In this digital era, the success of an online business largely depends on the amount of traffic it can generate. The more traffic you generate, the more you can sell! This is an indubitable fact. But then comes the debate what’s the best strategy for digital marketing?

Should you go for SEO or PPC?

SEO stands for Search Engine Optimization and PPC stands for Pay Per Click. These two are known as the most powerful traffic generating approaches in the market, currently. The ultimate goal of both approaches is same but which approach might suit which type of business, is to be discussed here.

In PPC, you pay for boosting traffic to your website using PPC advertising program. They enable you to display ads in the sponsored results section of each search engine’s results page. Then you have to pay fee according to the competitiveness of your chosen keyword.

Alternatively, you can opt for best SEO practices to achieve a high ranking in the natural search results. This is a relatively cheaper way to promote your business but requires patience and continuous effort. This strategy is different from PPC, which is, of course, expensive, however, some businesses still prefer PPC over SEO.

When Should You Use SEO

SEO is a combination of techniques that are aimed to push the website up, in terms of Google search results/rankings.

Proper SEO is vital for any online business, or else, the business wouldn’t make it to the audience online, regardless of how good the quality of their services/products.

Statistics show that 80% of the traffic generated on websites comes from search engines. Google, that is the biggest search engine, garners more than 3.5 billion searches per day. That’s why most of the business target this particular search engine while designing their SEO strategy. Now, let’s look into circumstances when SEO would prove highly beneficial for an online business.

When You Want Consistent Results

 Bear in mind, SEO can be a tedious or a thrilling journey. SEO takes a good amount of time, before yielding desired results. But the good things is, once you start getting results, there will be no disruption, unless you become complacent and stop strategizing. What makes SEO a good strategy is that it can help you to stay at the top for long-term.

When You Want To Build An Authority Site

An authority site is a site that provides top-quality content on a specific niche. It is a website that user finds helpful, and it thoroughly answers all the questions that pop up in the user’s mind while reading. Authority sites only publish trust-worthy and authentic content, that’s why they anticipate large traffic. With an authority site, it is easier to generate more traffic with appropriate SEO strategy, monetize and earn a consequential profit.

When You Want To Increase The Value Of Your Website

SEO takes time but the pay off is bigger than you usually anticipate. Websites with good SEO, experience more traffic, and the overall value of a website increases. If you plan to sell your website for a premium price, the first thing that will count is its SEO – consistency of traffic, page rank, search engine rankings over a period of time, etc.

When Should You Use PPC

Now, lets look at other side of the picture. Pay-per-click marketing is a method that guarantees instant results – unlike SEO where you have to wait for a few months at least. In PPC, you actually bid to have your ad appear in the sponsored results when someone types in any query including your keyword.

In PPC, you have to pay for every user who clicks on the ad you are promoting. So, when should you prefer PPC over SEO? Let’s have a look at some of the circumstances when PPC becomes a better choice:

When You Desire Immediate Result

PPC delivers results fast, very fast! Once your PPC campaign is approved, your ads will instantly become visible. A rush of visitors will soon cascade to your page, and you’ll be overwhelmed to see the response. So, the PPC is ideal, when you need immediate results. For instance, you want to sell a particular product in the next two days. What would you do? Do SEO and wait for results? No, in such cases, PPC is the best choice. SEO takes time, that’s why companies prefer PPC in product launches, seasonal promotions and event-focused marketing.

When You Seek High Traffic

Some offers are aimed at a group of people, of particular ages or hobbies. Many PPC platforms like social media sites allow you to promote your product/service to the people under some age range. gender, and even marital status. These make PPC an effective way to reach the narrow band of people, you feel may take interest in your product. Ever wonder why you only see ads of your interest on Facebook or any other platform? That’s PPC!

When Your Website’s SEO Is Not Possible

A basic and most important requirement for SEO is content. What if the website is not designed for content? Or it is not a content-rich website that can beat its competitors with its content? You can inform search engines only through content that your site is relevant, and keep your site at the top. But websites with very little content or are not designed for content, cannot follow SEO practices. Hence, PPC is the only marketing strategy for such websites.

If You Want To Be At The Top Of Results For Your keyword Category

PPC results always stay above the organic search results. This prominent position means that most of the searches with your keyword will bring traffic to your page. 50% of the search traffic goes to the top 3 sponsored links. If you are an established business, who want to stay ahead of competitors, you must engage in PPC.