Introduction
SEO, PPC, and advertising are three different topics but they sit side by side in your digital marketing strategy. This article will highlight some myths and facts about each:
What is SEO?
SEO is the acronym for Search Engine Optimization. It’s a process that helps your website appear on search engine result pages so that when people type your keyword, it’s given priority over other websites. SEO is a strategy that aims to achieve a certain rank on the search engines, by getting more visitors and improving your website traffic. Source: https://www.searchenginejournal.com/2022-seo-trends-podcast-2/432620/
What is PPC?
PPC (which stands for Paid-Per-Click) is an online advertising model that requires payment every time someone clicks on an ad. It’s also known as CPC (Cost Per Click). Although PPC is still a very powerful digital marketing channel, over the years it has been overtaken by SEO.
What is advertising?
According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary “to make widely known through the media”. This definition applies to so many branches of marketing including newspapers, TV, billboards, and many more. In our case, we define advertising as simply sending information about your business to people for free.
What is the relationship between SEO, PPC, and advertising?
You can have all three, but the first thing you need to know is that they are different platforms. Advertising usually refers to traditional media like newspapers and TV like the Fort Worth Weekly at https://www.fwweekly.com/ (which you should use) while PPC and SEO are digital marketing channels.
PPC advertising usually appears as pay-per-click on search engine results pages, which most of us know simply as Google Adwords, Yahoo Search Marketing, and other related platforms. You can use these platforms to promote your website or product. When someone clicks on the ads and visits your website, the money is paid to you.
SEO is a means of improving traffic to a website as well as search engine rankings through content marketing. This includes writing content for social networks and mass media such as blogs and websites. You can be paid by sites like Google Adsense (Google pays you for links) or Amazon Affiliate programs (which pays you for referring others).
Myths
1. SEO is expensive.
SEO isn’t always expensive but there is a general belief that it is and that it should be. There are myths about how much things cost when you implement SEO, but in truth, there are no set rules for what an “SEO-friendly” website should cost. It’s all based on the quality of your content, your keywords, and traffic.
2. SEO doesn’t work when you don’t live in a major city.
SEO works anywhere and at any time. If you have a website, then you can be an SEO magnet. However, if your website is of low quality (or none at all) then there won’t be many visitors and your rank will go down accordingly.
3. SEO is done mostly by humans and auditors.
SEO is a very important aspect of digital marketing, but it isn’t completely manual or individualized. SEO is based on value and strategy, to ensure that your website is placed at the top of search engine result pages.
4. SEO is hard to understand.
If you need help with SEO, there are plenty of SEO agencies and consultants such as jebseo.com who can help you with the technical side of things, but in truth, it isn’t at all hard to understand. You don’t need a degree in computer science or anything like that, just a desire to put your website up and watch it climb up the ranks on search engines.
5. SEOs are untrustworthy.
SEOs are mostly trustworthy, but there is a certain amount of risk involved with SEO. If you don’t use a unique value keyword or the wrong one then Google may penalize your site. This means that if someone types the wrong keyword into Google results pages then they won’t be shown your website as that’s not the “right number”. As a result, your site will lose visibility, and in turn, lose traffic and sales.
6. SEO is easy to do.
If you want to be successful with SEO, it helps if you know how it works and how you can use it as a strategy. Although there is a lot of information out there, SEO isn’t something that you can learn overnight. It takes time, experience, and reports to make sure that your website is always at the top of search engine results pages. We recommend checking out the folks at proranktracker.com to automize your reports to clients.
Facts
1. SEO attracts visitors as much as PPC advertising
This may seem obvious but in truth, it’s not. People simply don’t realize that you can get both search engine traffic and sales from SEO efforts. They are almost the same, but one attracts visitors and the other attracts sales.
2. SEO is good for your brand.
Any form of exposure is good for a brand and SEO is no different. It puts your company on the map, so to speak. It’s when people see you on a search engine result page that they start thinking of what you can offer them. Source: https://latana.com/post/seo-increase-brand-awareness/
3. SEO offers you control over landing pages and content.
If you want to change your website, then you simply need to update the page containing your product or service, and then it will appear in search results on Google (and other search engines). This means that you have control over your landing pages and content.
4. SEO delivers customers from home-based traffic.
If a lot of people in your area use Google or another search engine, then you have a ready-made audience for your product or service. If your website is number one on Google then it’s much more likely to be clicked on than some PPC ad on the next page down.
5. SEO delivers visitors from mobile devices.
There are now many stores that use mobile apps to serve their content, which is great for SEO as it means that you reach the people who are actively searching for what you have to offer. By using a smartphone, tablet, or computer, visitors can find your business more easily and at a time that suits them better.
6. PPC and SEO work together.
There is a certain amount of crossover between the two, with many people using one or both for marketing. If you are using SEO then you should be looking at PPC as well. This is because search engines take time to display ads and it’s better to have them at the top of the page even if there are no visits from it.
7. SEO works if you have a bad website.
If you have a good (or even a mediocre) website then SEO will work for you. It’s like having a fancy car that doesn’t run properly, but it looks fantastic nevertheless. Once people see your website on the search engine results page, they are more likely to visit it – and this is all that matters in terms of sales and conversions.
8. You don’t need to be an SEO expert to make use of PPC and SEO advertising.
All you need is a basic understanding of how it works, and the right keywords. The rest is automation and reporting, which anyone can do either through an SEO company or by themselves.
9. SEO requires maintenance and management.
If you want your website to appear at the top of search engine results pages then you need to ensure that it’s constantly maintained and updated regularly. If you have a hectic schedule, then this should be fine. However, if it’s not something that you can do for some time then you are better off with PPC alone.
Why is SEO better than the other forms of marketing?
1) SEO is a cost-effective and measurable form of marketing.
2) SEO doesn’t require you to buy advertising.
3) SEO is known as a “bottom line” business without any loss of quality with low overhead.
4). SEO increases consumer confidence, trust, and trustworthiness; this increases your ROI significantly.
5) SEO is a long-term investment with a positive ROI for the business.
6) SEO does not need to be replaced by another form of marketing.
7) SEO can work with other forms of marketing to ensure that the most appropriate approach is used for your business.
Conclusion
If you’re looking to promote your business and reach new customers, then SEO is an effective method of doing so. You must consider the opportunity that SEO offers you, but more importantly, you must consider the opportunity of having a website that your potential customers can find easily online.