section at the bottom of the page. For more competitive industries, you may even see ads on the second or third page in particular search results.
What Are the Benefits or Drawbacks of Either?
As far as SEO is concerned, the major drawback is that you may not see the results you’re hoping for until weeks, or even months later. Many business owners who just open up shop are often anxious to get people through the door and get noticed. If this is the case, SEO should not be the priority. Instead, opt for AdWords for immediate returns.
On the PPC side, it’s easy to tell where your leads and conversions are coming from. However, keep in mind that there are often lower returns. It’s not guaranteed that someone who clicks on your ad will convert and purchase your products or services. With SEO, the returns are higher. Searchers know that whatever is on the first page is a reliable company.
The Bottom Line
No matter what, your company should be striving to do one of the other in order to have an online presence. The most popular route is opting for SEO services through a full service SEO company like Boston Web Marketing and run a PPC campaign to compliment the SEO work.