A couple of traffic lights installations with the red ones turned on and the green and yellow off captured against a blue sky with several white clouds scattered over.There’s an age-old debate regarding which form of Internet traffic is the best. Some marketers believe pay-per-click (PPC) such as Facebook Ads and Google Adwords drives the most sales, whereas others believe organic traffic through search engine optimization is the best. While both methods can drive tons of traffic to a website, there are nuances between the two that shouldn’t go unnoticed. For a comparison of PPC vs SEO traffic, keep reading.
The Cost
One of the biggest differences between PPC and SEO is the cost. With PPC, advertisers pay for each qualified click on their ad (hence the name: pay-per-click). Cost per click can vary depending on a variety of factors, such as the keyword, competition, ad rank and platform. However, it’s not uncommon for advertisers to spend anywhere from a couple cents per click to several dollars. And when you scale a PPC campaign to the point where you are generating thousands of clicks per day, this can leave you with a hefty bill. SEO, on the other hand, is completely free with the exception of normal operating costs like web hosting, domain name registration, content management system (CMS) software, etc.
Guaranteed Results
There’s no guarantee that you’ll achieve a top search listing for your desired keyword through search engine optimization. You can spent countless hours crafting content and building backlinks, but it’s ultimately up to the search engines to determine where and how to rank your website. PPC, on the other hand, allows advertisers to display their ads for any keyword they choose, assuming it is relevant and does not violate the platform’s guidelines.
Time of Results
Search engine optimization can takes month if not years of work before you notice any significant amount traffic coming from it. If you’re looking for instant traffic, you should consider PPC instead. With PPC, however, your ads are displayed as soon as they are approved. There’s no waiting around for search engines to index and rank your site for its target keyword, which is a huge benefit for small business owners and entrepreneurs.
Click Share
According to an article published by SEOMoz.com, organic search listings are 8.5x more likely to be clicked on than a paid PPC ad. Internet users have become increasingly aware of the difference between paid and organic listings, preferring the latter. Furthermore, heatmap testing has revealed that the majority of users focus their attention on organic search listings.
So, which is your preferred source of Internet traffic? PPC or SEO?
