Paid Search VS. Organic Search Results
When you think of online advertising, one thing comes to mind; Google. Google has become the king of online advertising. With over 2 billion users Google gives companies access to any and all demographics. Being the savvy marketer you are, you want to take advantage of all that Google has to offer, but how? Online advertising can seem complex and confusing, but we are here to help you make the decision easier.
What is Google Adwords?
Google Adwords is the paid advertising option that Google offers. An Adwords advertisement can consist of a title and a short description that will appear either at the top or right sidebar of a search engine results page. Google allows you to set a budget on how much to spend per day and will only charge you if your advertisement is clicked by a user. The goal is to select keywords that are relevant to your company and allow you to attract users to your site.
What is Search Engine Optimization?
Search Engine Optimization, or SEO marketing, is the free advertisement alternative Google offers. SEO is essentially a list of guidelines to follow to show the search engine that your website is a reliable source of information that is relevant to the queried keyword. The more successful you are in proving this the higher you will appear in the Organic Listing section of a Google Search Engine Results Page. Like in Adwords your advertisement will include a Title and a Description.
Advantages of Google Adwords
Works For Any Budget
A great thing about Google Adwords is you have the ability to set any budget you want per day and you will only get charged when a user clicks your advertisement.
Tangible Results
The nice part about using Google Adwords advertisements is that you can see how successful or unsuccessful your advertisements are. Adwords also offers great tools to see who is clicking your advertisements and what users are doing when they reach your site.
Fast Results
Adwords advertisements generally get results quickly because your ads will appear right away depending upon your bid.
Target Specific Markets
Chose your keywords based on traffic, competition, and relevance to your products. This will allow you to appear where you think you will have the most success due to your products and target market. Easy: Another great thing about Google Adwords is its simplicity. To create an Adwords campaign all you have to do is choose target keywords, develop your advertisements, set your budget, and you’re off and advertising to over two billion Google users.
Advantages of SEO
Adds Value to the Site
To be successful in SEO you have to have great content on your site. By investing in your SEO you will add value to your site that will improve user experience and help to build your companies brand.
Builds Relationships With Users and Backlinks
Another key to SEO is to build several backlinks that help to drive visitors to your site. By building these backlinks you will also build relationships with other websites and companies by sharing links and writing blog posts.
Cost-Effective
Paying for links can get you penalized in SEO. You will spend more time creating content and building relationships for your website versus spending money on advertisements.
Trustworthy
Because SEO is built on original content and links, and knot misleading ads and advertising strategies your website will come off as honest and trustworthy. Your site listing also appears in the organic search results of a search engine results page which is looked upon as more trustworthy.
Long Term
As long as your website stays up, your SEO efforts will always be seen. Your blog entries, links, and content will remain on your site and will work for you. Google also takes Domain History into account for their rankings so the longer your website is active it will help contribute to your success.
Disadvantages of Adwords
Appear in the Ad Section of Google
An advertisement with Google Adwords will appear in the yellow advertisement section at the top and right sidebar of a Google SERP. Many people avoid these sections because they know they are advertisements and rely on the organic results section of a Google SERP because they feel they are more trustworthy.
Expensive
Although you have the ability to set any budget on Adwords and can limit the money you spend per day, there is no guarantee your ad will be placed. The rank on Google Ads you have to outbid the competitors which can get expensive depending on the keyword.
Reliant on Google
When you advertise on Google you then put yourself in a position that your success relies on Google. Any number of things can occur, like Google going down for a period of time or losing users that will limit the number of people your advertisements reach.
Disadvantages of SEO
Time-Consuming
SEO is a long and time-consuming process. It takes dedication to have an effective SEO campaign by constantly writing blogs, developing relationships, link building, keyword researching, follow search algorithm changes to name a few. Then you have to take time to let crawlers index your site
Constantly Changing
Search Engine algorithms are constantly changing and it is up to you to follow their updates and adjust your strategy accordingly. Search Engines aim to eliminate spam and increase quality results in their search quires so that users will rely on their results.
Difficult to Track
It can be difficult to determine the success of your SEO campaign. In many cases, you will not see a major spike in traffic as you do with advertisements like Google Adwords. The success of an SEO campaign can be measured over time by improving your search results and improving your traffic.
Holistic Search Marketing Makes Use of Both Paid and Organic Search
Both Adwords and SEO have their advantages and disadvantages, but it is clear that both marketing tactics can accomplish a specific goal. If you are looking to boost your traffic and make an immediate impact on your search traffic and have the money to spend, Google Adwords would be your best choice. Google Adwords can help you accomplish that short-term goal with great results. If you are thinking long-term and want to build an ongoing marketing campaign, then SEO would be your choice. Although there is a lot of time and effort put into an SEO campaign is will pay huge dividends in the long run by building a trustworthy relationship with your customers.