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Pay Per Click vs. Search Engine Optimization

Long debated in search circles, webmasters are often torn between focusing their efforts on Pay Per Click (PPC) marketing or Search Engine Optimization (SEO). Few dare ask "which is better?" Will Pay Per Click or Search Engine Optimization result in better results for the effort? Lets take a close look at the pros and cons of Pay Per Click marketing compared to Search Engine Optimization.

Pay Per Click Pros...

1. You Control The Volume Of Traffic.
Like a water spout, you can turn website traffic on and off with pay per click campaigns. Webmasters control how much or how little traffic they wish to receive.

2. You Direct The Traffic.
Webmasters can specify landing pages and control the webpages that visitors enter the website through. Statistics show that visitors who land on relevant webpages convert to sales at a higher percentage, so directing visitors to the appropriate webpages can significantly impact sales.

3. Instant Results.
Pay per Click campaigns result in instant results. New websites do not have to wait for the Google sandbox grace period to pass, or strive to get a large number of links before seeing any traffic -- they can instantly acquire traffic through Pay Per Click advertising.

4. Good For Testing.
Pay Per Click campaigns are relatively easy to measure. You can easily determine what keywords or phrases convert to sales. Then, you can optimize your webpages for the phrases that have the highest click-to-purchase ratios.

Pay Per Click Cons...

1. You Are Paying For The Traffic.
Ah, yes, let us not forget that Pay Per Click is not free. While webmasters retain control, it can be expensive.

2. Click Fraud Can Skew The Results.
Webmasters must accept the fact that, on some level, they will pay for illegitimate traffic. Be it one click or one hundred clicks, click fraud can skew results and be costly to small businesses.

3. Not A Solution For Inexpensive Products Or Services.
Pay per Click is not always effective for inexpensive products or services.

Search Engine Optimization Pros...

1. Only Costs Time.
Search Engine Optimization mostly takes "time", and is relatively inexpensive when compared to the potential return.

2. Long Term Results.
The results from Search Engine Optimization can be long lasting. While constant SEO maintenance is suggested, some webmasters report long lasting results from minor optimization and adjustments.

Search Engine Optimization Cons...

1. Time Consuming.
Search engine optimization is time consuming, and it may take many months to see how minor changes effect rankings... which can be frustrating for even the most patient webmasters.

2. A Single Change Can Impact Results.
A single minor change can cause drastic changes to search engine rankings. In other words, a single change may cause a flood of traffic, or result in significant traffic loss.

3. SEO Is A Moving Target.
Search engines are constantly adapting and changing their algorithms, so what works one month may not the next.

4. All Search Engines Are Different.
Optimization that is effective on one search engine may or may not be effective on another search engine. Webmasters need to walk a line to optimize for all search engines or the major ones.

5. No Guarantees.
SEO is not always within the webmaster's control. Lets face it -- to some extent, SEO is in the hands for the search engine Gods.

Most webmasters have come to the realization that both PPC and SEO have a place in their marketing campaigns. It is important to strike a balance between the two, as both can be beneficial.

Related Articles:
How to Optimize for Organic Search Listings
Writing PPC Ads
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