Two of the most important elements of a solid digital marketing strategy are SEO and PPC, but while SEO offers its own set of benefits, PPC is better suited for certain businesses. In some cases, using both makes sense in a comprehensive campaign, but there are some conditions that may make paid ads more lucrative than organic ranking efforts. Oftentimes, paid ads are more efficient and require less investment of time and energy than SEO, making PPC strategies more appealing to many business owners.
If you’re unsure of which campaign to use for your business, the following are some specific reasons why paid ads might be the best option for your brand.
1. Making Changes Takes Less Time
Although many businesses aren’t likely to undergo frequent changes, this isn’t the case for every company. Some businesses are prone to changes. For example, some businesses might occasionally engage in rebranding strategies as they try to nail down their identity. Others may merge with other brands or develop partnerships. Businesses may also look to expand their product and service offerings, or make alterations to existing ones. Ultimately, there are myriad changes that businesses may experience, all of which can take some time to see reflected in SEO campaigns.
While ranking organically with SEO can be invaluable, it’s notoriously slow in its results. It can take weeks, months, or even years to rank for certain keywords. If you plan on adding or modifying focus keywords as your business transforms, it could not only require a long waiting period but can also undo previous ranking efforts. Conversely, paid ads enable you to make changes almost instantaneously, with the ability to optimize ads, landing pages, and offers in no time.
2. Gaining Visibility Is Easier
If you’re a small business trying to outrank big corporations or even mid-sized businesses via SEO, this can be one of your biggest challenges. While well-established competitors may appear for many keywords on the first page of search results, your business is more likely to wind up somewhere closer to page five at best for many. The best way to overcome this in a highly competitive industry is to invest in paid ads that feature your brand much more prominently, putting you in front of your audience.
3. They’re More Suitable for Local Businesses
Local businesses often use local SEO strategies to target specific geographical locations. These efforts, like other SEO efforts, can be highly rewarding, but, also like SEO, they can take a lot more time and energy than paid ads. If you want faster and potentially better results from locally targeted marketing, PPC can be the key. Unless you have the time and resources to dedicate to an exhaustive local SEO campaign, you’re more likely to stay ahead of local competitors with high-quality paid local ads. Coupled with a web design featuring local landing pages that target specific cities and service areas, you can effectively dominate the local market.
4. They Convey Offers Better
Businesses often flourish with the help of compelling offers that they want to ensure get in front of audiences. With SEO, there may be a lack of clarity in the offer as the title tag or meta description for a particular page may not convey the offer well. Whether you frequently offer free demos and trials, huge discounts, or other offers that drive sales and generate leads, PPC campaigns can help make sure your audience sees them. Using paid ads, your offers will be both highly visible and clear, potentially increasing conversions drastically compared to SEO.
5. They Work Well for Seasonal Companies
Businesses that operate on a seasonal basis may find SEO to be more frustrating than anything. During the off-seasons, these companies may want to prevent search results from mentioning them when they’re not relevant, but you can’t simply turn SEO on and off. If you do try to reduce the visibility of your rankings in search engines, it can then take a long time to regain the traction you once had. Ultimately, SEO can be a much bigger headache than it’s worth if you only want to remain visible during the busy seasons.
With the help of a paid ad campaign, you can easily adjust your budget or pause ads and restart them on a whim, without doing any of the inadvertent damage you might with SEO. In turn, you can save more money and save a lot more time and effort.
6. Highly Specialized Businesses Can Attract More Leads
If you’re running a specialized business in a highly specific niche, you may find it incredibly easy to rank on page one of Google SERPs. This is because many of these businesses work with low-competition keywords of equally low search volume. However, you’re probably not alone in your niche and maybe on even footing with the few other competitors in your industry.
If you want to differentiate yourself from others and gain a competitive edge in your industry, paid ads allow you to stand apart with enticing ads and offers. In the process, both your SEO and PPC efforts can work together to keep you highly visible to attract more leads and customers.
Use Paid Ads to Keep Your Business Front and Center
Does your business meet the above criteria? The chances are that PPC will yield favorable results compared to SEO. That’s not to say that you should rule out SEO strategies entirely, but investing more in PPC might be more beneficial than focusing on organic efforts. Having a combination of organic rankings and prominent paid ads can help you get the best of both worlds, connecting with online audiences from every angle. On the other hand, PPC is often the better option if you’re a small business that’s likely to struggle compared to bigger competitors. As your business grows and you gain a stronger foothold in your market, you may then be able to boost your SEO efforts more naturally.
To learn more about how Vigor Seorchers can help your business build a winning PPC campaign, along with SEO and other marketing strategies, reach out to us today.
Businesses and website owners can bid on paid online advertisements for the chance to have an ad appear next to searches on Google. As opposed to SEO, which takes time for searchers to reach your website. That is why I prefer paid ads than SEO.