Search engine optimization (SEO) is the process by which growing and established companies improve their page placement with search engines. When consumers are looking for companies like yours online, they usually migrate to listings that are posted at the top of results pages. If your business isn’t found there, you’ll be missing out on countless opportunities for conversion. As your learn more about SEO, however, you may find yourself asking the all-too-common question, “What is pay per click advertising?“.
This is the process of targeting select keywords for placement among sponsored content at the top of the page. As such, you can instantly get online attention for your business, but your link will not appear among the organic listings. It is a quick and easy way to generate traffic when you really need.
The challenge with this type of marketing is that it can quickly become very costly. One reason why this is true is that you will be paying for all click-throughs that you get throughout the duration of your campaign. This remains true even if people merely land on your pages for a second or so and then bounce back to search engine results. Even though these visits do not result in profitable sales and conversions, they will still cost you cash.
Due to this fact, campaigns that are not professional prepared or at least planned properly can really harm a company’s bottom line. This is why some companies drastically limit the duration of their campaigns. They do this to ensure that people are only seeing their listings at a time when they are likely to result in actual conversions or visits of interest.
It is additionally important to note that consumers have become increasingly discerning throughout the years. Nearly all web users can distinguish between paid listings and those websites that have ranked organically. Moreover, they tend to be more trusting and more willing to visit web pages that have linked through proper SEO.
SEO has a number of secondary benefits. The process of optimizing organically for search engines allows companies to build brand recognition, foster trust, establish themselves as industry authorities and much more. As such, these efforts can actually start paying off even before first page placement is actually achieved.
The major drawback of SEO, particularly when it is compared to PPC strategies is that it can take significantly longer to work. Some companies wait months before they even show up on the first page of results, and then, it may not be for their most targeted keyword. PPC helps businesses start attracting attention right away and this makes it good for reaching a number of short-term and profit-related goals.
Understanding these things, using PPC is definitely a good idea, but you always want to bolster these efforts by practicing search engine optimization as well. Marketing is an ongoing process and one that is guaranteed to throw you a few new challenges throughout the years. With a balanced blend of both SEO and PPC marketing tactics, however, you will be able to poise your company for online success.
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