Search engine marketing consist of two basic forms, SEO (search engine optimization) and PPC (pay per click) advertising . While many passionately claim one is better than the other the simple facts can be hard to come by. For any business owner who is new to search engine marketing, it is easy to get overwhelmed and lost in the argumentation or just avoid the choice all together.

So what are the differences between SEO and PPC?

Costing methods
A click of a natural or organic search engine listing will cost the website owner nothing whereas a click of a PPC advertisement will. SEO is usually costed according to the amount of time it takes an SEO consultant to achieve a certain position in the search engines for nominated search phrases.

Time to live
PPC ads can be live within an hour whereas a search engine optimised listing may take months to achieve.

Longevity
PPC ad disappears as soon as the budget has been spent whereas a search engine optimised listing may remain for months after an SEO consultant has completed their work.

Expertise
The two techniques require varying types of expertise and knowledge. An SEO consultant knows where best to publish a unique piece of content and a PPC consultant knows how to adjust an ad’s title in order to increase the return on investment.

What are the advantages of SEO?

1. Once an effective SEO program is underway, there can be little to no cost involved in driving traffic to new product and/or service pages.
2. A search engine optimised listing can remain for months after it is achieved. The longevity of the optimised listing depends on the competitiveness of the search phrase.
3. High ranking sites are regarded as being more credible by search engine users.

What are the advantages of PPC?

1. A PPC campaign can be launched and begin receiving traffic within hours.
2. Results are highly measurable.
3. Great tool for improving visibility when waiting for the results of your SEO program to materialise.

Drawbacks to SEO and PPC

Both SEO and PPC have drawbacks which must be considered when planning your search engine marketing campaign. With SEO or search engine optimization the biggest drawbacks is the time factor. The internet is a fluid environment and achieving the highest rankings requires constant monitoring and tweaking of your entire website. Further, once you actually achieve a high ranking it is necessary to continue your efforts in order to maintain that high natural organic listing position.

PPC or pay per click on the other hand can be far more expensive to run than a SEO or search engine optimization campaign. One problem with pay per click or PPC is the bidding. Highly sought after keywords can cost upwards of $10 per click. Further, if not properly managed a PPC campaign can cost far higher then it should. Things like having the right keyword and keyphrase choices, proper ad copy and landing pages can also adversely impact a PPC or pay per click campaign.

Use PPC and SEO together

PPC and SEO are two outstanding ways to drive traffic to your Web site, and are ideally suited to use together. PPC advertising can fill in the gaps for your SEO or search engine optimization campaign. During the months that you are optimizing and waiting for results, you can drive most of your traffic by PPC or pay per click ads. Once your SEO campaign has taken hold, you can use your PPC advertising to highlight special offers and new products. Additionally, you can target any keywords and keyphrases that your search engine optimization campaign didn’t focused on.

Use PPC and SEO together for the most effective search engine marketing strategy. SEO is a great investment that everyone who is serious about their website should invest in, but while waiting on results from your SEO campaign use PPC to drive traffic to your web site immediately. Once you’ve obtained high natural organic rankings, you can reduce your PPC spending, but NEVER stop it altogether.